There is an important discussion in the latest episode of expediTIously with Tip T.I. Harris that I think every educator—especially those working in diverse and low-income communities—needs to hear.
In his conversation with former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, T.I and Bottoms reflect on their time as students at Douglas High School in Atlanta. They talk about a school culture where the adults expected the best of their students and created an environment where no matter where you came from, no matter what your standard of living was at the time, you still had an opportunity to thrive and to be around people who would essentially grow to become the mayors of Atlanta.
They were surrounded by people who believed in what they could become.
And that belief mattered.
They talk about the confidence their administrators and teachers instilled in them—the internal belief that they could accomplish something big. The conviction that they could be and achieve anything!
This is why our expectations for students matter so much!
We have to believe the best about our scholars before they even know how to believe it about themselves.
We cannot look at a ZIP code, a family situation, a behavior history, a test score, what a scholar is wearing, or what they may be experiencing outside our walls and decide what their future looks like
Our job is to help them see limitless possibilities.
And that cannot come only from one great teacher, one counselor, one coach, one principal. It has to be a 360-degree effort, bottom-up, top-down, side-to-side, from every direction possible!
The classroom teacher believes in them.
The counselor believes in them.
The coach believes in them.
The cafeteria worker believes in them.
The custodian believes in them.
The office staff believes in them.
The principal believes in them.
Then:
The community believes in them.
And then:
Their peers believe in each other.
Upperclassmen believe in underclassmen.
Underclassmen believe in upperclassmen.
Classmates believe in each other.
Then, the entire school community, internal and external, is communicating—We expect great things from you, and we believe you are capable of them.
When this is the most consistent and central communication, scholars begin to believe it, too.
Before we can teach scholars what they need to know, we have to help them believe in who they can become.
Believe the best in scholars
Expect the best from scholars.
Build school environments and cultures where scholars have the opportunity to become their best!
