“Flipping Burgers”

Lens: Sociology of Education (Personal Reflection)

Reading this case brought up some familiar feelings because I’ve seen this scenario way too often. But it also made me uncomfortable because Kevin’s comments show how students’ background can influence expectations of them. He assumes that because the school is in an inner-city area, many students will not succeed academically. To me, this feels like a biased approach. He is judging students based on where they come from instead of their potential and what they are capable of.

What stood out to me the most was how differently Elizabeth approached the same students that Kevin did. She focused on building their confidence and giving them opportunities to succeed, rather than defining them by past grades. This shows how schools and/or one singular educator can either hold students back or help them succeed. When students constantly hear negative messages about their abilities, they will start to believe them, which is shown in the learned helplessness Elizabeth observed.

This case study made me reflect on the kind of teacher I want to be. I hope to approach students with high expectations and an open mind, recognizing that my beliefs and my actions can shape how they see themselves as learners. It reminds me that every student deserves to be given a real chance to succeed.

Implications for the classroom

In my classroom, I will recognize students who have internalized low expectations by listening to how they talk about themselves and how they approach their work. Statements like “I’m bad at this,” “I can’t do it,” or “I’ll fail anyway,” as well as behaviours such as giving up quickly, avoiding participation, or rushing through tasks, would tell me that they are already lowering their potential success because they feel like they can’t succeed. 

If I notice this, my first priority will be to create a safe and supportive environment where mistakes are seen as part of learning, rather than as something embarrassing. I recently heard a better variation of the saying, “practice makes perfect,” which is, “practice makes progress.” This is a saying I would like to emphasize and reiterate in my classroom. I would focus on praising effort, persistence, and improvement rather than getting the right answers or specific grades, because small successes can help rebuild confidence over time. By breaking tasks into smaller steps and providing clear, specific feedback, students will experience success more often. Allowing students to make revisions would remind them that learning is progressive and that students are not stuck with one result.

Building teacher-student and teacher-classroom relationships are also critical. I want students to feel seen and valued as a whole person because trust makes it easier to take risks, and taking risks allows you to grow. Most importantly, I want students to know that I believe in their ability to grow and succeed. By emphasizing that intelligence is not fixed, my goal is to help them move from “I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this yet.”

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