PJ Life Position

PJ Life Position
Patrick PJ Proctor
Northern Illinois University
3/24/2016

PJ Life Position

The world is full of human individuals who all have similar and different values, beliefs,
opinions, and, in the case of this paper, positions on different aspects of the world. In this paper,
I am going to look to elaborate on what my position on which multicultural lens I most identify
with and why I identified with this lens. Before someone, such as myself, can truly take a
position on a topic or lens, it seems that people need to be able to answer the question that
Beverly Daniel Tatum asks in the article The Complexity of Identity, Who am I (p. 6)?
Throughout this paper, you will get to see at least part of who I am.
In trying to get to know who I really am and where I am at in my point in life right now, I
would say that I fall in the position as more of a learner educator, rather than a teaching educator.
From my point of view I fall in the position of being a combination of a pluralist and critical
multiculturalism. I would even state that I am a critical learning educator at this point in my life.
I am, first, in the position of a pluralist because, as we have been discussing in class and
from how I have understood the material in those classes and readings, a pluralist is where when
is "calls for students and other individuals to develop what might be called a 'multicultural
literacy'" (pg. 16). To my understanding, this means taking into consideration and being
conscious of the language and words I choose to use in my everyday usage. A common example
is instead of saying "That's so gay," meaning to call something that is "weird" or "strange" and
using an identity in a negative capacity, I would state that I do not agree this is the best route to
go because of this and this reasons. Another example is stating, Patrick is an individual who
identifies as White, instead of saying Patrick is a White individual.
Another reason I consider myself to have the position of a pluralist because I understand
this position as a, mostly, dualistic perspective. What this means to me is that I like to make and

PJ Life Position

bring ideas to the basic and simplistic level to try and make it easier for myself to understand.
The other side of the coin of my position is also being a critical multiculturalist.
Being in the position of critical multiculturalist, self-reflection is an important piece to
deciding to be in the position I choose because, right now, there is a lot of learning and being
pushed too uncomfortable limits I have never been pushed to before. According to Kincheloe
and Steinberg (1997), individuals who are critical in their point of views have gained insight on
"how and why [their] political opinions, socio-economic class, role, religious beliefs, gender role
and racial self-image are shaped by dominant perspectives (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1997). I am
personally starting to self-reflect and think about how all my identities intersect and affect my
interactions with others.
In the end, I honestly am continuing to learn and adapt. My true position is be a
criticalitist and pluralist because everything that I have experienced and learned academically,
professionally, and personally. I am still learning and challenging myself to learn about
multiculturalism. The main position I truly have at this moment in my life is the position of selfreflection and learning. In my far past and even recently I have made mistakes in my personal
and professional life and yet I have not been able to make it a habit until this semester where it is
my goal to actually practice what I say. In the terms of multiculturalism and critical theory has
been a constant in my life. Being in this position and having the deeper ability to think critically,
is what can help me be one step closer to finding my true position in my life.

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References

Kincheloe, J.L. & Steinberg, S.R. (1997). Changing multiculturalism. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
Tatum, B. (2013). The Complexity of Identity. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda,
H. Hackman, M. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice
(3rd ed., pp. 6-9). New York, NY: Routledge.