Community Resilience

Why are you sharing your positionality?

Examples

• “We will be discussing issues of x or y, and it’s important you understand what’s informed my perspective on this.”
• “I want you to know more about me and who I am, and to feel comfortable sharing the same about yourself, so we can have a learning community grounded in authentic relationships. Therefore, I’d like to share more about myself.”

Are there aspects of your identities where you’ve experienced privilege and/or marginalization? In what contexts were these experiences most salient to you? What feels most relevant to how you show up in the classroom?

Examples

You might share your sexual orientation, gender, racial/ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, developmental experiences, lived experience in education or career settings, mental health status and/or experience with disability.

How have your experiences and who you are influenced your worldview, your perspectives on subjects you’ll be discussing or your approach as an instructor or educator?

Examples

• Describe how your identities and experiences have influenced what you’ve studied, your research, your teaching focus or how you approach your work.
• Talk about how your identities and experiences have influenced your teaching philosophy and the learning community you’d like to create.

When you’re sharing your positionality, express humility and a curiosity to learn from others who have identities and lived experiences different from your own.

All of us will hold an intersection of privileged and oppressed identities.

Examples

Part of a positionality statement should include:

• An invitation for others to share
• Your genuine desire to learn from students/others who have identities and experiences that don’t align with yours