The Identity crisis

I must disagree with Erikson's translation of Identity from Jame's perspective. What James declares as being "character" should be exactly left as such. He describes that experiences, and the way one handles themselves in such situations, whether chosen of forced upon would depict one's character, not their identity.
I do believe however that identity is correctly termed by Sigmond Freud, who states identity is a common mental construction. Identity to me is a member of society that feels that they belong to a groups or multiple groups based on shared experiences and beliefs. Identity-consciousness can be a conflicted terminology because consciously being judged by others in negative terms creates an us verses them atmosphere.
The reading of Identity is relevant because as students become the age of early adolescents, they begin to create their own self identity, or at least the transition from their childhood identity to their adult one. The problem for students at this age is that they create their identities towards how others judge them rather than standing strong for their own beliefs. It may be natural to be conscious of others, but ideally breaking the status quo would create the best atmosphere. This to me could be best achieved by Ward's idea of each student proclaiming what they are not before they express who they are. Doing so could help a student realize what their self image is from others perspectives.