BLOG #7

I can’t believe I’m sitting down writing my last blog for this course. The Lifelong Learning Processes course has both challenged and inspired me in so many ways.  While I’ve enjoyed our assigned readings and class discussions, I must say the learning process of creating and contributing to a blog for this term has been the most influential part of the class. It has been such a great learning experience reading everyone’s insightful and creative blogs. Looking back at my own blog posts I have tried to write about topics I simply wanted to learn more about or seemed relevant to my professional and personal interests. I even took the opportunity to reflect on my past experiences as a student, a proud member of a community of practice, and now given our recent discussions around identity and self-analysis, I feel compelled to reflect on how I came to be in this class.           

When I applied for the Master of Education in Lifelong Learning program my primary goal was to become a better educator in my field of diabetes education. It can be quite the challenge to motivate, inspire, and in some cases, persuade people to want to learn the knowledge and skills they need to better manage their diabetes and improve their overall health.  I believed that in pursuing my Master of Education in Lifelong Learning I would be able to learn effective teaching practices and methods that would enhance the learning experience of my clients. I was seeking practical, hands-on examples and learning opportunities that I could incorporate into my everyday practice. To be honest, I questioned whether this Master’s program was the right fit for me.  

However, when I was reading Bracher’s book, “Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation”, he introduced a chapter with a quote by Parker Palmer that really stood out for me:  

“Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”

At our next class, Dr. Plumb reiterated the meaning behind this quote and I had my A-ha moment!  Will I achieve my intended goal of becoming a better educator as a graduate of the Master of Education in Lifelong Learning program? My answer is absolutely. Without any hesitation, I believe I am where I’m supposed to be. The difference is what I believed the learning process should be versus what it needs to be. I realize now that I can only achieve my goal if I am willing to learn, understand, analyze, and apply the underlying theories and practices of lifelong learning to develop and support my own pedagogical aims and practices rooted in a deeper understanding of my own identity needs and the identity needs of my clients.  

Bracher (2006) tells us that as educators we need to be open to questioning our own identity and teaching practices to allow us to embrace alternatives that can provide important identity benefits for students while considering the fundamental aims of education. He implies the most effective way to achieve this is through “a process of self-analysis” (p. 135) proposed by Lacan.  In Chapter 10, he encourages us to engage in a form of free-writing responding to several questions, identifying who we seek recognition from, and prompting us to examine various experiences where we felt satisfaction and dissatisfaction in our teaching.

Even though I am not a teacher in the traditional sense of the word, I could easily relate my teaching experiences over the past ten years to the activities outlined in the chapter. While I can’t share all of my answers as this is a blog and not a short story, I can offer a summary of what I was able to take away from this exercise.

As a diabetes educator, the identity-bearing signifiers that are important to me would include, “intelligent”, “good listener”, “empathetic”, “non-judgemental”, “practical”, and “dedicated”. My main reason for wanting to pursue a career in diabetes education was to help people like my best friend who has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 10 years old and at a young age is already experiencing serious complications related to her diabetes. I hope that by taking the time to really listen and acknowledge the challenges people face in managing their diabetes I can use my expertise and practical nature to work collaboratively with them to develop a plan of action that not only fits clinical practice guidelines but meets their learning needs. I am reminded on a daily basis of the impact you can make in someone’s lives through their success stories and simple gestures of praise and recognition such as a hug or a sincere thank you. In my career, I am committed to being a lifelong learner, respected and reputable educator, and advocate for change in funding, program development and teaching practices.   

Everything we learn from our readings, class discussions, conversations, and blogs brings us closer to our individual and collective goals as current and future educators. I want to thank everyone for making this such a great class. I feel like I’ve gotten to know each of you through your blogs.

To the graduates….congratulations! To the rest of the class, I look forward to learning along with you in other classes. To conclude, I would like to share a quote that I will remember as I continue on my journey in the lifelong learning program:

“The only person who is educated is the one who has

learned how to learn…and change”

 -Carl Rogers

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation. New York:  Palgrave Macmillan.

                                                                                   

BLOG #6 - Exploring Our Identity

“Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.”
-Orson Scott Card

When reading Bracher’s book, Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation, you can’t help but question your own identity.  Is your identity simply who you are and what you believe yourself to be? According to Bracher (2006), identity is “the sense of oneself as a force that matters in the world that involves the experience of several distinct qualities, including continuity, consistency, agency, distinction, belonging, and meaning” (p. 6). It is believed by some psychologists that each of these qualities is the prime motivator of human behaviour and if we can only achieve some of these qualities our identity will be compromised. Bracher (2006) believes that the most basic human need that underlies all of our behaviour is maintaining one’s identity.  Our behaviour is motivated by a continuous need to verify or receive feedback that we are the type of person we believe ourselves to be. We strive for recognition by others. “The most fundamental identity need is the need for recognition; the need to have one’s being appreciated and validated” (Bracher, 2006, p. 7). If we feel that our identity is being threatened we will do everything in our power to support and protect it.

