2. A Sense of Self Efficacy
Typically, children are not born with an implicit sense of their own ability. The belief that “I can!”, must be instilled, usually beginning in early childhood.
“We begin to form our sense of self-efficacy in early childhood by dealing with various experiences, tasks, and situations. However, the growth of self-efficacy does not end during youth but continues to evolve throughout life as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding.” Bandura A. Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies. Cambridge University Press.
How can African American students excel without this critical foundational component of belief in themselves? African American students hear the “No, you can’t!” message loudly and clearly at every turn, even when it is unspoken. They are negatively characterized as thugs, undesirables, and are relentlessly dehumanized. They are criticized for their taste in clothing styles, hairstyles, and music preferences. Rarely are African American students or predominantly African American school systems celebrated for academic achievement. Then, there are the microaggressions from classroom teachers, the cultural irrelevance of so-called intelligence tests–which land so many African American students in special education classes, and the dearth of positive representation in textbooks. These all contribute to the negative subliminal message that is drummed into the hearts and minds of African American students–“You’re not smart people.”
In my first teaching assignment during the early days of enforced integration, my placement–along with three other African American teachers, was in a “sundown town” (Historically, African Americans had to be sure that they were out of that town before sundown.), where black students were bused in from their neighborhood to this all-white school. The students were separated into levels 1-4, with Level 4 being the lowest academic tier. Guess who made up Level 4? You guessed correctly. I taught English. Very soon after my appointment, a delegation of parents, along with two of my teacher colleagues, approached the principal with this question: “What is she (me) doing teaching OUR children English?” True story.
In spite of the encouragement that African American students may receive from parents, other relatives, friends, and those in their social settings, it is the influence of a teacher that ultimately makes the difference as to whether an African American student thrives through the racism storm or gives up from sheer racism exhaustion.
Be “that” teacher–the one who makes the extra effort to pour into your African American students, your belief in their ability, thereby instilling into them an implicit belief in their own ability.
