Empowering Student Identity in the Classroom
Somerville, MA Expanded Learning Time students dive into the topic of what makes them unique, and how to celebrate their individuality.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past January, Citizen Schools Expanded Learning Time (ELT) students at Winter Hill Community Innovation School in Somerville, MA were presented with an opportunity to not only learn about Dr. King’s legacy, but truly embrace it in unique, individual ways.
ELT Site Manager, Ariana Eggleston, introduced a student identity project with her team of Teaching Fellows (TFs) and Teaching Associates (TAs). This identity project served as a way for the students to tell their school community about themselves, without having to speak or present. Students were encouraged to think about their identities and what is important to them, such as their favorite food, where they were born and who their family members consist of.
After time to process and reflect, the TFs and TAs traced the silhouette of each student’s profile. They then gave them magazines and newspapers to look through and find visuals that symbolized their own uniqueness. Much of the media came from local ads and newspapers, allowing for them to make real connections to their own neighborhoods. Students were also encouraged to write and draw on the silhouettes as ways to be true to themselves. For many, that meant writing in their native language, drawing pictures of the countries they came from and much more.
Afterward, they continued to reflect and discussed:
What makes them an individual
How difficult or easy it was to find themselves reflected in the pieces of media
What their favorite part of creating the project was
Building off the art project, the ELT team distributed copies of Maya Angelou's “Still I Rise.” The students listened to the poem out loud and discussed what the poem meant to them individually. Ariana knew how much the students enjoyed reflection spaces, and this activity really helped tie the themes of identity and empowerment together. “The students really loved these two lessons,” said Eggleston. “They really leaned into exploring themselves as individuals and finding empowerment in their unique identities!”