Unpacking Our Students' Emotional Baggage for Success and High Standards

I am unapologetically an introvert by nature. I require a significant amount of quiet/alone time in order to perform at my peak. I am non-confrontational and often let things go unaddressed as I typically do not wish to “disrupt the peace”. I give you this background information to give you an idea of how significant the situation in this paper is to my heart as an educator, more specifically an educator who has first- hand knowledge of poverty as I come from it and by many standards I am still living in it.

When studying for my post graduate degree in school administration, I was the only African- American person and the only large person in my classes. These were the immediate obvious differences that existed between myself and my classmates (or as my advisor referred to us “colleagues”). Beyond the surface there were many differences that existed as well. For starters, I was the only one who worked in early childhood education, I was the only one who lived in New York City (The Bronx to be exact) and more importantly, I was the only person who could be classified as lower middle class. I often felt like an outcast in my classes, but it is what it is and it was what it was. I graduated and am now a certified School Building Leader.

There were many times when I just wanted to throw in the towel as I felt so out of place, not so much because of the race and size issue, but more so because of the differences in social class. My beliefs and ideas on appropriate educational practices were in major contrast to my colleagues even some of my professors. The differences often bothered me, but there was one time in particular when I became so disgusted and put off by a statement made by my professor, that this large, introverted, African- American woman went toe to toe with a very strong, passionate, older Caucasian PHD professor. I wrote her statement down so I am quoting almost verbatim.

“We can’t give allowances to children because they may come from disadvantaged backgrounds. We do children a disservice when we don’t place the same expectations on them as we do all children. If Johnny who comes from a 'stable' home has to do his homework so does Peter who may come from a less than stable home. We create a victim’s mentality when we coddle children because of their circumstances”. It took me a good few seconds to decide whether or not to respond to that. I was seething but I try not to respond while in a state of anger. How can we realistically place the same standards and expectations on a child whose only concern is to ensure that he/she does his/her homework and does well in school with a child whose burdens may include worrying about his/her next meal, his/her having a place to sleep at night, his/her dealing with an abusive parent, witnessing their parent being victimized just to name a few possible scenarios. I guess she sensed my agitation as she called on me for my thoughts. I looked at her and stated “with all due respect, I respectfully disagree with you”. Her eyes became as big as my body as I highly doubt that she was expecting that. I explained that I did agree with the fact that we should make things “fair” but fair does not always equate to equal. If you as a school administrator or teacher expect a child with heavy burdens to perform and produce at the same rate as a child who has the luxury of just being a child, you are setting that child up for failure. As a school administrator, if you want to increase the chances of success for all students, you need to go the extra mile and put resources and systems in place to lighten some of the burdens that some of the children are entering school with. If your idea of education is solely academia, “Johnny” from the “stable home will more than likely progress while “Peter” regresses if there isn’t someone available and willing to “unpack” some of “Peter’s” emotional baggage. Johnny will believe that his success was because of his hard work while Peter will believe that his failure was because of his inability, inferiority, and or personal failure.” She responded with a smile and said “I agree, but I also disagree”; at that point I was done. However, interestingly enough our Blackboard online assignment was to research community based organizations to develop partnerships with to provide resources to families in need.

Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by his ability to climb a tree he will spend his entire life thinking that he is stupid- Albert Einstein

As educators who wish to ensure success for all students, we have to be mindful of the burdens that some children carry into the classroom and into the school buildings. No two children are the same and with that being said, we should question our ideas regarding expectations and high standards. While I do believe in setting high standards for all students, but high standards are not uniform as all children are different. High standards for one student could be mediocre standards for another and vice versa. Being willing and able to learn your students’ needs, learning styles and even their issues that exists outside of the school is important to setting standards and expectations. I know that as educators we have heavy burdens and responsibilities placed upon us and it isn’t fair. One of the most important responsibilities that we have or should take on is to help our students “unpack” their emotional bags as it may be very difficult to educate a mind when the spirit and heart are broken.