Identity in the Classroom
Sewanee’s curriculum implements the liberal arts education format in a unique way that not only passes information from the teacher to the student, but explores how the lessons are relevant and important in the world outside of the gates. At Sewanee, we believe that every student has a calling to impact their community and the world around them. The Order of the Gown has an important role in making sure that students feel that they have a role and voice in the classroom because every Sewanee student has a call to action in the world, and feeling disconnected in the classroom potentially silences that call.
The Identity in the Classroom Project is led by Michaela James-Thrower '24, DEI Co-Chair. This project encompasses many other focuses of OG, including Diversity and Equity dialogues and missions of DEI Chairs, as well as production of resources for the individual student. Along with projects focused around representation of identity in the classroom, as highlighted by DEI, the committee is also working to facilitate a teacher-student liaison role, likely to be represented by the Order of the Gown President position, that would provide resources for students to be able to communicate about concerns that might be difficult to have with the teacher.
"This past semester, the Center of Teaching and the Order have continued a panel series where students are invited to comment on their identity in the classroom. This semester, we presented a panel on Blackness in the Classroom. Students were invited to share their experience while faculty were given the opportunity to listen without thoughts of judgment or guilt. I hope to continue working with the Center of Teaching to create more opportunities for students to be vulnerable and faculty to listen. I have been working with the Office of Inclusive Excellence to create a committee that upholds and maintains sense of belonging and inclusion on Sewanee’s campus. Sewanee strives to create spaces that allow students to intake and exchange knowledge without the harm that unconscious bias can do. To honor this pillar, I have been working towards creating more opportunities for students to start conversations about difference. I have been working heavily on reviving a program from Sewanee’s past where incoming students of Color are given the opportunity to be mentored by an upperclassmen student of Color. This program could be extremely beneficial as many students of Color have named their transition into Sewanee culture to be difficult. By naming this issue and directly creating a program to aid students allows for a quicker, easier, and happier transition into college."
-Mickey James-Thrower c'24
