One of life’s biggest questions is…

“Who am I?” It’s one of life’s biggest questions. How much does your (or your student’s) identity matter?

“Are some students just plain impossible to change?” I hear that often. Some staff get frustrated and have resorted to name-calling kids (using words like “disrespectful” or “lazy”), and those labels can forge a harmful identity. Maybe you knew that.

What about you?

How much does your identity matter, and would you ever change it? You’re about to hear why you might want to tweak your identity for the better. Keep reading…

The Research

Is identity important to educators? You bet! Unfortunately, the lowest performing quartile of teachers (in every school district) brings the overall scores down by 10% each year (Hanushek, 2014). Unfortunately, that impacts staff, students, and leadership.

Here’s the “Identity” angle. Make a guess… what percent of those low-performing teachers (those in the bottom 25% as measured by annual student progress) would say that they are “Better than average” or even “Exceptional”? This is an important question. Why? It’s an identity question of “Who am I?” The answer is 77%, meaning that more than three-fourths of struggling teachers deny that they are struggling (Wu, Melissa, 2012). Their “identity” won’t let them admit the results.

Instead, if that same struggling staff member said, “Yeah, I know I’m not doing well. I have been thinking of working closely with a mentor this year.” you might be pretty happy. But that’s not what happens.

Let me re-state this differently: the staff who need support for change the most are also more likely to be in denial of the need for change. They fall for the “It can’t be my fault” bias effect. This bias occurs when poor performers overestimate their ability, whereas top performers make more accurate self-assessments.

You might say that at least those teachers have good self-esteem. But it’s not a good reality for our students. After all, if a teacher believes they are “above average” or “excellent,” it must (by default) mean the low scores are the kid’s fault, right? This is clearly an identity issue. The question asks, “At your core, who are you?” If the data shows that you are far less effective than your claims, maybe your identity is hurting (not helping) you.

In fact, it is their illusory identity of “excellence” that keeps them in a prison of stunted growth. Now you see how identity can help or hurt. Now you’ve learned that one’s potentially false identity may be embraced simply because it allows one to sleep better at night (“I’m a good teacher; it can’t be my fault”).

Yes, identities are important because they can help or hurt. So, what’s the point of all this? Identities are best when they’re authentic. If your description or perception of yourself is different than the data or results, it’s time to modify (hopefully temporarily) your identity until there’s a (hopefully) better match.

Is Your Identity a Defining Tool?
Identity forms and confirms the basis of our self, our worth, and our value in our community. We usually think and behave to conform to our sense of identity. Identities can define who you are: “This place is a perfect fit for me.” And identities define who you are not, “That’s something I’d never do.” At a PD, have you heard a staff member say, “I’m sure it’s a good idea; it’s just not for me.” Very unlikely for an educator to grow with THAT identity.

While identities are powerful, there are plenty of nuances to them. For example, we can accept that occasionally we may have cheated (describing an atypical action). But we’d never want to be called a cheater-the identity label (Bryan, Adams & Monin, 2013). We don’t mind losing at something now and then (an atypical result). But we’d never want to be called a loser as our identity. One more example; we might complain now and then about our lives. But who wants to be identity-labeled as a “complainer” all of the time?

In short, we all have many different types of identity; but just a few may be your “core” or “primary” identity. You may become known as “the reading expert” at school. And there are plenty of other ways that others (or yourself) may identify you (by gender, ethnicity, age, geography, etc.)

Where Does Your Identity Originate?
The short answer to the question above is “everywhere.” You are influenced everywhere you turn: your biology, affiliations, personality, friends, hobbies, and even your geographic location. Most identities gain strength over time and emerge from repeating our actions and habits. At work, there’s “identity naming” (“You’re a really good team leader.”). That’s simply reinforcement from social behaviors and the situational context. Over time, your family, friends, and colleagues may assign an identity to you. You can either dispute it or support the new identity.

How Does Your Identity Drive Behavior?
Identities are not fixed. For example, change in school-focused identities is typical and predictable over the course of the school year. Identities start strong, then weaken. That means most students have weaker academic identities by spring (Horowitz, Oyserman, Dehghani & Sorensen, 2020). While this decline is associated with declining academic trajectories, when school-focused possible identities increase, so do grades.

