Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 135

A real-life example of the startling effects of self-fulfilling prophecies can be seen in a recent study involving students and their teachers. Research revealed that African American students were more than three times as likely to be suspended or receive detention for bad behavior as were their White peers, leading the African American students to conclude that the deck was stacked against them. They lost trust in their teachers, and their negative attitudes became a self-fulfilling prophecy that continued to fuel their falling behind, acting out, and being suspended. Experimenters instituted an intervention to see if they might break the vicious cycle by teaching the teachers to empathize with their students. They had teachers read stories about how students learning to navigate the world might look like disobedience but was really the normal process of testing new identities. They taught the teachers how to build rapport. They also let them know what they and their students shared in common—even something as simple as a birthday—so that stronger relationships between teachers and students might form. They did. The change in the teachers’ understanding and knowledge led them to listen to their students rather than rush to suspend or discipline them. Students ended up earning better grades because they felt more respected and valued. They discovered that their voices mattered. The students also developed more respect for their teachers.³⁸