It is critical, particularly with minorities, for school teams to strike a balance between cultural pride and high expectations.

Cultural pride alone is not enough. While teachers understand the disadvantaged class backgrounds of minorities, including Indigenous students. They also take this into account for the purpose of overcoming the effect of that disadvantage. They resist accommodating and accepting the effects of that disadvantage to promote each student’s potential.  

In ‘The most important reform’ (pages 53–54), Noel Pearson makes points on the appropriateness of promoting pride in specific racial identities in public life, which are abridged here:

1

Just because a problem arises on the grounds of race does not mean that the proposed solution must be on the same basis. That negative self-image with its basis in racial denigration does not mean the solution is to push the opposite, explicitly promoting a position racial identity. The solution lies in shifting that individual estimation from race to character traits.

2

The promotion of racial or ethnic pride is complicated in a multicultural society. Institutions of the state, like public schools, may not be appropriate places for the cultivation of racial esteem. It is more appropriately done within intra-group homes and communities.

3

The promotion of racial or ethnic pride may have immediate effects on individual student and group awareness, resilience and confidence, but may not be sustainable and is illusive.

4

Racial identity, no matter how confidently held, cannot guarantee success. The surest basis for esteem in education is effort and achievement. It’s not who you are or what claims you make; it’s what you do and whether you have given your best effort.