Essay: Developing an Academic Identity
Introduction/Thinking
What does it mean to have an identity? With whom or what do you identify? How do our perceptions of identity form? Each of these questions are difficult in themselves, but more so when embarking upon an educational journey that asks its travelers to develop an academic identity-whatever THAT is!
Reading/Prewriting 1
1. Read "Jimmy Santiago Baca's Coming Into Language and Jean Anyon's "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work " Underscore strong lines.
2. Write a summary of your reading to share with your group. What do you find in common among the readings? How do the readings differ? Be sure to take note of the strong lines in your readings.
3. Connect your discussion from the groups back to the essay in a class discussion. How do various groups view the protagonist's home language and culture?
Reading/Prewriting 2
On a piece of paper, complete the following in single words with as many descriptors as you can in the space of one minute: I am
Share your list with a partner. How many descriptors did you have in common? Which were unique?
Read Beverly Daniel Tatum's essay, "The Complexity of Identity." Underline five sentences that create the best summary of the essay. Discuss how your identity list reflects (or not) her thesis.
Prompt: Explore the ways in which identity affects one's educational and professional journey.
In the pre-writing and reading activities, you have considered the ways in which identity is created by and imposed upon people. You've thought of the ways in which you are identified and how that identification creates pathways and boundaries.
In this essay, write about your own search for identity, particularly an academic identity, and then use that as a springboard into sharing your thinking about the ways in which student identity affects his/her educational journey. What is important to know about the intersection between identity and one's educational experiences, goals and accomplishments? This essay assignment should be about 4-5 pages in length. It should include at least four ideas from at least three of our readings (Rose, Vance, Baca, Anyon).
Writing: Getting Started
1. Quick-write: Write about a significant moment or learning during your formal education. Write for ten minutes, non-stop, capturing as many sensory details as you can remember. Do not worry about correctness at this point!
2. Write down your three most important educational goals. Choose one of the three and write for ten minutes, explaining what the goal is, how you came to it and what you expect once you accomplish it. Share with a classmate. Ask for strong lines from your quick write.
3. Sketch a road map for your essay. Where will it begin? What will be some of the stops along the way? What is the final destination? Look back at our readings to see how these writers began their essays.