Is It Wrong To Create Higher Expectations For Students Of Color?

I just came across an article that posed the idea that by raising the expectations of students they will do better in school. If you look at the biases that enter the classroom with many teachers in communities of color as well as areas of poverty, you have to wonder what the answer to this is.

I've heard stories for over twenty years of students of color who were discouraged and blocked from obtaining something their white counterparts have ready access to - opportunity. They were told to apply to trade schools so they could 'make a living' and told they were unrealistic when they spoke of attending college. This is by their guidance counselor! I even have a friend that is extremely intelligent and talented who was told because of his height and color that he should play basketball instead of applying to college. Go figure?!

What's worse is a lot of the teachers not only have low expectations for these students, they have NO expectations. Therein lies a big problem. It's important for them to address their biases way before they enter the classroom and adjust their mindset to fit the situation.  

What do we do about teachers that enter the classrooms with these biases? According to the article,  “Teachers do have these low expectations for these types of students, and we know that these expectations are important. So what can we do to give educators both the tools that they need and the kind of culture that they need to make sure that they can reach out to these students? That they can give these students higher expectations that also then help those students reach those higher expectations?”

This is the challenge.

Read the article here:
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/10/study_raising_expectations_actually_raises_students_grades.html