Purpose: This study aims to use the works of Bakhtin and theorists who further developed his ideas to show the struggle teachers go through in trying to balance different identities in the classroom and the effect of that process on student learning. Design/methodology/approach: The author-transcribed observations and interviews are analyzed using ATLAS.ti qualitative research software, and narrative vignettes are used for data representation. Findings: It gives a glimpse of the difficulty in making choices when professional identities, based on established criteria for professionalism and determining self-esteem, are at stake. The two vignettes used to represent the data blend the informative with the evocative and dramatize the readers' perception by giving voice to the participants. Originality/value: The study illustrates the importance of adapting fossilized teacher identities to the specificity of each classroom to support student learning.