Part 1: Personal Identity Collage

23!

Part 2: A-B-C Dimensions of Personal Identity

My images exemplify the three dimensions of my personal identity by showing my

culture, ethnicity, hobbies, relationship status, religion, and what was going on in our community

the day I was born. Within the A dimension, I showed two photos taken in Hawaii. I chose the

first photo on the left because it showed a woman of the Pacific Islander ethnicity. This photo

shows that I too am considered a Pacific Islander and am a young woman. The second photo of

Hawaii shows the culture of where I am from and the beauty it entails. Within the B dimension, I

showed a photo of two Starbucks cups that say, “Mr. and Future Mrs.” These cups resemble that

I am getting married soon! We chose Starbucks cups because at the time of our engagement, we

were both baristas. Two other photos show groups of people that partake in my favorite sport.

Color guard and winter guard are sports I participated in throughout high school and then taught
for a couple years afterwards. I also showed a picture of a cross to resemble that I am a Christian.

I was raised to believe in God and have been learning His teachings since the day I could read. I

grew up watching Christian cartoons and movies. Read children Bibles and now that I am an

adult, I have numerous bibles of my own to learn from, study in, and even do some artwork to

remember the stories. Within the C dimension, I have a photo of a newspaper clipping. This

newspaper clipping discusses how the community I was born in came together to help an ailing

farmer. I chose these seven photos to demonstrate my personal identity after reading

Arredondo’s theories and examples of each dimension. I feel that these seven photos clearly

show who I am and what happened in my place of origin on the day I was born.

Part 3: Personal Identity: Effect on the Classroom

After reviewing the A-B-C Dimensions with personal identity, I found that there are core

things that define who I am, but also a lot of little things that have helped shape who I am today.

My culture, pass, present, and soon to be future have made me who I am and there is nothing I

can do to make my life any different than it already is in this moment. I can change my future

and look at my life from a different point of view, but I wouldn’t want to. After doing some

research I found that the Personal Dimensions of Identity model can be used by counselors to

“see” the range of human potentiality every person possesses (Arredondo et al., 1996). By

knowing what someone feels they are identified by, I as a teacher, can know how to address that

person in my classroom. In the same aspect, I know that my personal identity can help shape

how I teach my students. Coming from the type of background I come from, I know that

everyone is different and that we all have something going on in our lives that aren’t shown on

the outside. “Knowledge competencies permit us to understand more about the demographic,

cultural, and educational experiences of culturally distinct children (Stith-Williams et al., 2007).”
I have knowledge of quite a few different demographics, cultures, and ethnicities. I started

learning information about all types of different origins in the world and a few years ago, started

learning more about my own culture. This fascinated me! By having the knowledge of so many

different ethnic backgrounds, I will be able to teach my students to the best of my ability. I will

be able to ensure that they get the same amount of treatment and that their own backgrounds are

incorporated in some of the lessons. I have a cousin who communicates through sign language,

so at an early age I began learning sign language in order to communicate with her. Throughout

my education I learned more sign language and Spanish. I feel that by being fluent in English

and knowing some Spanish and sign language, I have an opportunity to communicate with all my

students. Whether they speak Spanish or English. If my students are non-verbal I am able to

communicate with them as well. A challenge I may face in the classroom when considering my

personal identity and the personal identity of my students is not knowing what certain students

may encounter in their home life. Growing up wasn’t extremely easy for me and my family

struggled. However, we had it off so much better than a lot of others. My goal is to teach in a

school where I am needed and where I can make a difference. After listening to the video,

“Exploring Emigration: Cultural Identity” I learned from the lesson that the teacher was teaching

her students. The teacher showed her students a documentary about the challenges boys faced

when they were in a new area [CITATION Expna \l 1033 ]. People felt unsafe when the boys

entered stores in groups. They felt frightened because the boys looked different than they did. It

was that moment that I realized that kind of fear is still around today. It helped me realize that I

may face the challenge of my students being afraid of one another or my students not fully

understanding the differences among themselves. I look forward to being able to take my
personal identity into account when teaching children and when helping them understand that

they all have a personal identity of their own.

References:

Arredondo, P., Toporek, R., Brown, S. P., Sanchez, J., Locke, D. C., Sanchez, J., & Stadler, H. (1996).

Operationalization of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies. Journal Of Multicultural

Counseling & Development, 24(1), 42-78. Retrieved from:

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=1f1c46ad-5ba2-

412f-8eaa-8dd1140b330e

%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=9603154647&db=eh

Exploring Emigration: Cultural Identity (n.d.). [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-cultural-identity

Stith-Williams, P. L. (2007). For Cultural Competence: Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

Needed to Embrace Diversity. Retrieved from:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/tech_asst_prof_dev/self_assessment/disproportio

nality/cultural_competence_manual.pdf