From: Annie McDevitt
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Date: 02 Nov 1996
Time: 17:24:36
In the article I read this week, "Computers and cultural diversity..", I learned about the and how children from cultural backgrounds other than white middle-class are often not challenged enough in the school setting because they are seen as less intelligent, slower than white "normal" kids. Instead of seeing their differences as a strength that other kids can learn from, they are seen as a hindrance, an obstacle that must be surmounted before they can fit into the mold of a "good student". Reading this was kind of convicting to me. I realized that when I worked with inner city kids a few summers ago, I often didn't challenge them enough. I felt like I didn't want to push them too hard or ask too much of them because it was just a summer program and they had so much going on in their lives anyway. In retrospect, I can see how detrimental that could have been. I think if we don't expect a lot from kids, they won't expect much from themselves. We shouldn't be afraid to push them or rather encourage them to go farther than they think they can. A lot of times kids, and adults for that matter, doubt their abilities and need someone to expect a lot from them and to believe that they will deliver it. Do you guys agree? Do you have ideas about how we could do this at BU?