When kids struggle, some teachers will say to me, “What do you expect? My kids… (fill in this blank with all the issues, labels, and problems their kids have)… so you can guess there’s not much you can do about it.” The assumption here is that the identity you just spoke about (lazy, slow, poor, Latino, etc.) prevents the student from being any different or growing. You’re right about that, but is that who you want the student to grow into? Is that the future you want to happen? It turns out that the identity you help shape (that of your students or others) may be not just more critical but also more malleable than you think. How so?

While our identities can feel stable, they are actually highly sensitive to contextual cues (e.g., social pressure, deadlines, uncomfortable chairs.) In addition, an identity is more likely to matter for making critical behavioral choices (e.g., raise a hand, remain quiet and still) when circumstances are more relevant in the moment. (Oyserman, Bybee, & Terry, 2006).

In other words, if students are asked to write two brief paragraphs to their parents about their college intentions (relevant) rather than to do less relevant classwork, the motivation is salient. It is also meaningful if their behavior allows them to fit with their class teams or “win over” friends in the process. Keep the process relevant, and students will be more likely to fulfill their identity.

Practical Applications

Fortunately, you can influence your (and your student’s) identity in several ways. Here are just three of them: through your Reinforcing Actions, the careful (or careless) use of words in your Language, and the set of Rules you impose on yourself. Let’s flesh these out a bit.

1. Reinforcing Actions
When we use social influence well, it can enforce and support our identities. During or after a team meeting, one can say to their peers, “I like how you stood up for our team. You’re such a good leader.” Or, “I loved that you admitted that mistake; I struggle with trying to do that. You’re such a humble person.” In professional development, when staff identities are reinforced, there’s a robust positive after effect on clarity and confidence. (Steinert, O’Sullivan & Irby, 2019). In class, use student-to-student affirmations to reinforce identity (“You’re a hungry learner!”).

2. Personal Rules
These are made-up guidelines for yourself that are an outflow of your identity. They begin with, “Sorry, I have a rule that says…” Here are some of my own “rules” that help me and the identity it reinforces. I often say, “I have a rule that says… I limit myself to only two desserts a month (“I am a healthy eater”). If I notice I hurt someone’s feelings, I recognize it and apologize (I recognize my faults, stay humble, and correct my faults”). I follow my morning and evening fitness routines (“I am committed to health”). If I don’t exercise/workout one day, I jump in and restart the next day (“I forgive myself easily and stay the course”). When you state your own rules out loud, others understand the “why” and typically respect your choices. In the classroom, ask students to make their own list of three “rules for success” (“My rule is I finish my homework before I do gaming with my friends”).

3. Language Used
One way we lower or raise our identity is with descriptive comments. The speaker in a group can use either favorable or unfavorable comments about another’s identity. Individuals can easily infer another’s social identity (as “in-group” or as “out-group”) based on the communicator’s use of a linguistic intergroup bias (Porter, Rheinschmidt-Same & Richeson, 2016). This works both ways.

We can either call someone “confident” or “arrogant.” We can call another a “perfectionist” or a “having high standards.” One can be either “divisive” or simply “a bit provocative.” Notice how the same person can be raised up or lowered within a social group simply by word choice. Which choices will you make going forward?

Now for my biggest fear. Maybe you still use the ‘time bias.’ Many will read this newsletter and respond, “I’m just too busy; I’ve got no time for those changes to help me and my students soar like eagles.” If you feel that way, I am sorry; I have failed you. I failed to activate your choice of playing the ’long game.’ Biases are shortcuts to save time and are often about the ‘short game.’

You see, life goes by so fast that many would say, “Live in the moment, smell the roses; life is short.” And they’re right. Life is about savoring the smell of the flowers, eating a great meal, and enjoying hugs from friends and family.

But most everything in life that’s worth having over a lifetime also requires ‘the long game.’ At school, it includes building relationships and fostering cognitive capacity. At home, the list includes maintaining relationships, appreciating the daily blessings, and saving for retirement. Choose right now; have you decided on long, short, or BOTH? Then begin… right now.