C136 (Book Club): Reshaping the Academic Mindset (pg 108-120)

​​I can’t believe that we are almost done with Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Zaretta Hammond.  This book has reaffirmed that some things I am doing are reflective of cultural responsiveness and that there are many ways that I can still grow.  As we talked about in the last episode, it’s all about having a balanced academic mindset.  We know that tasks may be challenging, but with time and practice, we still attempt them with a belief that we can do it. This is a game changer for those tough times. 

​Hammond begins by stating, “Our job is to get students to recognize that putting forth the effort is worth the work.”  I don’t know about you, but I’ve had plenty of learners who just would not put in the effort, no matter how many times I met with them or explained the positive benefits.  Before they came to me, they had already fallen into learned helplessness and I struggled to get them to trust me.  We have to be real here.  At the same time, we can’t give up on those learners.  They need people like us more than the highly motivated kiddos who will go home and make a project based on their learning during the week.  These students make us feel good about our role as a teacher, but we really haven’t done much to spark them.  Let’s be honest. 

This academic mindset is hard work.  It just doesn’t pop into our minds and we tell ourselves that we will do it.  But, there are tools that are available within this chapter to help you.  Of course Zaretta would not let us down in our greatest moment of need!

Ms. Hammond created an Academic Mindset Components on page 109 that is on fire. She has four basic components. I will unpack them with her ideas, but in my own words.  

​I belong to this academic community:  this is where learners believe they belong intellectually and not just socially. This reminds me of the story I shared about Ben Carson in my last episode where he felt intellectually below his peers, so he acted like it.  Our learners will take on the roles we give them, which is why I am mostly against homogeneous groupings.  I say mostly, because there are times where we need to lean into remediation of pertinent skills and ideas that a group of learners are struggling with.  It actually helps in those situations to know that I’m not alone in not understanding this idea or skill.  But for it to be effective, the teacher needs to establish that the area of growth does not shape the whole experience of learning, because everyone has areas that they are continuously developing. 

I can succeed at this:  learners believe they can achieve something in particular and that they have the skill set to make it happen.  When I read this for the first time, my initial response was self-efficacy.  The heart of self-efficacy is the belief that I am capable and it partners with self-esteem that I am worthy enough to make it happen.  In a time where learners are just understanding who they are, we need to be putting learners into self-reflective moments where they focus on their positivity, instead of their deficiency.

My ability and competence grow with my effort:  this is embracing a growth mindset and I am just on one portion of my learning journey.  This means that we have only begun to learn and understand, so we need to be patient and kind to ourselves.  As educators, we need to share with our learners our journey and the struggles that we had along the way.  This helps them to see that we are not perfect and that there is a chance for them. 

The work has value for me:  the ideas a learner is exploring has relevance to their own personal experience and knowledge.  It may not connect to the lesson objectives, but it needs to be recognized as an authentic application.  This will help learners to realize that all learning is connected to everyday life if we just look for it.  As they grow in their understanding of the world, they will see it manifest in different ways.  

Personal Connection

​As I went through this reflective practice for myself, I was instantly sent back to seventh grade.  Being shy and a selective mute, I strived to be invisible, particularly in math class.  To be honest, I stank at the subject and everyone knew it.  I just couldn’t understand the purpose of the formulas and algorithms, so I constantly felt like I was in a state of fog.  One day, a math teacher shared in front of the class, “I don’t understand why you don’t understand this, your brother had no problem.”  Just like that, I grew to hate math for the rest of my schooling career.  I avoided the subject as much as possible.  In college, I took the least amount of credits possible, because I didn’t want to be called out for being an imposter again.

​In teacher’s college, I had to face all of my fears.  I was put into a math remediation class, but this time the professor took the time to explain the rules.  All of a sudden, I could see the code that so many of my classmates in middle and high school understood.  She recognized my fears about math and gave me practical tools to attack them.  

Why did I struggle for so long in math?  The reason is addressed on page 110, which is called a negative academic mindset.  I was told by teachers that I should know this and when I didn’t measure up, I received the reward of a low grade.

​Hammond proclaims, “As culturally responsive teachers, we have to address the real root of the problem -- students’ self-doubt that leads to a negative academic mindset.  This means that as culturally responsive teachers our focus has to be on shifting mindset rather than on trying to force engagement or cajole students’ motivation.  Students have to become self-motivated.  That’s one of the hallmarks of an independent learner.”  So how do we do this exactly?

