High Achieving African American Students

Recently, the importance of interaction, in other words, teacher-student relationship in education, has been my personal theme for the course. Ryan also pointed out in his blog post that teachers’ care, their enthusiasm, and their engagement with students are important factors which contribute to African American’s academic achievement.

I read Guiffrida first, and thought about how historical and cultural background can influence students’ self-perspective on competence. It reminded me of City Springs, where teachers and students are fighting to change the stereotypes that Black students are not as smart or as rich as White students. In a sense, skin color is acting as a symbol which indicates what kind of student he or she is. African American students were born into the society, where socially constructed norm was that stereotype, so they learnt to be treated differently (Vygotsky) but opposing it at the same time. Most African American students in the study also wanted to be treated in the same way as White students. However, some African American faculty treated African American students differently (in terms of work load, the quality of interaction etc.), emphasizing this difference. This approach caused both positive and negative outcomes for students: some appreciated that they were held high expectation, whereas others did not want such special attention.

Major findings from Guiffrida’s study was that African American students wanted to connect with African American teachers more, and that African American teachers tended to practice “othermothering” more. When faculty shows extensive care for students, students sense that the teacher cares for them, and that they mean it. I think African American students felt closer to faculty in the same race because they shared the same cultural and historical background. Hence, the practice of “othermothing” also occurred frequently. However, I am not saying that “othermothing” cannot happen without shared background. The commonness can enhance the intimacy between people so it is more likely that African American students feel closer to the faculty in the same race. In both Guiffrida and Wiggan’s study, students expressed that teachers’ engagement with the students was important factor for their academic achievement.

Reading Wiggan’s article, I couldn’t find any difference between what White students want for their education and what African American students want for theirs. Students stated the contributing factors to their high school success as: 1) teacher practice; 2) extra-curricular activities; and 3) scholarships as an incentive. From these two studies, I thought that all students, regardless of race and ethnicity, need care and the trust from the teacher that they are capable. Hence, I feel teachers’ quality is essential in education, as well as students’ enthusiasm in learning.