There are multiple social factors, which make up a person’s social location. My social location shapes and defines my own story. I identify as a 25-year-old, heterosexual, Caucasian, female. I am from a family of four, one brother a mom, and a dad. We are of Italian, Slovak, Scottish, and Irish descent. I was born in Canada into the upper middle class. I am able-bodied, wouldn't be considered ugly nor do I have any disfigurements. My mom is educated and my dad was a professional hockey player in the NHL. I grew up in a predominately white neighborhood and attended catholic school. In the schools I attended, the majority of the students were from white middle to upper-class families. I graduated high school, 2 diplomas from college, and a sociology degree from a university, and am currently in the education program. My identity has been shaped because of my parent’s choices and they have provided me with the necessities to be successful.
As a result of my social location, certain factors have been influential in my educational experience. The biggest factors that played an important role in my educational attainment are money, time, my mother’s education, and family size. I am fortunate in a way that my parent’s incomes meet usual living expenses – if not more, my mom has an education and my family has financial security. My parents had my brother and me in their later years making them older than most parents of people my age. They were able to obtain that financial security before having their children. My mom was able to take time off work and focus on being a stay-at-home mom. She was able to spend time with my brother and me during our early years. My dad’s job was stable and well-paying in order to give our family that opportunity. My mom has an education of her own and because of that, she has placed great value on education. My family’s income gave my brother and me the opportunities to purchase books, computers, extra outside-school support – tutors, etc. Thus, aiding my parents in promoting education and enhancing what was being learned. My mom took the time to be involved in our education. She was an active participant on boards from kindergarten to grade 12. Once graduated from high school I was academically prepared to enter college because of knowledge from teachers, administrators, and family. I was fortunate enough to attend college and earn two diplomas without having any student debt.
Being a part of the predominant racial group in Thunder Bay, I have had many opportunities that some may never experience. Being a white female means that I may have less power in some situations but in some ways, not. For example, a 25-year-old female of color may face racism, stereotyping, or discrimination in schools compared to me being a 25-year-old white female. Why? Because the “power of normal” is white. The curriculum in our catholic board is written and taught by people who share my identity or identities. Our teaching staff in this city is largely white native-born Canadians. This privilege I have has given me a greater chance to receive compassion, and help and be looked at with potential. People of color, without this privilege, face racialization, stereotypes, and lack of compassion or help for any of their struggles. I can safely say that my teachers assumed I was fairly intelligent because I understood the topics being taught in class. Growing up I do not remember having many children of different colors or races attend the Catholic school I went to. As time passed and I got older there was more integrated into our Catholic system. The schools I attended had many recourses for students to succeed. My schools had plenty of books in the library, computers, laptops, and sports teams. I can safely say that the existence of my privilege allowed me opportunities that others have been denied, “people who are like me in every respect except for the social categories they belong to.” Even though “my access to privilege doesn’t determine my outcomes, it is definitely an asset that makes it more likely that whatever talent, ability, and aspirations I have will result in something good for me.”
Connecting back to when I said being a female means that I may have less power; in school, I remember experiencing a lack of encouragement in male-dominant courses, ie., woodshop or welding. Us females were encouraged to take, drama, dance, or cosmetology. Since I didn't like any of those courses teachers encouraged the females to take, I took “neutral” classes such as foods class or computer arts.
According to Peggy McIntosh, there are two types of privilege, unearned entitlements, and unearned advantage. Unearned entitlements are “things of value that all people should have, such as feeling safe in public places.” When an unearned entitlement becomes restricted to certain groups, it becomes a form of unearned advantage. I am able-bodied - I am heterosexual - I am Christian. In an educational context, I have received unearned privileges. These privileges are something I never realized I have benefited from. Being an able-bodied female I have never had to worry about walking up and down stairs at school, being concerned if I can get through a doorway, sit at a desk, or in fact just be in a classroom. There are many things that I have and still am able to do within my school setting that some may never get to experience. I am able to play sports; I can use the bathroom and I can expect to be included in group activities. If you are heterosexual in the Catholic school system you are not looked down on. I never have to worry about what bathroom I can use or cannot use, and I have never been looked at funny or rejected by anyone based on the person I am with. This goes hand in hand with Christian privilege. The holidays I celebrated were always realized. Crafts are made, plays are constructed and presented and the celebrations are always known. I will always have a day off from school or work on a religious holiday and never be questioned about it. Christian privilege is something that I have personally never thought about.
All children are unique individuals who experience life through a different lens. They all have their own unique patterns or approaches, every child needs opportunities adapted to their individual needs with respect for individuality. As a teacher, I am responsible for keeping children safe and providing them with a positive learning experience. As a teacher, it is my duty to understand intersectionality and social location because it is important to recognize students intersecting identities and how they can contribute to students’ experiences. My teaching style will be open and inclusive. I will advocate for equity and fairness for all my students, privileged or marginalized; everyone’s identities matter. The environment that children are in is key to development. Teaching with intersectionality in mind means “seeing your students as more than just the thing that stands out in the classroom, as far as race or their gender, and understanding that there is a long background to all those things”.
As an educator, it will be up to me to continually examine the social location and how it impacts learning, privilege, invisibility, bias, and assumptions. I must repeatedly remind myself as a teacher, what is invisible to me as a result of my privilege? How many of my students will respond to me as a result of my identity and power structure? As an elementary teacher part of my responsibility in fostering equity in the classroom will be to start laying the groundwork at an early age that everyone is worthy of respect and empathy no matter race, gender or sex. According to Safe at School in order to become allies for students in an equitable inclusive school environment teachers can;
Make it routine; create a “new normal”.
Get students to start thinking and questioning what they see around them in the larger culture
Use positive and inclusive language
-Incorporate imagery that allows everyone to see a reflection of themselves, particularly effective for younger students.
My role as a teacher and as a person with power over the classroom will be positive and hopefully act as a guide for the children. I hope to be able to share experiences with the children and to help them have healthy development. I will always have an open door policy to families and guardians of the children I teach in the hopes of creating strong communication. My goal is to create a classroom where children and their families/guardians feel safe and welcomed.