I’m Going to Fail: A Cultural Study

The Student and My Puzzlement

Ramesh (all proper names are pseudonyms) is a sixteen year-old practicing Muslim student at Jackson Crest High School. Ramesh is an honor roll student and is participating in the Advanced Placement program by taking English at that level. Ramesh expresses frustration with mathematics. She has experienced a fair amount of success with math earning mostly Bs and B+s in previous years. However, her grades in mathematics are lower than the grades she earns in other courses. More disturbingly, Ramesh has a low level of confidence when preparing for formal assessments. During a recent conversation with Ramesh’s mother, I learned that Ramesh expresses a lack of confidence with mathematics at home as well. Her mother says that she encourages Ramesh to go into assessments with a more positive attitude. Although she does very well on some tests and quizzes, Ramesh does not seem able to perform on a consistent basis. Ramesh again earned a B for the first grading period even though she earned a perfect score on a quarter-ending assessment.

Unfortunately, most of Ramesh’s previous math teachers could offer little insight into her difficulties, simply stating that she “struggles” with mathematics. There must be specific reasons behind the aforementioned struggles.

Ramesh does the things necessary to succeed. I see her after school before every formal assessment to review. During each review session, she seems to know the material as well as, if not better than, her peers. Still, when it comes to taking tests, Ramesh seems to freeze. Therefore, the focus of this study will be why Ramesh does not perform as well in mathematics as she does in other classes and also why she sees the relatively high grades that she earns as failures.

School Setting

Jackson Crest High School, located in Fairfax County, Virginia, is a very diverse school with a population of approximately 2,350 students. Jackson Crest High School services a large special needs population and, as of two years ago, had the largest special education population in the state. Ethnicity is also very varied at Jackson Crest HS with an English-as-a-Second Language program (ESOL) that serves close to two-hundred students. In addition to the ESOL program, several clubs such as Young African American Achievers, the Muslim Student Association and the International Club exist to help students new to the country feel at home.

Jackson Crest HS has five major goals. These goals are to develop life long learning skills, to develop and sustain ethical behavior through the use of a comprehensive honor code, to promote the use of technology in learning, to encourage students to appreciate cultural diversity, and to encourage students to be responsible citizens.

Classroom Setting

Ramesh is a student in my first-period Algebra II class. The class consists of twenty-seven culturally diverse students mixed with a small number of special education students. The instruction in the classroom consists of a mix of lecture-style instruction and hands-on cooperative learning activities. The students are assessed on a regular basis, mostly through the use of tests and quizzes. Daily assessments also are given through the use of a variety of questioning techniques to monitor learning and provide immediate feedback to the instructor. The physical environment of the classroom is less than desirable. The room is cramped for twenty-seven students and is without outside ventilation. The lack of windows combined with a weak air conditioner/heater combine to make the classroom very warm and humid on most days. Students sit in small cooperative learning groups consisting of approximately four students per group.

What Was Known Prior to Research

Before the current school year began, I compared class rosters with a colleague. The fellow teacher saw Ramesh’s name on my roster and informed me that she struggles with math. Over the course of the previous year, Ramesh continually had to retake tests and quizzes in Geometry even though she apparently knew the material. The trend has continued this year, with Ramesh retaking several formal assessments for a better grade. Ramesh voices her frustration on a regular basis with her poor performance on assignments that affect her grade. Before tests and quizzes, Ramesh comes to see me after school to review and it is apparent that she knows the material. Typically, she takes home an extra test review to help her prepare. Some sort of change appears to occur between the moment she leaves my room the night before a test and when she enters the same classroom the next morning. Before any kind of written assessment, Ramesh makes statements such as, “I’m going to fail,” and, “I can’t do this,” despite the fact that she successfully completed similar skills less than twenty-four hours before.

Ramesh’s self-doubt is not limited to formal assessments. While she is a very active student in class, she hesitates to ask questions in front of a large group. Often, she asks questions that are not quite clear. When asked to clarify her question, Ramesh responds by saying, “Never mind, I figured it out.” However, when Ramesh asks questions in front of smaller groups, she does not hesitate to clarify her question or to ask follow-up questions.

