Though our intentions our good, we higher education professionals at times operate within the deficit model. Perhaps unaware, we use language such as low-income students, disability, non-traditional, and so on. Without thinking about it, we design programs to address academic deficiencies and to mitigate socioeconomic factors and to serve at-risk students. And in the assessment of our own contributions, we sometimes assume that we are doing pretty good if we can get a fair amount of our students to succeed, since they come to us with so many obstacles and challenges.
No doubt, there are circumstances and realities that disproportionately impact each of our life histories and trajectories. It is unfair to assume that we are all dealt the same hand in life, that somehow if we just work hard enough, we can pull ourselves up by the boot straps. Certainly our role as an institution of educational access and opportunity is to work closely with those seeking to change their stars despite the challenges life has afforded them. But that does not mean that we define our students' future by looking into their past.
It is time to drop the deficit.
Let's take TRIO Student Support Services as an example. A description of our program using deficit language: TRIO SSS serves low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in order to increase the graduation and transfer rates of disadvantaged populations. Compare that to a description of our program using strengths language: TRIO SSS partners with students overcoming obstacles to higher education - such as limited income, first generation to attend college, or need for accessibility services - in order to achieve their high goals of graduation and transfer.
The language and thought models that we use have a huge impact on the climate of our programming and the energy of our students and staff. These impact how our students view themselves and how they construct their place in the world.
And so, TRIO SSS is a student development program involving a community of resourceful, creative, motivated, and committed students; the fact that our students have made it to CCD - given the cards many have been dealt - is nothing short of inspiring! We expect our students to work hard, to utilize a student support network, and to continually develop their potential. "Good enough" is not good enough for our students.
