Social Identity, Investment, and Language Learning

First of all, I really liked Bonny Norton's style of writing. She writes in a very easy and readable way that allows the reader to really grasp her meaning within her work. Secondly, I liked how Norton inserted the stories about the immigrant women because it made her theories and points become more alive and realistic. I always feel that I am able to understand a concept better if it has real-life examples.

I really liked Norton's idea about investment instead of motivation. When I did my student teaching this past spring, I was unsure of what to expect. I had never been in a classroom (I was homeschooled growing up) and was not sure how I would get my students to be motivated enough to do their work. As I went through the semester, I mostly modeled off of my co-operating teacher as far as what to do to get my students to do their assignments; I offered extra credit, verbal praise, and whatever else I could think of. Now, however, after reading Norton's article, I realize how much more my students would have responded to me if I had invested more of my time into them. To be sure, I did try to get to know my students and nerves had a lot to do with it, but after reading the article, I realize that I could have worked at it harder.

Every person, regardless of age, wants to know that someone believes in them. I want my students to know that I believe in the; that I care about who they are as a person. Sure, they might not always get the concept I am trying to teach, but I believe that as long as they know that I believe in them and care about them, that they will try their hardest to work and understand what I am teaching. Many students do not have a strong home life where they are encouraged by their parents, but as a teacher, I have the influence to help them know that they can achieve something, and Norton's article helped me to realize my fullest potential as a teacher.

What are some ways that we, as teachers, can help our students know that we are investing ourselves in them? So many times in our education classes, motivation is drilled into our heads, but how can we switch gears from motivation to investment?

Kuma: Chapter 2

One of the main things that really stuck out to me in this chapter was how Kuma describes what culture does to transform a society (pg. 10). He uses these wonderful words to describe: steers, offers, presents, shapes, equips, and nurtures. He concludes the paragraph with this sentence: "culture thus plays an overarching and overbearing role in the development of an individual" (p. 11). How true this is! Every person belongs to some type of culture, whether it is their family's culture or a culture that he has adopted.

For example, I was born in Korea, but was adopted to America. Although I am Korean, I am more a part of the American culture. It is all I have ever grown up with and it has definitely become "my culture." It has "done" all of these things that Kuma has described. This passage, and this chapter, has helped me to understand more about culture, and even though it is complex, it is a part of who I am as a person and who my students are.

Hall: Chapter 2 & 3

When Hall talked about social identity and how "our histories are defined in part by our membership in a range of social groups into which we are born such as gender, social class, religion and race," (p. 32), I couldn't help but be intrigued. As a history major in my undergrad, this sort of thing surrounded me. Everything I learned was about people coming from a certain social identity, whether the time period was the 1400s, 1800s, or present day. Every person has a social identity. You hear of the jocks, the nerds, the preps. Every person falls into a category.

However, I think that it is important to realize that no matter what social identity a person has, it can always change. Think about Abraham Lincoln. He was born a poor backwoods boy who had no real hope of doing anything grand, yet he ended up becoming president and being one of our most famous presidents! Just the same, each of our students will have their own social identity and I believe that it is important for us as teachers to not just lump our students into a category, but to really see them for who they are. Each student has something special to offer and it is our job to help that student feel important and like he can achieve anything.