Identity Reflection

Lauren A. Farrar
National Louis University - EPS 512

1

I am a Lauren Arielle Farrar. I am 24 years of age and I was born and raised in Miami,
Florida. I am the only daughter and youngest child of my happily married parents, Joseph and
Claudette Farrar. Phillip (29) and Jordan (26) are my two older brothers. Both my immediate and
extended families are all very close. A lot of my family lives in different areas of Miami so I am
no stranger to being immersed in a variety of environments. Being raised in an urban city I was
exposed to a plethora a people, foods, languages, religions, and ideas. Those experiences, along
with familial influence, have molded me into the driven, open-minded, and conscious, woman
that I am today.
Both of my parents are educators and they have always stressed the importance of
valuing education in my home. Sometimes it wasnt the ideal situation to for my parents to be
teachers because it translated to mean that when I wasnt assigned homework, my parents found
some to give me. In addition, my parents were very proper and sometimes inhibiting. They didnt
tolerate me, my siblings, or even our friends to speak slang around the house, we had dinner
together almost every night, and my parents were extremely religious.
On the other hand, both of my parents were off for the summer and we took these
opportunities to travel across the United States. These trips always fueled my interest in how
uniquely different people and places are. Additionally, in my home extracurricular activities and
arts have always been celebrated. My brothers and I all know how to play several instruments,
and I have always been either active in some form of music, dance, or visual art. My parents
always emphasized that having diverse sets of skills make us more marketable in supporting
ourselves financially.
2

As it relates to my education, I have always considered myself to be an above average
student. I was placed in gifted program in the first grade and remained in it until it ended in 10th
grade. I absolutely loved elementary school. My elementary school was literally across the street
from my house and my brothers had attended the school previously, so many teachers were
familiar with my family. The climate was very inviting, challenging, student-centered, and
culturally diverse. Knowing the importance of hard work I always tried to go above and beyond
my teachers expectations
It wasn't until middle school that I began to notice many of the flaws in the educational
system. The horror stories my peers in mainstream classes provided me with we're very
disheartening. There were a great lack of resources and many teachers who had a nonchalant
attitude towards investing in the students. This trend continued to high school. While I continued
to perform well, I attribute it mainly to my familial support and my high school band program,
not specifically my teachers or the school culture. During 11th and 12th grade I was enrolled in
Advanced Placement and Honors courses.
After high school I attended Florida A and M University (FAMU) with a full music
scholarship and a partial academic scholarship. Considering how much emphasis was placed on
education in my home it was expected for my brothers and me to receive at least a bachelors
degree. Attending FAMU, which is a historically black university, was a life changing
experience because it challenged me to put culture into perspective. Not realizing that I had been
immersed in Eurocentric views, I was able to learn about who I am as a black woman and how
that knowledge transfers into how I see myself and how others may see me. Futhermore, I was in
a space where I was able to exchange ideas and stories with many other like-minded African
people.
3

After graduating from FAMU in December 2013, I started teaching at Myrtle Grove K-8
Center in Miami, Fl. Fortunately, my principal was one of my high school band directors which
aided the transition from student-teacher to teacher. I taught math in grades 3-7 at a Title 1
school with a 99% Black population. The school was ten minutes from my house and I assumed
that I was familiar with the area, and more specifically, the people. Surprisingly, when I began to
teach I found it so unfortunate and almost discouraging how many of my students could not read
and seemed unbothered by it. I couldnt imagine how I was going to prepare them for their state
math assessment.
In college I decided that my philosophy of education is that in my student-centered class,
it is my responsibility to accommodate the unique learning styles and needs of my diverse
students. My cultural experiences and family that inspired me incorporate my passion for the arts
in my instructional delivery and student assignments. With the increasing elimination of many
arts program in public school, I am fortunate to be able to include music, dance, art, etc. into my
classroom. By incorporating these practices I noticed my students desire to learn was
transformed we began to build greater rapports.
Prior to teaching I used to think I would become a principal. That goal has changed
tremendously since I was able to work with students. It was such an emotional rollercoaster for
me as I would watch them get frustrated when they didnt understand something, and then watch
them get ecstatic when they made gains. My plan is to remain a classroom teacher for a great
deal of time so that I am able to positively contribute to as many lives as possible and help
students to realize their boundless potential. Although I would take my students problems home
with me, and stay up late thinking how I couldve made my last lesson more effective, there
remain fewer things in life that give me more value than teaching.