​Educator Self-Examination

Here are some possible ways to shift the mindset. 

• Help students create a counter narrative about their identity as learners.  This is all about teaching a learner how to engage in a growth mindset.  

​

• Use images, quotes, and poetry to ignite students’ imagination about what’s possible.  Consider using media that reflects the diversity of the classroom, so they can see how their culture adds to the narrative of the human story. 

​

• Notice and acknowledge students when they are acting according to the elements of the academic mindset.  Learner profile attributes and approaches to learning…use them everyday in this context. 

​

• Help students connect with their current expertise and competencies.  Sharing their skills, passions and ideas with the class. I like to do this through a success criteria. 

​

• Help students interrupt negative self-talk.  The things we tell ourselves lead to action.  Teaching students to be mindful of negative self-talk is the first step.  Providing a list of alternative statements is the next. 

I don’t know about you, but this has been a self-reflective practice.  There are many things to consider as we are trying to reinforce a positive academic mindset.  I’m open to making some changes in my practice and hope you are too. 

Hammond provides many ways to create positive academic mindsets, but it all begins with our self-examination as educators.  What might we be unknowingly doing to support the negative academic mindset?  This is where it becomes real. ​

Microaggressions: small, seemingly innocent verbal, behavioral or environmental indignities that send a hostile or derogatory message to people of color.  

What I experienced in math during middle and high school was microaggression.  I heard teachers say, “You are Asian.  They are known for being super smart.  Why aren’t you?”  I internalized this as You are Asian, so why aren’t you smart?  This must mean that you aren’t quite Asian enough.  This reinforced the feelings I was already experiencing with the absence of my Korean mother and the remarriage of my father to a white woman.   The sad part, I believed the message for far too long in my life, because of simple comments that were made to me in passing. 

How do microaggressions show themselves?  There are three possibilities that Hammond outlines on page 113. 

Microassaults:  this is the misuse of power and privilege in subtle ways to create different outcomes of children of color.  

• How might this look: different punishments are issued for the same infraction, based on ethnicity or race.  To be honest, I’ve seen this in school’s.  A teacher makes a mistake and is written up by the principal on their record.  A peer of a different ethnicity, one that is usually the same as the principal, does not receive the same punishment.  This creates an imbalance of power within a school and one can feel powerless. 

Microinsults:  this is being insensitive to culturally or linguistically diverse students and trivializing their racial or cultural identity.

• How might this look:  a child has a name that is difficult to pronounce, so the teacher shortens it or continues to pronounce it incorrectly.  I am always trying to learn people’s names within workshops.  It’s not easy, but there is a new invention called YouTube that has pronunciation tools that will help you to say it correctly.  A name matters, because it’s the first gift a parent bestows on their child.  Let’s use them wisely. I’m passionate about this topic and actually wrote an entire episode about it. Yes, I’m that much of a nerd. Do I make mistakes with pronunciation?  All the time.  The key is to learn how to say it correctly to affirm to the child that their identity, culture, and heritage matters. 

Microinvalidations: these are actions that negate or nullify a person of color’s experiences or realities.  This can also be expressed when we don’t want to recognize that structural racialization or implicit bias exists. 
​

• How might this look:  growing up in the 1990’s, I heard a lot of people say they were color blind, because they only saw the human race.  This is a microinvalidation, because it invalidates the nuisances of cultures and the richness of their traditions, heritage, oral traditions, beliefs and values, norms, and so much more.  Instead of being color blind, we need to focus on being color rich.  It’s all about seeing the beauty of all races and ethnicities, not just our own. 

How do we change the narrative? 

​Microaggression is real.  It’s not a thing made up of people of color.  You can see it all around you. It shapes: 

• Teacher and learner interactions
• Peer to peer collaboration
• Individual connectedness
• Parent involvement

​
Hammond provides some strategies from pages 115-119.  Before we delve into some of the ideas, I want to loop back to prior learning.  This chapter is all about international mindedness.  If we are truly international minded, we cannot engage in microaggression.  The two cannot work together, because they are opposite behavior outcomes.  Enough said. ​