I'm Not a Blank Slate...and Neither Are Our Students

I now have an inkling of what our Hispanic students must feel when they are treated as if they are "blank slates."

Even though I have lived 60 years, taught for 25+ years, interacted with Hispanic people, and have done in depth studying and researching by reading thousands of books and articles as well as attending state and national conferences and seeking advice from nationally known experts in the field the last 8 1/2 years, one of my doctoral professors said to me during one of our meetings that they were going to now help me connect my passion with knowledge.

Then in response to an email I sent this same professor, he responded by saying, "You discovered just what I thought would. Several major factors which contribute to increased achievement among Hispanic students. Good work. These four factors could serve as the organizing framework for your review of literature. Now, what do you do with them. Some suggestions. Which factors are most effective? Is it possible from the literature on them to determine which ones are more effective than others. Which ones are more important than others? Is there a synergy created when one or more factors are used together? And, it may just be that we need all four present because without all four then our efforts will not result in much. So now the real fun begins as you begin to create your own policy recommendation. It may just be that there are more than four factors and that you know what one or more of these factors might be. You are on the just the right track. I look forward to seeing a draft of your work"

What this professor didn't realize is that I already knew about all these other factors and even knew who the majority of the researchers were who were connected to each of the factors.

I truly admire this professor and appreciate his support so I wasn't offended by his comments, but his comments did cause me to ponder on what it means to be treated as if one is a blank slate and when everything you are bringing to the table is treated as if it has no validity.

We must realize that our Hispanic learners aren't coming to us as blank slates or empty vessels that need to be filled. If we can't tap into the richness of what they are bringing to the table, we will do a much better job of serving them and helping to close the achievement gap (s).