Do you ever have a week where there seems to be a theme? This week, I felt like my theme was this idea of perception. It got me thinking about our students and how they might perceive things. Even though it may not be a complete reality, our students, colleagues, and community perceive things about us, as educators, and our school can become falsely what they believe is the truth. I think that this is where a lot of pressure comes in for the teacher and even for leadership. How can we control what other people perceive, especially if it may not be the truth?
I am not sure that I have the answer to this question, but I have some thoughts on how we sometimes filter what we perceive. And, I believe that if we can have a monologue (or in this case maybe a soliloquy) with ourselves about how we walk up and down a ladder of perception on a daily basis than we might begin to understand how we can consider ways we deliver messages throughout the day in the classroom, the hallways, and school. Make sense? I recently watched a TED Talk by America Ferrera. She is the actress that was in the tv show Ugly Betty and Superstore. She was in the movie, which was adapted by a book, called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Her talk is titled “My Identity is a Superpower—Not an Obstacle”.
Ferrera discusses that her parents’ perception during her childhood was that her dream of being an actress would never be fulfilled because people like her were not sought after in Hollywood. As she becomes a teenager, she pursues this dream anyways and realizes that after audition and audition that casting kept asking her to be a “more authentic Latina”. She got offered roles, but they were stereotypical. Again and again, she didn’t get the bigger parts because she was told you are “too brown, too fat, too unsophisticated.”
I wonder how many of our students sense this message in the classroom. And how much are we sending out a message in the classroom based on our perception?
I don’t want to call on him because he is a know it all. Meanwhile, he has a parent who is always out of town for work and has no time to give him attention. This student just wants to be heard.
She is always late to school and is disrespectful to me and the class. Meanwhile, she is busing in from a different part of town so she can have a better education. After school, she is on the debate team and runs track. She gets home most days at 7-8:00 PM and still has to do homework and house chores. Every morning, she is up at 4:30 AM to catch the commuter bus to get to school. On the weekends, she has a part-time job. She gets tired, so her mom lets her sleep in every now again for her health and state of mind.
He is absent so many times, so I can’t keep giving him second chances. Meanwhile, he lives with a single parent who is trying to make ends meet working two jobs. In the evening, the parent cleans corporate offices. So, their child, our student, must go to work at night to help clean. Sometimes, he has to watch his little sister during the day because his aunt can’t take her. This is why he misses school most times because the family needs his help. I was sitting at a work retreat this week and one of the sessions was about building your brand. We spent some time thinking about our personal perceptions and the instructor showed us the ladder of perception and how quickly we go up it.
As we head into the summer break, let’s reflect on our messages being delivered in the classroom unwittingly or not. Think about what kind of posters and images are in your classroom. Can we find ways to show multidimensional people? Can your students see themselves in the displays, examples, and lessons?
Lastly, I heard a comedian say that we are all different but equal. We should accept it and understand it. I thought of this as a simple math equation greater than or less than. Next time we consider what we are posting in our schools or reading in the classroom, let’s consider if there is an equal mix of examples and resources that represents our students so that no one feels less valued.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
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First, thank you for the courage to address the topic of perception. This piece challenges us all to take a hard look at self and adjust our own lens. My private education was paid as a result of my Puerto Rican grandparents making great sacrifices. As an educator, counselor, public speaker, and minister it still amazes me how people react to my ability to speak intelligently. The body language communicates shock, surprise, and in some cases confusion. Perception feeding the lie that as a Latina I should not sound like that. Many times the targeted message lost because perception derailed the hearer. Let’s keep pushing and dismantling toxic perceptions!
Leticia, my friend, thank you for giving such real and raw feedback. I like “let’s keep pushing and dismantling toxic perceptions”. Keep being the example.