Nature vs. Nurture: Why Nurture Overrides Nature in School
“Everyone was a baby in someone's arms along the lines somewhere, but sometimes kids find themselves with no arms to be held in anymore. You can only imagine what toll this takes on a child who is just trying to be a child.”
Imagine this. You're sitting in a classroom, and a teacher yells at a student for having their head down. “Please get up.” The student snaps back and says “Get the f*** out of my face.” The teacher replies by saying: “Then get out of my classroom.” In this scenario, both parties are just going back and forth, with no clarity. This might seem like a fictional moment, but this – or something like it – is a regular occurrence.
Student behavior is observed, judged, and questioned, but how often do teachers pull these students aside and question who they are, and why they are? A lot of people claim to be products of their environment. But are they? We all come from somewhere, someone. Is human development based on Nature or Nurture?
The age-old debate on Nature vs Nurture echoes through educational landscapes, with teachers emphasizing external factors on a child’s development. It’s either the foundation at home or the external influences that shape us. However, the crucial role of nurture within each student’s home often slips through everyone’s minds. The consequences of this are big. Students yearn for attention and end up seeking attention in behaviors that echo the lack of support they have at home.
Everyone was a baby in someone's arms along the lines somewhere, but sometimes kids find themselves with no arms to be held in anymore. You can only imagine what toll this takes on a child who is just trying to be a child. They are only to speak when told to do something or because they are in the wrong. The attention they don’t get at home they then seek outside, and behavior just follows.
Teachers tend to think children's behavior is because of their environment or what they do. But they don’t realize that students sometimes only do what they do because there is no set foundation at home. The role of nurture at home is essential for a teacher to understand the student's development, and it helps to bridge the gap between school work and conflicts that may arise with a student. The impact this has is great, as a lack of support at home stops a student's ability to fully engage in academic work, affecting their behavior, and success in the long run.
I got the opportunity to interview two seniors – Destiny Calderon and Tae-Vaughn Gayle – and Director Gonzalez. I spoke with Destiny first, because I have seen firsthand how Destiny can sometimes be misunderstood. “People label me with an attitude,” she told me, “but I feel like it goes with the fact that people in this generation are too sensitive.” I wanted to know how that felt for her. “People don’t care to see why I am the way I am. They don’t bother asking. You never know what's going on in someone's life.” She holds adults responsible. “They expect us to be a certain way. We are still growing and learning. It’s our time to learn but they try to protect us.”
I then interviewed Tae, as I had also seen how many adults treated him differently. “People put expectations on me and expect me to be the way they want me to be,” he said. He feels like it’s not his job to explain himself for everything. “If teachers were more intelligent they would catch on.” He then ties it right back to the topic: “Nature takes over nurture because we grow up fast and we want adults to treat us a certain way.”
Director Gonzalez sees firsthand all our students' emotions and uses her empathy to deal with the situations that come her way. “Student behavior shows there is an unmet need that they lack,” she said, “How the behavior shows up comes from many different things.” She related to the personal experience of being judged: “Very little curiosity resulted in who I was.” She feels that both nature and nurture are factors in a child’s development: “Nurture has more experience and effect on kids. Nature has a significant shift in how students act.”
I began to notice a trend. Nature seemed to be playing a role in these responses. This made me change my view a little bit. Maybe nature is the real human developer. As we spend most of our hours outside the house, either at school, work, facilities, and more, we are only bound to get influenced by the outside world. Teachers are however aware of the environment. Should they do more to support? Yes. Everyone is growing and learning daily as they navigate the currents from friends, trends, and other factors.
In a world where standards are looked at highly, it’s obvious that the pressure to fit in doesn’t stem from the desire to be a household name or a model student. It’s the same thing as a student trying to fit into the expectation a teacher has set for them, ignoring the other factors they may be trying to fit into. The journey of life goes beyond the walls of homes. Nature creeps in day by day, and it becomes everyone’s instructor. Teachers can play a role in creating an environment where a student not only shapes into the student they want to be but also learns to embrace their personal life.