Cultural Questions Considered

Ramesh is a second-generation immigrant of Muslim descent. She moved to her current home shortly before her eighth grade year. While there are many cultural questions to consider, I believe that two of them may offer some insight as to why Ramesh struggles with mathematics and, more specifically, her confidence in her ability to perform well in math classes.

The Cultural Inquiry Process (CIP) web site (Jacob, 1999) states CIP question 3.3.1 as “How might mismatches between a student’s or group’s interactional styles and those of the school be contributing to the puzzling situation?” Initially, before conducting any data collection, I surmised that being of Muslim descent, Ramesh comes from a society that does not encourage women to be as independent as they are in the European American culture. In very conservative Muslim societies, women are not encouraged to speak their minds and they are not expected to be as educated as the males. While Ramesh does not come from an extremely conservative household, some of the beliefs ingrained in the Muslim culture may bleed through. Because women do not interact with men as much as they do with women within social settings, is there an issue with Ramesh communicating with me in front of others? However, after several informal discussions with Ramesh and a brief conversation with her mother, I quickly realized that this was not the case in their household. In fact, Ramesh is encouraged just as much as, if not more than, her brother when it comes to academics. I’ve also noticed that as the year has progressed, Ramesh is more comfortable around her classmates and me and does not hesitate to participate in the large group any more.

After further consideration, I realized that there might be other factors at work. Specifically, I started to wonder if there was a mismatch between the curriculum at Ramesh’s previous school in New York and the one that she attends now. In terms of the CIP process, Question 3.1 (“How might your beliefs or values or those of other educators be contributing to the puzzling situation?”) or Question 3.2 (“How might the school’s culture[s] be contributing to the puzzling situation?”) might be relevant (Jacob, 1999). Ramesh obtained much of her education in a school district other than the one she currently attends. Are there differences in the beliefs of the two school systems? Phelan, Davidson, and Yu (1998) call the differences in the curriculum between the two school systems structural borders. These structural borders are described as pieces of the school setting which inhibit a student’s ability to achieve their goals. After reviewing Ramesh’s cumulative folder and having several conversations with her, I started to become convinced that there was indeed a difference between what the two school districts deemed valuable mathematical knowledge.

Data Collection

The Cultural Inquiry Process suggests that a teacher keep a personal journal to examine whether or not their beliefs are adding to the puzzlement. In this situation, I felt that the values of other educators might be contributing to the puzzlement. More specifically, I felt that the State Departments of Education of New York and Virginia were contributing to Ramesh’s frustration. While students don’t consciously accept a school system’s beliefs, if they’re exposed to it for a long period of time, a district’s curriculum may, in fact, be accepted as important to a student. In addition, simply by accepting a contract from a locality, teachers, myself included, agree to teach according to that jurisdiction’s standards.

In order to see if in fact New York State’s views mathematics differently from Virginia, a closer look at each state’s standards was important. Without being able to interview Department of Education officials personally, I referred to list of New York’s standards posted on the internet (http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/guides/mst/partI2.pdf) and compared those to a list of Virginia standards already in my possession. After comparing the two sets of standards, the differences were apparent. For example, Virginia chooses to focus on Algebra I concepts at a younger age than New York, which might have led to some of the difficulties that Ramesh experienced. As far as I could ascertain, Ramesh first started voicing frustration with mathematics during her ninth grade year when she first had to take a class focusing on Algebra. In my opinion, Ramesh first felt that frustration in part because she did not have the same Algebra base knowledge that her peers did.

