Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

After reading this chapter, I agreed with Vance’s opinion on students wanting to be “smart and talented, but at the same time blend in with everyone else” (71). Most students consider participating in class and raising their hand as taking a risk. Teachers should notice and support students taking these risks.
I thought this was a great point that I could relate to because I was never very comfortable raising my hand to answer a question until later on in high school. I appreciated it when teachers noticed me taking a risk by raising my hand during class, so I hope I will be able to do the same with my students. Hand raising may play a small part in classroom participation, but it is a huge effort put forth by students.