Writing Their Future Selves: Instructional Strategies to Affirm Student Identity

Whatever subject you teach, you can encourage students’ sense of self-worth.

“I’m a bad writer” is a disclaimer every secondary teacher has heard many times. Overcoming that negative self-image, Plotinsky argues, is key to helping students build a positive academic identity—and because of the vulnerability associated with sharing what we write, the benefits of interrupting this particular form of deficit thinking extend far beyond English class.

Drawing on her years of experience as an Englis...