Luther Tyus, graduate research assistant in the Brown School
I will never forget what my Riverview Gardens elementary principal, Denis Dorsey, told my parents. He told my parents that I wasn’t smart enough for college. I didn’t have what it took, he said.
I was in the second grade, and I had already developed a healthy dislike for school. Sure, I wasn’t a model student. I flunked the third grade, and I was suspended several times for fighting. However, despite my downfalls, I didn’t deserve to be written off. New studies suggest black students are disciplined and removed from class at a higher rate than white students, ultimately hindering the quality of their education.
For a while, I believed this principal. Although I left elementary school, I internalized someone else’s negative vision of me. Researchers have identified systematic patterns in teacher bias and expectations for black male students. Statistics suggest non-black teachers typically have lower academic expectations for their black students.
Read the full piece in the St. Louis American.
Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.