|
|
Posted by:
Joyce Taylor-Gibson
University
Lowell, MA
Topic:
Joyce Gibson's response
Message:
I believe teachers and other school personnel can send subtle messages to students that convey low expectations, and I also believe that these messages are rarely sent deliberately. School personnel, like the other adults in our society are subject to the messages broadcast in our world about how others are perceived, how to behave, what to buy, along with the major culprit of tradition----we always did it this way! In other words, we often internalize the messages of our society, or our families, or even our own over-generalizations about our own experiences, and pass them on the children. Blacks are inferior, girls are not interested in science, latchkey children have irresponsible families who cannot help them, immigrant children come from families where English is not understood, are all stereotypes or generalizations that can lead to lowering of expectations for some of our students.
Making an individual effort to understand how we may be communicating low expectations to children is one important step to ensure that we do not fall prey to sending messages that we do not consciously believe. This can be done through carefully reflecting on our behavior when working on lesson plans, examining the work of children who are performing unsatisfactorily, and whenever we get a clue from children or families or colleagues that we may be treating children differently in some consistent manner. Keeping a journal about our work and our feelings about our work is a very effective tool of self –examination on this issue. Working with one other trusted colleague, mentor teacher, team leader to address concerns, or to do some reading and reflection to prevent such messages are two other ways to work on cultivating a habit of conveying high expectations for all children.
Peggy McIntosh, Beverly Daniels Tatum, Ray Rist, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Martin Haberman, and others have written beautifully about these issues.
To reply, please first log into The Knowledge Loom
Back Return to the Forum
|
|
1482
1470
