What Breeds Belief?

Tomorrow, another math teacher and I are taking 20 kids to the American Stock Exchange. Due to some unfortunate incidents in the past, field trips at my school are limited to a maximum of 20 students, with at least two adult chaperones. So, I had the unfortunate task of choosing 10 (my half of the 20) out of the 45 ninth graders that I teach to attend the trip, based on no particular criteria.

By the time students realized, today, that some students had been chosen for this trip, and others had not, there was a very negative vibe in my period 4 class. One student continuously repeated "I can't go on the business trip because I'm not a business man." He went on to make statements such as, "It's 'cuz we're Black and Latino, that's why" and "It's 'cuz we're from the ghetto and you don't want to take us ghetto kids on a business trip".

This isn't the first time these issues have come up in class. I came right back with all the typical teacherspeak that I knew. I tried to "address" the issue of race. I tried to officially explain why I had to choose certain students. To a certain extent, this "worked".

While I know that his and other comments were meant to be less than serious, I know that there is a lot behind what he was saying. Many of my students may be 15, but they are all already aware of what you might call "society's perception" of students that look, act, and talk like they do. They will make statements about our school being a "ghetto school". Ask any one of them if they would ever want to be a teacher; the response, "No, I wouldn't want to teach kids like these." They know that the world outside of our school doesn't expect a ton from them; it doesn't really want to be near them, sees them in the subway and might be a little wary of them, too.

While I have reiterated time and time again how much I believe in my students and of all they are capable of, and many of my dedicated colleagues have done the same, incidents such as this one remind me of how powerful the opinions and expectations of "society" are. Expressed through varied and intricate channels, these expectations are a lot to combat, and can be quite defeating for educators who seek to inculcate in students a sense of hope and possibility.

All of which, believe it or not, reminds me of Barack Obama's semi-famous "race speech" from March 18. One fact only teachers will ever really know is that it's not good enough to stand in front of a segregated classroom in a segregated school and remind students to "help themselves". As Obama brilliantly noted, "embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change". While I may convince many of my students that they can do more and do better, what is the meaning of this if they do not believe that society will ever expect more of them? Or if they do not believe that society even has a place for them? Or that society wants them anywhere but the neighborhoods they now inhabit?

Perhaps the most pressing question: Do my students have any real reason to believe any of these things?