My question is, what happens when we do not get the self-verification and recognition that we need or we simply do not like who we are? Some people are stable and strong enough to reflect on their lives and identify who they are or who they want to be and make changes to support their identity needs. On the other hand, some people may become depressed, socially isolated, or in some cases even attempt to recreate their identity in hopes of receiving the recognition they desire. The latter represents a very tempting and surprisingly increasing trend in the era of social media. The concept of creating false identities to escape the reality of who we are and to become someone we would like to be is something I thought would be very interesting to discuss in my blog. I watched a movie a few months ago that represents an excellent example of this concept and how far some people will go to maintain and support this new identity.  

In the documentary-thriller, “Catfish”, love and identity become twisted across lines of the internet. This documentary from filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman follows the peculiar relationship that unfolds between Ariel’s younger brother, Nev, and a promising 8 year old artist and members of her family. 

  

Yaniv “Nev” Schulman, a 24 year old New York City photographer, receives an email one day from an 8 year old girl named Abby from Michigan. She wanted permission to paint one of his photographs that was published in a magazine. He gives his approval to paint the picture which she later sends him in the mail. She appears to be an artistic prodigy who intrigues him and he befriends Abby on Facebook. His fraternal relationship with Abby leads to a warm rapport with her mother, Angela, and he eventually becomes involved in an online relationship with Abby’s sexy older sister, Megan. The story of the film moves from Nev and Abby to the story of Nev and Megan, who he finds himself falling in love with.  They post messages to each other on Facebook, exchange intimate text messages, and talk on the phone. He is obsessed with this beautiful girl who is also a talented dancer and musician. She personifies his “dream girl” but the only problem is he has never met her.  

       So, Nev decides to travel to Michigan to meet Megan in person and this is where the story takes an unbelievable twist that borders on creepy. When he arrives at Megan’s house, he meets Angela (the mother) and Abby (the young artist) but unfortunately Angela says that Megan is not able to meet Nev because she has checked into a rehab facility. She has never mentioned any issues with drugs or alcohol and the truth quickly reveals itself.  The girl of his dreams that he was falling in love does not actually exist. Angela, does have an older daughter named Megan, but they are estranged and the Megan portrayed on Facebook is actually a model from Vancouver that Angela has never met. You would think that Nev would lash out at Angela for luring him into an online relationship full of lies and deception but instead he spends some time getting to know who the real Angela is.   

FACEBOOK MEGAN
(Megan Faccio)

THE REAL MEGAN
(Angela Wesselman)

Angela Wesselman’s true identity is revealed as a troubled housewife who spends her days caring for her two severely handicapped stepsons and her husband, Vince. She is an aspiring artist who posted her paintings online hoping for some praise and recognition of her work but instead was met with criticism. When she decided to create a new identity and post her paintings under her daughter Abby’s name she went from being considered a decent painter to an exceptionally talented painter.  However, her brief escape from reality would ultimately spiral out of control as her relationship started with Nev. She went on to create 21 online profiles of friends and relatives to complete Megan’s social circle.  To bring these personas to life, Angela assumed all of their identities posting messages on Facebook in the voice of Abby, Megan, their brother and friends, switching minute by minute.

I think Bracher would attempt to explain Angela’s behaviour by claiming that because people have different developmental experiences and endowments people have different vitality affects at the core of their identity. Angela is one of those “people that feel most alive when they are in a state of tension brought on by pressure or even danger. No matter what one’s identity-supporting vitality affects may be, every individual is constantly operating in such a way as to reproduce those affective-physiological states and their activation contours” (p. 31). In one of the final scenes of the movie, Angela’s husband Vince offers his interpretation of his wife’s behaviour through a story that gives the film its name. He claims that when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in mushy flesh in the Asian markets. Eventually, the fishermen discovered that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active. He goes on to say that “he feels people like Angela are catfish who keep us on our toes, keep you guessing, keep you thinking and fresh. And, uh, I thank God for the catfish, because we’d be droll, boring, and dull if we didn’t have someone nipping at our fin.”

While writing this blog, I found some alarming statistics about people creating false identities on Facebook. Nyberg (2010) reports that the user base of Facebook has reached a level that represents 37% of the total world population and along with this huge user base, the fake user base has risen to 27% of the total Facebook users.  What does this mean? This means for every 10 friendship requests you get, only 7 or 8 are real and the rest are fake.  While many of you are probably thinking I only add friends that I work with, know from school, socialize with, etc. there are many people in this world that use Facebook and other social media outlets such as MySpace to meet new people. To those people I ask, do you REALLY know who your friends are?   

**Even though I gave away all the spoilers for the movie. It’s still worth seeing. haha

Interview with Nev and the filmmakers on Ellen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loesprlsvng

Interview with Angela Wesselman on 20/20

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/catfishs-angela-wesselman-speaks-romance-fantasy-computer-11836656  

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity, and Social Transformation. New York:  Palgrave Macmillan.

Nyberg, S (2010). Fake accounts in Facebook – How to counter it. Retrieved March 21, 2012 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Fake-Accounts-in-Facebook—How-to-Counter-It&id=3703889

Scott, O.A. (2010, September 16). The World Where You Aren’t What You Post. The New York Times. Retrieved March 15 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/movies/17catfish.html?scp=1&sq=catfish%20movie%202010&st=cse