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When I wrote my educational biography, I chose to write about my experiences as an ESL student and my suspicion that it may have contributed to my loss of my native language. I wasn't planning to write about it initially, in fact, I think I was just frustrated at the moment. I'm convinced I'm having an identity crisis. I reflected on my experiences with assimilation into American culture despite being born as a U.S. citizen. I also ended up talking about the racial makeup of my high school, how it affected my own education, and I'm starting to realize how different it was there from how it is here now. Until this essay I hadn't really realized how many sacrifices my parents have made in order for me to receive a good education.

Hello.  My name is Shannon Yaeger and I am a junior at Bryn Mawr who is majoring in English Literature and considering a minor in gender studies.  In thinking about the 5 P's in the title of this class, three which I most drawn to are play, potential, and performative.  I think these three words are interlocked for me when I consider gender and sexuality, and the ways in which our social conceptions of them are changing.  We all start out with playing at our own genders, both as children modeling what we see in adults, and then as adults who are trying to find their place on the spectrums of gender and sexuality.  Similarly, I think that most expressions of gender are largely performative as our expression of our genders are displayed through action.

Hi.  My name is Ann, and I'm a junior at Haverford.  I'm a Biology major, but I'm minoring in Gen/Sex.  I wasn't really sure what to write about for this post until I delved back into Queer Theory, Gender Theory.  It's an interesting and readable text, but one thing that bothers me is the author's obvious, slanted perspective.  Riki Wilchins frequently makes cynical observations about feminism and the lack of care that the discipline has toward other advocate groups.  Her statements could be true (I suppose I don't know enough about the history of feminism to deny her claims), but her repeated hammering in of the fact that feminists aren't supportive enough of gender rights makes me feel like I'm not reading a very balanced account.

For my educational autobiography, I chose to focus on an individual who has largely shaped my education and the person I am today, rather than an experience in my educational history. I think that I chose this particular topic because I strongly believe that we are largely shaped not only by significant experiences, but also by those people that we meet and have the privilege of knowing in our day-to-day lives. I chose to write about a former teacher who certainly did have a profound influence on me, yet there were many other people that I could have written about as well. Most of these other significant individuals are not teachers in the formal sense of the word, but still they have taught me many life lessons, and I wish I could have written about all of them.

Hi all! My name is Sara, and I’m a junior Psychology major at Haverford. I am also a Gen/Sex minor who has thus far explored this very broad topic from both a psychological and an anthropological perspective, and I’m excited to continue my studies through a variety of new lenses this semester.  I think the “p” that currently intrigues me the most in our course description is “playful.” Today, so many of the topics that lie under the Gen/Sex umbrella are fraught with tension and emotion, yet we often tend to forget that sexuality is something to celebrate and enjoy. It’s reassuring to know that although we will be delving into deep issues, our class will still maintain a sense of levity and fun! 

I wasn't sure what the topic would be for my essay on my educational experience until we did a little bit of reflective writing in class on Thursday. I ended up focusing on the difference in education between myself and my cousins because I realized we really did have quite different experiences from one another (particularly because they live, literally, on the other side of the world!). It wasn't until I really began writing, though, that I understood (or at least, acknowledged) the extent of our differences. In the essay I focuses on their social education as compared to my more book-centric experience. I'm still unsure which of us found more use in what we learned.

My educational autobiography followed the support that my parents, in particular my mom, have given me throughout my life, in both academic and personal ways. Their support has made me a better student and a better person, and, after writing it, I feel exceptional gratitude towards them that I feel I may never have adequately expressed when I was at home with them. Writing it also made me think about teachers who have been similarly inspiring in my education, and about those with whom I wish I had had a better experience. I wonder whether I would be here, at Bryn Mawr, and at the educational and emotional levels that I have reacher, had I not been under the terrific tutelage of, for example, Ms. Logan, my 10th grade English teacher, who gave me equal parts caring and tough love for my extreme case of wordiness. Or, where would I be without the support of my 11th grade physics teacher, who was incredibly patient and courteous to me, despite my penchant to visit him on a weekly basis to go over tough material. It was him who gave me the courage to ask for help from my teachers when I feel as though I am drowning in the coursework, and it was him who devotedly worked through a snowstorm to help me get my college recommendations in, even as he had moved on to work in another school in the county. Overall, writing my story has reminded me of all the people to whom I owe my educational success, and of all the hugs I owe when I get home for Thanksgiving :)

While I was writing my educational autobiography, I was surprised at how hard it was for me to focus on one aspect of my education, as if my education was an accumulated product of my experiences and interactions with different people - my family, friends and classmates. In this sense, I began to view education as a shared experience that these people were participants in my development as a person and helped me find my place and role in society.

Nonetheless, I was likewise disturbed by and reminded of how deeply class relations and more specifically, the status of my classmates affected this role. For many, a big part of growing up is finding a role and trying to fit into society;however, since my parents were immigrants to this country, like Rodriguez's story, a big part of my educational experience was based on being self aware, seeking acceptance, and assimilating into a culture and community that my parents were foreign to. Thus, for me the distance from my classmates' society left me very anxious about my position in the community.