All posts by Natalie C Herrera

The hope in adolescence

Perspectives & History of Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

The confluence of the multiple levels of organization involved in the developmental system provide the structural and functional bases of plasticity and of the inevitable and substantively significant emergence of systematic individual differences; that is, such individuality serves as a key basis of the person’s ability to act as an agent in his or her own development (Lerner & Steinberg, 2009, p. 7).

Even though the article itself is a chronological essay on the history of adolescence development research, I decided to focus on this small quote for my MVP this week. It was refreshing to find these words of hope amidst the harsh realities most of our readings thus far have communicated: student’s misrepresented in special education classes, teachers honing preconceived notions in their classrooms, and students feeling overwhelmed by the social roles they are pressured to maintain inside and outside of the classroom.

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The fixed mindset threat

Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe, Urban Adolescents

Ogbu and Fordham argue that black students and other ‘minorities’ (e.g., Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, and others whose groups have been dominated by white European culture) come to equate academic success with “acting white.” For these researchers, such perceptions lead to the devaluation of academic pursuits and the adoption of self-defeating behaviors that inhibit possibilities for academic success (Noguera, P.A., 2008, p. 28).

The theory that students of color or minorities associate school-related success to the notion of “acting white” carries more damage than good. On the one hand, it is an explanation to the gap between students of color and white students. On the other, it threatens to encourage one of the teacher’s deadliest sins a teacher ‑ establish preconceived notions of students, in this case, students of color. Teachers who adopt this idea that students do not perform well because they do not want to betray their community and do not act upon it is the same as thinking students of color do not perform well because they are students of color.

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The unfortunate reality of limitations beyond the classroom

Culturally, Linguistically, and Socioeconomically Diverse Adolescents in Urban Contexts: Framing the Conversation

Furthermore, although it is true that building the capacity of families, schools, and communities to provide such supports is critically important, it should always be remembered that it is equally important to work toward the elimination of the broader social and structural inequities that create the context for studying resilient youth in the first place (Murray & Naranjo, 2008, p. 158).

The ending sentence in Murray & Naranjo’s (2008) article resonates a continuing conflict that I have undergone in my work as a previous tutor/mentor and as a future language teacher. There is clearly an unfortunate disparity between what a great educator can do and what the social realities of inequality can do to a student’s academic and personal integrity. Getting good grades or having a strong support system within the school, within the family, or within the community can definitely alter the path of a studying at risk youth. However, there are situations outside of these contexts (for example, SAT classes, academic trip opportunities, etc.) where an at risk student will face discrimination and/or limitations.

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