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Helping Students of Color Overcome Imposter Syndrome through Grit!
India White • Jun 05, 2023
Helping Students of Color Overcome Imposter Syndrome through Grit
Helping Students of Color Overcome the Imposter Syndrome through Grit
Sometimes, entering a math classroom is like going to warzone for many student of color. Students struggle with a low sense of self in math class, math anxiety, and a fear of failure. These various factors contribute to an overall sense of imposter syndrome in students of color. Imposter syndrome
is a common feeling among students, especially in math class. It is the feeling of being a fraud, despite having the necessary skills and knowledge. This feeling can be overwhelming and can lead to anxiety, stress, and even depression.
As students embrace these negative hurdles, they can feel powerless, and begin to doubt their abilities to perform as competent mathematicians. However, with the power of grit, students can overcome imposter syndrome and excel in math class. Here are seven tips to help your students overcome imposter syndrome in math class through grit:
1. Embrace the struggle
According to Angela Duckworth, a leading researcher on grit, embracing struggle is a key component of grit.
When your students encounter a difficult math problem, encourage them to not give up. Instead, teach them how to embrace the struggle and keep working on the problem until they find a solution. This will help them build resilience and develop a growth mindset. Remind them to fight the urge to be average or to coast through, and to do their best to strive at excellence!
2. Set realistic goals
Setting realistic goals is essential to overcoming imposter syndrome. Don't set students up for failure through establishing unrealistic goals. Instead, set achievable goals that will challenge them, but are still within their reach. This will help them build confidence and develop a sense of accomplishment. Follow up with students on a regular basis and provide timely feedback when needed as they progress in the classroom. As you establish goals with these students and track their progress, this will shape their optimistic attitudes towards their ability to persist in the math classroom, causing them to succeed through grit.
3. Have Students Practice Self-Compassion
In her podcast on “Building Grit through Self- Compassion”, Therapist Dr. Kristen Neff defines self-compassion as a fierce accountability that is core to one’s psychological health, seeing it as an anti-dote to “shame”. Dr. Neff outlines 3 steps to truly practice self-compassion:
Hence, self-compassion is an important aspect of grit as students thrive through productive struggle in the math classroom. When students of color make mistakes or struggle with a math problem, remind them to not beat themselves up. Instead, discuss with them how they can practice self-compassion and remind them that everyone makes mistakes and struggles at times. This will help students develop a positive attitude towards their abilities and will cultivate a strong sense of self while enhancing their math identity. Further, it will help students to achieve and not feel like they can’t DO math
because they are of a particular diverse racial or ethnic background, or because they are a first-generation learner with no mentors or leaders of diverse representation in the math space for them to look up to.
4. Seek support
Seeking support from others is an important part of overcoming imposter syndrome. Take time to talk with your math students about various concepts or problems they may struggle with. Present opportunities where they can join a study group or seek support from friends and family. This will make your students feel less alone and more confident in their abilities to conceptualize math
and have a strong math voice during learning.
5. Focus on the process
Teach your learners that focusing on the process rather than the outcome is another key component of grit. Instead of them worrying about getting the right answer, encourage students to focus on the steps they need to take to solve the problem. This will help students develop a deeper understanding of the math concepts and build their ability to perform proficiently as they tackle math problems. As students focus on the process, this will give them the skills needed to remain disciplined and resilient
while achieving proficiency in their learning.
6. Celebrate successes
Celebrating the success of your students, no matter how small, is an important part of developing grit. When students solve a difficult math problem or understand a concept that they previously struggled with, take a moment to celebrate your success. This will help your students build confidence and motivate them to keep working hard. Through celebrating successes, students will know that you believe in them and that you are cheering for them. This will cause them to develop a stronger sense of trust in you as their leader, and will create a desire in them to please you through their performance and comprehension in the math classroom.
7. Embrace failure
Embracing failure is another important aspect of grit. Tell your students, “Don't be afraid to make mistakes or fail at a math problem.” Teach them to choose to use failure as an opportunity to learn
and grow. Failure is a part of achieving success. Remind your students that practice makes perfect and that as they embrace their growth mindset, they will realize that they have similar struggles to their peers, and that everyone is simply doing their best to learn math to their maximum capacity every day.
Conclusion
As students enter the classroom with various fears, anxiety and self-doubt, choose to provide an environment of hope and cultivation of math abilities by helping them overcome the imposter syndrome. Continue to remind your learners that you believe in them. Help them through these seven tips through practicing self-compassion, focusing on the process, celebrating their success, helping them to embrace failure in a positive lens. Through this, you will convince them that are NOT
powerless in the math classroom, and that they can thrive beyond any mental or emotional limitations as they DO math!!
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