A review of Ramesh’s cumulative folder supports the idea that Algebra I was the first time she struggled in mathematics. In fact, it was the first time that Ramesh had earned a yearly grade lower than an A. While the fact that Ramesh earned a lower grade in mathematics is interesting, I didn’t feel like it was positive proof that the different curriculums were the true reason that Ramesh was struggling. A closer look at Ramesh’s other grades from her freshman year of high school revealed a series of lower grades than she was accustomed to. Because I am not as well educated in the sciences, history, and English, I was unable to compare the two state’s standards for those subjects. Regardless, intuition tells me that these subjects would be easier to catch up in compared to the linear nature of mathematics, where previous knowledge is required to learn new skills. In support of that idea, Ramesh’s grades in classes other than mathematics have returned to the levels she experienced in New York, namely As.

Finally, in another effort to determine whether or not the culture of the two school systems was contributing to the puzzlement, I had a series of informal conversations with the student. Several additional questions came to mind through these chats we had, which I will soon address, but the most important conclusion I came to was that Ramesh’s troubles with mathematics started with her new school in the eighth grade. Ramesh frequently expressed the fact that some of the lessons we addressed in class seemed old-hat to some student’s while they seemed completely foreign to her. For example, a conversation that I had with the class early in the year focusing on the very fundamental algebraic concept of linear equations was hard for Ramesh to follow. The students in Virginia focus on that concept for up to two years in preparation for Algebra I, while Ramesh had only experienced that topic during her ninth grade year.

Other questions related to how my beliefs contributed to the situation arose during my conversations with Ramesh. The puzzlement I originally stated dealt with Ramesh’s lack of self-confidence. Through the process of reflection, I suddenly realized that Ramesh and I have different definitions of success. I view success as working as hard as one can and being satisfied with the result, or in a school setting the grade. I view a B+ and B to be very admirable grades if a student has worked as hard as he or she can to achieve that grade. On the contrary, Ramesh sees success in school as being at the top of her class. That is, if Ramesh does not receive an A, she has failed. In this sense, Ramesh appears to be a bit of a perfectionist. According to Accordino, Accordino, and Slaney (2000), when perfectionists do not achieve what they set out to do, self-criticism might be a side effect. Because Ramesh has a different view of success than I do, I might actually be forming a disconnect between the two of us by telling her that a B is okay. In fact, if I can help Ramesh achieve her goal of earning the highest mark possible, instead of being content with Ramesh achieving my goal of working hard, then her self-esteem should improve (Smith, Sapp, Farrell & Johnson, 1998).

Interventions and Monitoring

Now that I have an idea as to why Ramesh does not seem to be able to achieve the goals she sets for herself several interventions can be put into place. First and foremost, Ramesh needs to be made aware of the difference in beliefs of the decision makers of New York and Virginia. Second, after becoming aware of the difference in our definitions of success, I need to realign my beliefs in line with Ramesh’s to help her achieve her goals. Third, Ramesh needs minor remediation to fill in the gaps created by her relocation before the eighth grade.

By making Ramesh aware of the differences between the only two jurisdictions in which she has ever been educated, I hope that she will reach the conclusion that she is not lacking intelligence but rather lacking skills. Awareness of what Virginia students learned while she lived in New York will help the two of us pinpoint the areas in which she might need extra help. Ramesh already spends a fair amount of time after school seeking assistance in preparing for formal tests and quizzes. It would not require much effort on either one of our parts to spend a couple of extra minutes in each one of these sessions reviewing what she may have missed.

Ramesh and I feel differently about success. As I stated before, she feels that success is receiving the highest grade in a class of her peers and I feel that success is about applying the maximum effort. The fact is that Ramesh’s self-esteem is tied to her goals, not mine. Therefore, I need to increase my efforts in helping Ramesh achieve her goals. Self-esteem is partly influenced by where one feels they rank when compared to a set of their peers (Street & Isaacs, 1998). If I change my belief that working hard is the only indicator of success and more carefully examine where Ramesh needs help, her definition of success might be achieved.

