Believe in your abilities: Professor encourages success among black students
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Professor Reuben Brock, third-year doctoral student in counseling psychology at West Virginia University, speaks to students at California University on the topic of self efficacy and how it effects black students.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Professor Reuben Brock, third-year doctoral student in counseling psychology at West Virginia University, speaks to students at California University on the topic of “self efficacy” and how it effects black students.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Jessica Laguerre, 19, center, an International Studies and Sociology student at California University, poses a question to Professor Reuben Brock.
How does it happen that someone who should have failed, doesn’t?
Rueben Brock, an adjunct professor at California University of Pennsylvania and a doctoral psychology candidate at West Virginia University, is defying the odds and challenging young black students to do the same.
“From a statistical standpoint, I shouldn’t be standing here,” Brock told a group of people gathered for his discussion “Black Student Success in Higher Education,” one of several events scheduled on the Cal U campus as part of Black History Month.
Brock, the author of “A Young Man’s Wisdom,” was only seven years old when his father committed suicide. He grew up in Pittsburgh with his mother and four siblings.
“I had to figure out other ways. I did this whole ‘man thing’ piecemeal. I had to piece it together on my own. Now I am teaching my son to be a man,” said Brock, 38.
Brock shares his recipe for success with black students in a message that transcends race.
Through his research and own personal journey, Brock has discovered that self efficacy or a person’s belief in their own abilities to accomplish something, a theory proposed by psychologist Albert Bandura, is the best formula for success.
The sources for self efficacy Brock cites are personal performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, social persuasion and physiological state or how you feel at any moment.
“Every time you have a minor success it teaches you something about you,” Brock said.
In society many black youths feel their only avenues to success are as an athlete or a rapper, and the media often portrays young African Americans in a negative light, which does little to encourage black students to aim higher.
“We never consider anything else, because that’s what we are told,” said Brock.
Enter self efficacy.
“If someone is more confident in their ability to do a thing, they are more likely to be able to do it,” he said.
Brock encourages black youth to gravitate toward fields of study not traditional for students of color, including medicine, engineering and science and to let neither race or racism be a deterrent.
“By living as a black person you experience racism, but, regardless of what you see as a member of the black race, your own believes in your own ability to determine success,” said Brock.
Brock doesn’t talk about changing communities but rather strengthening individual environments through family and community.
He said many black students seeking higher education are first generation and, therefore, feel alone. He said an open dialogue between the student and their family will help encourage family involvement. In addition, Brock said, if it’s difficult to find that familial support, then seek help through mentoring from a neighbor, church member or friend.
“Just feeling like you’re not on an island would be helpful,” said Brock.
The mentor-student relationship is crucial, which is why Brock as an educator incorporates his theories for success into his discussions and into his work as a counselor. He stresses that finding and spending time with a mentor changes lives.
“All of the obstacles you are about to hit, [the mentor] has hit them.”
Hands-on learning is the final piece of Brock’s educational model. Being involved in the field of study or trade as much as possible will allow the student to grow and learn through life experience.
Brock also reaches out to educators, challenging them to give students the tools necessary to succeed, including creating a comfortable learning environment; using accurate, appropriate and positive feedback that both criticizes and challenges; encouraging and engaging family and community; creating a diverse and active learning environment; and, above all, seeking opportunities to mentor.
“If you want to see students succeed, you have to be available to them,” said Brock. “That’s the extra mile we have to go for success.”
A 19-year-old student asked Brock’s advice for encouraging her 14-year-old brother to think about his future.
“He’s stuck on being an athlete. How do I convince him or push him to do other things?” asked Jessica Laguere, an International Studies and Sociology student at Cal U.
Brock said it’s important to strike a delicate balance and never give up or “foreclose on a goal.”
“You don’t want him to give up on being a doctor or an athlete. Don’t discourage him, but open his mind to other challenges — the transferable skills you give him are better for his success,” he said.
Brock stresses there is just one thing keeping black students from success.
“Self efficacy. We need black students to believe in their abilities.”