Blog #16 - Does location matter?

So many times you hear the statement that "It doesn't matter where you come from, but where you are going." Although the phrase does have some truth to it, where you come from does dictate your mindset and how well you receive those things/people that are different from you. I have mentioned many times the location in which I work, a low SES area where the children are raising themselves. Parental voice rarely comes into play unless there is an opportunity to cause havoc for the school or the teachers; or quite disturbingly to voice to the student what they won't accomplish in their life because the parent didn't.

As a coach I see this sad and twisted mind game on the court and field. I have students that have amazing athletic ability. . .and with a little guidance from me and additional outside help, they flourish in their first year of volleyball. So much so, high school coaches continue to watch game after game to monitor their progress, as well as offer them full summer scholarships to volleyball camps throughout the state. Over and over again, I see my students defeat themselves on the court. They are better players in everyway imaginable, but in the back of their mind somewhere they don't believe they have what it takes. I have to remind them that if they didn't high school coaches wouldn't take the time to invest in their skill. Nor with the opposing coaches come to them and ask if they would like to transfer to attend their schools. Nevertheless, they refuse to believe in themselves.

This mind set doesn't stop just in sports, but if bleeds over into academics as well. These students are quite intelligent and have 'street' sense beyond their years. But when it comes to high risk testing, no matter how they succeed on the practice exams, they never come up to their full potiential on test day. My campus has gone so far as to have a dry run of the test two months before the actual test. (the mindset to have it that early is to show the students that they have all of the skills, strategies, and knowledge to do well prior to the exam) The campus is in full testing mode and everything even the lunch procedure is drilled for the entire day. A week later everyone gets their test scores and they look awesome for the whole campus and we purposely don't grade them on a curve. Unfortunately when they take the actual exam, the scores are 10 to 15% lower than the practice exam. As teachers and administrators we walk away scratching our heads wondering what in the heck happened. The students always say the same thing, I thought I did my best or at least I tried. It is a phenomenon that throws me for a loop every year. But the saddest to this whole scenario is that the students always believe the latter score versus the earlier one no matter how many times you try to encourage them that they are better than that, they take to heart the negative; and the parents reinforces it.