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'I think anybody can do it'

St. Petersburg Times staff writer Monique Fields talked with eight African-American students in Pinellas County about teacher and parental expectations, "acting white" and other issues related to the achievement gap. Below are excerpts from the conversation:

Is it cool to be smart?

Amber: I think it's based on your peers, your friends, the people you hang with, the people that you're influenced by, because I hang with a pretty good, you know, good crowd. If you hang with bad kids and they're like "Ah, man you're making A's. You're a nerd, whatever." It's not cool.

Anthony L.: I found out it is a cool thing. I used to be, like, about dressing, but now I'm focusing on getting my grades straight, getting my GPA up, so I can get a full scholarship.

(Two raise their hands)

Latoya: I'm not that smart.

Latoya: I'm smart, but I'm not as smart as people may think or as people who take AP classes or advanced or know what's going on at that level.

Amber: I've heard that a lot. A lot of my friends aren't in honors classes. It's not true to me. ... A lot of kids aren't smart. They can just do the work. And a lot of kids put themselves down sometimes, but I think anybody can do it, to tell you the truth. It's pretty much the same work, just at a different pace.

Aiyanna: I see it a lot. I think they have the mind-set that, "Oh, my friends think I need to be big and bad. I can do this. I can do that. I can not only get good grades but I can have my bad side, too." So they say I can do this. I can do that. I can get suspended, because they see that as a vacation anyway.

Latoya: At my school I see a lot of people being thrown in jail and different things like that for stupid reasons.

Russell: It's an attitude about class. They hate class. They just don't want to be in there. They don't want to go to school and stuff. They say, "Man I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this work." All the classes and stuff, they just want to get kicked out and get suspended.

Latoya: I think it's like that in the home, too. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes if you have a parent or have a single-parent household or, you know, you were brought up a certain way.

Samira: My mom, my whole family, they stay on me about making good grades because they want me to be better than they were and stuff like that.

Darrell: My uncle, like, if I slip up and do something wrong, he'll take something away from me like football or put me on punishment.

Anthony L.: Different. Different from the majority.

Aiyanna: I think I'm very different. I live with my grandparents. I was raised with my brother and the times I felt I couldn't go to my grandparents I had my brother, so he was like my backbone. My grandparents made sure I was always on top of things and did what I had to do.

Anthony L.: Well, I feel like being African-American, when they first look at you the first day, I think they get a picture of what you're going to be and what they expect you to do. Because of my English teacher, I got the impression that she actually felt I was not a student of higher standards in her class because I didn't really get a chance to show her who I really was the first day because that's what I usually do. But, like, she treated me with a different attitude than she treated the others, the white kids. Like when I answer a question, she's like, it's just an attitude that I can feel. Like if I get a question right, she seems more happy that I got it right or whatever, like surprised that I got it right and everything.

Anthony L.: My reaction? Ignore it. I don't speak up.

Russell: I did. I had a D on my progress report for geography. I just like failed two tests, but then I brought it up to a C, a high C. And then my teacher said good job for bringing your grade up. It was the end of the semester and stuff and we had a test that day, and she said this is going to count on your grade. I made two C's.

Russell: She seemed surprised that I had brought it up because, like, if I hadn't made 11 out of 12 on that test I probably would have gotten a lower grade.

Anthony S.: I had a teacher like that. My brother was in eighth grade last year. I guess my brother kind of messed around in this class. So I got in the same class, and he was treating me kind of different like, well, you've got to pay attention and things like this. He was kind of giving me a lecture when I didn't do anything. He didn't give everybody else a lecture.

Amber: I don't think they should judge anybody by their friends even though it is pretty hard. I know - and I'm not going to share what subject it was because she reads the newspaper - she judged me on when I first came in because I knew a certain group of people and they didn't really focus in class.

Aiyanna: At my school in the criminal justice program, I couldn't really say change anything. They can leave things just the way they are because it's like a family. It's only about 10 African-Americans in the criminal justice program but at the same time it's not really - you don't see race in the criminal justice program. It's all for one and one for all. We all get along and everything is great.

(Laughter.)

Latoya: Report card day is, like, it's an important day. My father knows about it before I do. It's like it's an important day. They want to see what you did. They got to look at your tardies. It's like, you know, they ask questions. It's like an important day to them.

Russell: If I get a D or an F, it's like TV and Nintendo are taken away. I can't go outside for a real long time or something else bad. If I get A's and B's, it's, like, they'll give me something.

Darrell: When I get my report card, my uncle waits in the living room for me. (Laughter) Even if I go in my room, he'll call me out. If I do bad, he's going to put me on punishment.

Amber: It happens everywhere. In class I interact with my teacher and they call it kissing up and sucking up and stuff like that. It's not always about black and white. Sometimes it's just about being you and wanting to make the grades so you're kissing up to your teacher. No, I want to interact with my teacher so she knows where I'm coming from, so I know what they expect out of me.

Anthony L.: My friend calls me trying to be the smartest black person in the class or whatever because I'm always trying to get the good grades in the class, not just trying come into class and copy off of anybody's else's paper. They're actually copying off of my paper when they're doing their work. That's their own fault.

Amber: Respect.

Amber: Because I want everybody to know African-Americans can make it, too. It's not just for African-Americans, I think it's also for Caucasians, too. There are many people who can't do it. I just think I can do this.