Lisa Delpit’s chapter “There is no Achievement Gap at Birth” explains that “differences between [African American and European American] groups tend to even out prior to schooling. The data thus far collected indicate that African American and European American children tend to equalize abilities by about age four or five…” (5). After this age, “the trends tend to reverse” (5). This trend reversal is obvious at Northfield Middle School. The students in the “advanced” math classes are majority white. The students in the “regular” math class are majority students of color. Delpit explains in her chapter why this is the case, and she first begins by stating that this is not because African American students are inherently “less than.” The first reason Delpit gives for this disparity is because of teaching. Delpit references a study that concluded that “students who had good teachers performed fifty percentile points above those with weaker teachers!” (9). This is obvious evidence that teachers have a significant impact on how students perform.

From my time in Mrs. Talbot’s eighth-grade algebra class, I haven’t noticed her explicitly address these issues. However, it is clear that she agrees with Delpit. Mrs. Talbot knows that the students in her “regular” class are not less capable than the students in her “advanced class.” Delpit writes that where students are not performing well, it is because the teachers are not teaching; “the children are completing worksheets, answering written questions, doing seat work” (9). Mrs. Talbot gives just as much effort (and from my observations, even more effort) to her “regular” classes as her “advanced” classes. One thing I believe Mrs. Talbot could do better to conceal her frustration when she has to repeat herself in her “regular” afternoon classes. Normally, there are just a few students who are acting out and not listening. However, she addresses the whole class when she responds to the students’ misbehavior. For students who don’t need to be reminded to pay attention, I suspect it could be discouraging to be continually charged with misbehaving when their only fault is being in the same classroom as the students who are being disturbing.

Another reason Delpit gives for why African American students are not excelling is that “we have all been affected by our society’s deeply ingrained bias of equating blackness with inferiority” (9). Delpit writes that “many of our children have internalized all of the negative stereotypes inherent in our society’s views of black people” (14). I feel like it would be valuable to have intentional conversations or other strategies to dismantle these harmful internalized beliefs. I infer from the chapter that Delpit would hold that the students in Mrs. Talbot’s “advanced” class have higher beliefs in their personal self-efficacy. According to Bandura, one’s self-efficacy, or belief in their abilities to be successful in new tasks, can determine how well they will succeed in school challenges. Because African American students must overcome this additional barrier, I believe that educational systems should meet these students where they are at, rather than assuming they approach school in the same way as many white students do.

Sitting in the back of the classroom this week, I noticed how strange the school day is for children. All they do all day is sit at desks and listen to teachers. They can interact with their friends, but this is for a short time and is normally punished. When I was in secondary school, I wasn’t upset about this setup. I saw it as a challenge that I wanted to succeed in. However, from a teacher’s perspective, it seems obvious that that challenge was not a necessary one. Eighth graders have so much energy. It’s a little nutty to me that we have all agreed that it is acceptable to make them sit still all day. I think it’s important to appreciate how beneficial the American public education system has been for society in general and all the effort that has been made to get it to this place. I don’t think I know enough to propose a feasible alternative, I just am noting how counterintuitive the school day is. It seems to be the opposite of what children want. I consider my friends who were homeschooled and learned just as much as my classmates and me but spent nearly half the amount of their time “in class.” In the same way that the eight-hour workday is being challenged, can we question the nearly eight-hour school day?

Also, because the term is ending, I have been brainstorming about how to say goodbye to the students in the classroom I have been observing. I never had college students observe in my high/middle school, so I am unsure how the students feel about me. I will probably be asking my classmates how they plan to tell their students they won’t be coming back. I am working to find a balance between letting them know how much I appreciate their excitement for learning and succeeding, but I also don’t want to sound demeaning. I know this is something I want to be very thoughtful about.

• This topic was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by Angela Ellis.