In addition to concentrating on the gap in Ramesh’s learning, words of encouragement also seem to make an impact with Ramesh. At the beginning of the year, Ramesh continually voiced doubt in her ability to perform. I have repeatedly encouraged Ramesh to slow down while taking tests and remember the conversations we had in class regarding the topics. Every time Ramesh does well on a particular assessment, she seems to become a little more confident. As she becomes more confident, she makes fewer and fewer disparaging remarks about herself. While it is nice to know that Ramesh is more confident in her mathematic ability, my primary concern is that she performs up to the best of her ability. I’m seeing that change as well. Ramesh earned an admirable B for the first grading period but has received nothing less than an A in the current quarter. It seems that she is starting to fulfill her goal of being at the top of the class.

Communication with Ramesh’s parents is also vital to her success. After a recent conversation with Ramesh’s mother, I saw a sudden increase in the level of Ramesh’s participation in class. The mother and I discussed the importance of the two of us reassuring Ramesh of her math skills. After I noticed the increased participation in class, I contacted Ramesh’s mother again to see if, in fact, she was encouraging Ramesh at home. Of course the mother was, and I believe that it has had an impact on Ramesh’s self-esteem.

To me, there are three true indicators of whether or not the interventions will work. First, so that I have hard evidence of change, I will keep a tally sheet recording the number of disparaging remarks Ramesh makes about herself. I have the sense that the remarks have dwindled recently, but I do not have data to support that idea. Next, I will continue to communicate with Ramesh’s parents to determine whether or not they feel that Ramesh’s attitude about her abilities has improved. Finally, I will continue to meet with Ramesh on a regular basis to assist her in her academic pursuits.

Conclusion

This study resulted in a two-pronged question. The first half of the question dealt with the disconnect between two educational jurisdictions that led to misunderstandings by a student who made the transition between them. While the void can be filled, the student’s relocation has led to more than two years of frustration. The second half of the question dealt with improving the student’s self-concept which was damaged due to perceived failures resulting from the relocation of her family. The self-esteem issue also can be solved over time with repeated positive reinforcement. In fact, the process has already begun with the first signs of repetitive success.

This was the first time that I really thought about children that transferred into my classroom from other school districts. It often seemed that the newly arrived students struggled not for just a short period of time, but usually for the rest of the year. Focusing on the situation of Ramesh, a student who has been in the school system for more than two years now, has helped me realize what a difficult transition moving can be for kids. Therefore, the first implication that this study will have on my teaching is that I need to implement a system of remediation for new students. I need to find out what those students know and don’t know. I need to know where the disconnect between their previous school system and their new school system exists.

The second direct implication to my classroom that this study has helped me realize is that my values are not necessarily the same values that my students hold. Part of this study focused on the difference between my concept of success and that of the subject. If two people can have that large of a difference in the definition of a word, there must be even larger differences when it comes to ideals, communication, and cultural influences. I need to become more aware of the thoughts and feelings of my students, in addition to becoming more aware of where they’ve come from and the influence that their culture holds over them.

Finally, an implication exists for education on a national level. Standards need to be just that. This study suggests that a student might be able to make an easier transition to a new school if standards were national. That is, design one set of standards for all fifty states. I know there will still be differences in the way that those standards are taught, but at least the subject matter will be uniform.

References

Accordino, D.B., Accordino, M.P., & Slaney, R.B., (2000). An investigation of perfectionism, mental health, achievement, and achievement motivation in adolescents. Psychology in the Schools v. 37 no. 6 (November 2000), 535-545.

Jacob, E. (1999). Cultural Inquiry Process Web Site. [Online]. http://classweb.gmu.edu/classweb/cip/

Mathematics, Science & Technology. Retreived January 17, 2003. from http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/guides/mst/partI2.pdf

Phelan, P., Davidson, A.L., & Yu, H.C. (1998). Adolescents’ worlds: Negotiating family, peers and school. New York: Teachers College Press.

Smith, C.L., Sapp, M., Farrell, W.C. Jr., & Johnson, J.H. (1998). Psychoeducational correlates of achievement for high school seniors at a private school: the relationship among locus of control, self-esteem, academic achievement, and academic self-esteem. The High School Journal, v.81 (February/March 1998), 161-166.

Street, S., Isaacs, M.L. (1998). Self-esteem: justifying its existence. Professional School Counseling v.1, 46-50.