Antiracist Work

Supporting Students Who Fear They Don’t Belong

​In this article in Education Week, Greg Walton (Stanford University) says that in middle and high schools, when students feel they don’t belong, their attendance, behavior, and grades suffer. Research evidence of this has led educators to frequently tell students, You belong! But that’s not enough, says Walton. “Simply telling students, ‘You belong!’ ignores their legitimate concerns. Worse yet, it shifts the onus to the student: We’ve assured you that you belong. If you still don’t think you belong, that’s your problem.”

This is especially true for the most vulnerable students – those who are subject to inner doubts based on their gender, race, or economic background. “These are the students who need sensitive support,” says Walton, “not glib reassurance.” He has three suggestions:

​• Acknowledge how difficult school transitions can be– forgetting locker combinations, getting lost in an unfamiliar building, not having friends, being treated unfairly, racial stereotyping. Adults need to reassure kids that being nervous is normal, and things will get better. It’s helpful for teachers to read books like First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg and confess their own back-to-school worries (and nightmares).

​• Use the curriculum to foster pride. “The fact is many students we serve have identities that cast them in pejorative terms,” says Walton, “that pose them as weak or dumb or violent and therefore as undeserving of educational opportunities.” Curriculum units, corridor displays, and auditorium performances that showcase the achievements of diverse groups can dispel these “rumors of inferiority.”

​• Find ways to emphasize growth mindset – that school isn’t all about discovering who is talented and brilliant. Fixed-mindset messages, even if they’re implicit, are “terrifying for students who face the stereotype that people like them aren’t as smart as others,” says Walton. This can happen when students hear the You below message – and then one student is praised for a spectacular piece of work. A better approach:

- Listen to students’ concerns.

- Focus on the future – the amazing things students will learn and work on together.

- Praise students for their progress on their work.

- With critical feedback, convey this message: I’m giving you this feedback because I have high standards and I know you can meet them.

“It’s not our job to tell students how they feel,” Walton concludes. “It is our job to create ways of thinking, cultures, and personal relationships that make school a place of genuine belonging for every child.”

“Stop Telling Students ‘You Belong!’” by Greg Walton in Education Week, November 17, 2021 (Vol. 41, #13, p. 20); Walton can be reached at gwalton@stanford.edu.