Deficit Thinking In The Education System

All of humanity develops their identity at different points of their lives in a variety of ways. There are many factors that affect development such as the community one lives in and an individual’s race, gender, values and culture. If everybody develops differently why is it that some children are being denied proper education, friendships and a chance to show the world their strengths before they even step foot in a school? The answer can be found in deficit thinking in the education system. Deficit thinking assumes “at-risk” children such as children coming from poverty, a different race, or children with mental or behavioral issues are not as ready for school as a child coming from less obstacles. If children are seen as “at-risk” they …show more content…
In society we know that every person is unique and will go about life differently than any other person. Reading groups in schools do not always remember this about children. Often time’s teachers will briefly assess the child’s reading level at the beginning of the year and place the children into groups based on their findings. The issue with this is that the children will quickly learn which group has the best readers and which group has the readers that struggle. Commonly the children in the group that struggle will be labelled with a reading disability. Not only do the children get categorized by the school system they also get separated from their peers because they are different. Resiliency is about teaching children that while they may not be the best at reading they are still good at many other things and they should not let a “learning disability” become their identity. To create a more resilient environment for the students a teacher could have mixed reading groups so children of all reading levels can aid one another in building on their strengths and working on their weaknesses together. The teacher could also offer every child one on one time to better assist them at whatever level they may be at. By the teacher taking every child aside to work it shows the children that everybody has things they need to work on and nobody is “different” compared to the rest …show more content…
When emphasis is put on dysfunction, it tends to become that person’s identity. That is how they view themselves and that is how others view them. A child can go from Jenny the girl that is good at tag and shared her cookie at lunch to Jenny the girl who cannot read all in one afternoon. It is important to model and teach resiliency to children so that they can learn that they are so much more than where they live, the color of their skin, how many words per minute they can read or how many laps they can run. Children need to learn that they can do anything they set their minds to and they can overcome any hurdle that they may face. Focusing on the flaws of a child can leave them feeling inadequate and can single them out. Instead, teachers should be giving the children the tools they need to become successful, resilient members of society. If a person feels good about themselves and their lives, they will do