Over the past few weeks at Reynolds I have had the opportunity to observe many students in the classroom and speak to several of them about their experiences in particular classes and about their high school experience more generally. I have been lucky enough to observe a few students in more than one class and it was this opportunity that allowed me to reflect on how students perform their identity in different spaces and with different people, as well as how students express their learning in different ways.

The student I observed is a grade 12 male who is artistically inclined and a participant in several fine art classes. The afternoon of our first meeting we were in a theatre 11/12 class and it was appeared that he was confident in himself, had a large presence and had a big personality. He quickly volunteered to be the main character in our read through of Oedipus and it was clear he was comfortable in the theatre class. However, while his confidence was admirable, he was constantly talking over other students or whispering and laughing with friends. As an observer and a participant in the activity I was annoyed by the constant interruptions and the distraction he was being for other students. I love to talk and engage in discussion so in many ways I could appreciate his will to include himself in the conversation and make his opinions known to the group or the people beside him. I also enjoy performing and could understand his excitement to have attention on him, but his over the top presence and distractions caused me to focus solely on our perceived differences. He was a loud theatre student and I thought of myself as an introverted, social studies student teacher.

The next week that I was at Reynold’s I was able to attend Brad’s English 12 class where I had the opportunity to observe this student once again. While he came in excited and chatting to his friends, when the class began it was as if I was observing a completely different student. He was engaged and actively listening to the podcast stories being shared, made few comments on what was going on in the class and assumed the role of the listener. This was fascinating to me as his overall demeanor was so different that what I had previously observed.

I was interested in what I was observing and wanted to know more about this student but it seemed intrusive to ask him personal questions about his behaviour. As I was thinking about the student, I noticed he had a large box on his desk that looked interesting. When the stories were finished and the students were given time to discuss what they had heard, I approached the student to ask about what we had heard in the podcast stories, how he had chosen to respond, and what the box was in front of him. As it turned out, the box was a brand new box of beautiful markers and he had responded to the stories by drawing images and writing brief notes to accompany his art. He had not only responded to the stories this way, but it was how he had been taking notes in all of his classes that day. His artwork was stunning and I couldn’t help but ask more questions about why he was drawing what he was. In this conversation I didn’t ask him directly about himself but the conversation about his art allowed me to better understand him as a student and what situations made him feel comfortable.

As we chatted about his notes, he told me that he often couldn’t represent his learning using words and that he was flooded with images that he felt he needed to record. As a person who always chooses to write my notes and use written word for assignments, this was fascinating to me and well beyond what I could imagine myself doing. It became clear that our ways of responding to our surroundings are different and that not everyone will always choose to express themselves using words as I do. I was able to talk to this student in a third situation and I realized that his forms of expression and reflection come through drawing, acting and playing instruments. While he was extremely articulate with his words when we spoke, there were so many other ways that he was able to express what he had been learning. Ultimately, it was in these later interactions that I realized that our perceived differences as people were more accurately differences in expression and differences in perceived places of safety. While he was clearly very comfortable in the theatre, expressing himself largely through acting, music and art, I am generally more comfortable in quiet classrooms and when I can talk or write about my thoughts.  

 In looking through his art I realized I had a lot to reflect on as a person and as a teacher. Written and oral response is my comfort zone and in thinking about how I want my students to reflect on their experiences and be assessed, my mind automatically gravitates to journals or discussion. However, this is obviously not natural or enjoyable for all students and I must realize that the arts has a huge place in every classroom. If I continue to use traditional methods that worked for me personally in the classroom I am at risk of perpetuating the notion that reading and writing is the best or only way to learn, and this is certainly not the case. As the video “Multiliteracies and technology in Diverse Contexts” states, “children are our future, therefore it is imperative for children to experience writing, visual and audio literacies at an early age”.  As teachers we must help children build each of these literacies and allow children to learn and express their ideas in the ways they feel they will experience the greatest success. By giving students the opportunity to use multiliteracies, we are providing students with a socially just environment where students can feel more comfortable expressing their understanding and who they are as people. O’Rourke reiterates these points and suggests that, “[m]ultiliteracies… acknowledge the diverse forms of literacy practice required for work and leisure, citizenship and community participation, personal growth and cultural expression” (O’Rourke, 2005) and I must remember that taking a multiliteracies approach has much more to do with just how we teach but also how we allow students to participate in the classroom and express themselves.

It is important to understand my own biases when it comes to expressing my learning but what was an even bigger take away for me from this series of observations, is that students will act differently in different environments. This is obvious in many ways but it is important as teachers to critically think about why students act in certain ways in different physical or social environments. These environments can become places of safety if students are able to express themselves as they wish and teachers are integral in creating these safe places for learning an expression. By understanding this we can better understand what motivates our students, what makes them excited, what hinders their learning and what makes them feel safe.