Ashley Churchill

Professor Maurer
ED 199 Exploring Educator Identity
11 November 2020
Professional Identity Statement
Throughout the semester, we have talked with many teachers, administrators, and
educational professionals about teaching, and we have looked at the core values in detail. I have
gained insight on the qualities, skills, and dispositions it takes to become an inspirational teacher,
and I have created an identity statement. My identity statement will change throughout my career
as I learn and gain experience in the education field, but after the time spent in ED 199, I have
learned what I value in a professional environment. For example, I believe that all students
deserve to have a champion at school, and I want to be that champion for students. Teachers are
responsible for shaping young minds and inspiring the future of the world. As an educator, I will
work to make school a safe, fun, and engaging place for students of all different backgrounds
with different experiences.
The core values mean something different to every professional, but I am going to go
through each core value and explain what they mean to me.
1. “The appreciation of diversity and similarity”
a. As an educator, I will value all perspectives of cultural and individual
differences. All students deserve a productive and respectful educational
experience, so I will work to bring together students with different
backgrounds. As Dr. Adams said, it takes compassion, imagination, and a
willingness to shift so everything is accessible to all students. I will strive to
put these skills to work when I have my own classroom full of diverse
learners. I believe that we can all learn from each other. For example, in the
class I did my cadet teaching in, we had a Spanish-speaking student. This
student taught the class, my host teacher, and I how to count to ten and the
days of the week in Spanish. The different backgrounds that students bring to
the table can help open students up to many different cultures. I will make
sure that my classroom is a safe place for this to happen.
2. “The excitement of teaching, learning, and mentoring”
a. Right now, nothing makes me more excited than the idea that in three-and-a-
half years, I will be in my own classroom. I have been excited about being a
teacher since I was in first grade, and I would come home and make my sisters
pretend to be my students so I could practice being a teacher. The passion and
excitement have not changed since, except now I work with real students in a
real classroom. The reason I am so excited about being a teacher is because
the teachers I had in elementary school made learning fun and engaging. I
looked forward to going to school to see my teacher’s bright smile and warm
hug. I want to bring that same excitement and joy to the students in my
classroom, so for me, this core value is one of the most important. One
example of a way I plan to make my classroom warm and inviting is to do a
morning greeting, so students would have a choice between greetings such as
a hug, a high five, a dance, or a handshake. By starting with the morning
greeting, students would interact with me first thing in the morning, and they
would start their day by seeing a smile on my face. I feel that showing my
excitement for learning will help my students be excited for class. This core
value relates to Sarah McDaniel’s advice to us. She warned us that we should
never forget our “why.” My “why” is that teaching is a people process that
holds a lot of weight in our world. I have the possibility to inspire young
minds and shape tomorrow’s leaders, and this “why” is something I will never
forget. I look forward to each day that I get to spend with students, and the
excitement is something I hope I never lose.
3. “The challenge of integrated practice and collaboration”
a. This core value is important to me because all students learn differently and
each one has different needs. I plan to use a variety of techniques in my
classroom because I know not everyone learns the same way. Some students
are visual learners, some are auditory learners, some are in-between, and some
are none of these, but they all deserve a chance to learn the material in the
way that makes the most sense to them. As a teacher, I will strive to make my
lessons accessible and educational for all students, and I will not give up until
they all understand. When I was a cadet teacher, I worked with many students
who needed to learn the lesson a different way, but I would get frustrated
because the students were not understanding. What I found is that I needed to
be creative and come up with a way for these students to learn the lesson
differently. One of the biggest lessons I learned this semester that I won’t
forget is to never tell a student to try harder. Kelli Suding taught us this
lesson, and I will carry it with me for the rest of my life. We never know what
is going on in a student’s head, so we never have the right to tell a student to
try harder. Students are often doing the best they can, and as a teacher I will
work to understand this and help those students learn the material in a way
that suits their individual learning style and needs.
4. “The strength of integrity and responsibility”
a. To me, integrity and responsibility is an important part of being a teacher.
Very few parents would be willing to send their child to a teacher who is not
responsible. As an educator, I want people in the community, parents, and
other educational professionals to feel as though I am a trustworthy and
responsible person. I will take feedback very seriously and use self-reflection
to make myself a better educator. This core value also focuses on making
“standards of conduct clear to all students and consistently enforcing them in a
fair and respectful manner.” As an educator, I will work to make my
classroom a fair and equitable place for all students. To me, this means that I
will make sure all students have an equal understanding of directions and
expectations. One example would be to record myself reading directions for a
worksheet, so students who may struggle to remember things can listen to the
recording as often as necessary. Stacy Bales mentioned this core value
multiple times throughout our interview. She gave us a powerful piece of
advice when she said to always tell parents the truth. Integrity is about
honesty, so by picking up the phone and telling parents what is happening
with their students, she is showing integrity and building trust. I will strive to
be as open and honest with parents, students, coworkers, and anyone else I
meet. The best way to show responsibility and integrity is to have an open line
of communication, always strive to learn from mistakes, and make standards
and expectations well know.
5. “Technology proficiencies”
a. I will work hard to educate students on the best uses of technology. I will also
work hard to make sure that my lessons utilize the many resources available
online. I will use technology to advance students’ educational experiences by
using technology to make lessons more worthwhile and engaging. I will use
technology to advance my professional development by talking with other
teachers and people outside of education. And I will use technology to
improve communication with parents by utilizing the numerous home/school
communication apps. As I discussed in my Technology Philosophy statement,
I will use the resources available to me to advance the students’ educational
experience. I will also work to ensure that all students have equal access to
technology. It has become a large part of our everyday lives, but some
students may not have access to the internet at home. I will work hard to
guarantee that all students can access the internet and use technology to their
benefit.
As an educator I will strive to be the bright smile students want to see in the mornings. I
will strive to educate students to the highest ability I know. I will strive to inspire students each
day. I still have a lot of learning left to do, but what I do know is that this is the path for me. As a
professional, I will continue to learn throughout my career. I am looking forward to being a
champion for all students despite their backgrounds and experiences. Being a teacher means I
will have one of the biggest impacts on students’ lives and that is not something I take lightly.
The core values of Butler’s College of Education are important to me in my professional career.
By truly digging into the core values, I will give my students the best educational experience
possible. The most important one is “the excitement of teaching, learning, and mentoring”
because teaching is not a career you enter for money or fame. Teaching is a career you enter
because you love children, are excited to help shape the future of our world, and because you
want to inspire people every day. These three things are necessary to be a great educator, and the
core value demonstrates this importance. I am very excited to be one step closer to my own
classroom, and I am looking forward to learning more about how to be an inspirational and life-
changing educator throughout my next three-and-a-half years here at Butler.