Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum
If we are serious about creating learning environments that foster high levels of achievement for all of our students, irrespective of race and class, we have to examine and challenge a fundamental notion central to the educational process – that is the notion of intelligence. The concept of intelligence as an inborn attribute that determines one’s capacity to learn is an idea firmly embedded in our society and our educational system. And who can question that some people seem to process information faster than others – we see evidence of that all around us everyday. I do not question that there may be individual variation in the speed of our neural synapses.

The question we might ask is “how fast is fast enough?” Psychologist Jeffrey Howard has argued that if you have learned to speak your family’s language by the age of three (a task of considerable cognitive complexity), then you have all the brain power you need to be successful in school. The key to success in school is not inborn ability, which most healthy children have, but rather effective effort produced in the context of high expectations.

The impact of teacher expectations on student performance is well-known by social scientists. Those children who have been identified as “bloomers” by their teachers do indeed blossom in the classroom. The teacher’s verbal and non-verbal communications signal to the child what her expectations are. Unfortunately the reverse is true, too.

Those who are expected to fail often do, and unfortunately our expectations about student ability and performance are sometimes shaped by stereotypes (often unconscious) linked to the student’s class or racial background. Students quickly learn what is expected of them and internalize those verbal and non-verbal messages, too often believing that their success is beyond their own control, attributing their success or failure to their own perceived intelligence or lack of it.

At Spelman College we see the power of high expectations daily in the success of our graduates. But the process of communicating high expectations must begin in early childhood if more of Georgia’s children are to be ready for higher education. As educators we can create an environment of success by establishing high standards and making clear to students what the criteria are for meeting them. We can emphasize “effective effort” as the key to success rather than “ability.” When students succeed, rather than praising perceived ability, (“You are so smart,”) both parents and teachers can commend the effort (“Congratulations, your hard work has really paid off.”)

Anything worth accomplishing in school requires effort. Emphasizing the power of effective effort rather than underscoring beliefs about ability can increase the likelihood of success for all of our children.

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D. is the President of Spelman College and the author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations about Race (Basic Books)