How to Become Batman

How to Become Batman  NPR

In the podcast “How to Become Batman,” Daniel Kish argues that expectations change the way people behave and if we change our expectations, “the blind could come to see.” The podcast starts off by describing how the achievement of rats running through mazes changed based on the expectation or label that was given to them by people as “smart” or “dumb” rats. Could our thoughts regarding a rat’s ability really change how they perform? I think the same question directly relates to how we perceive our students and the expectations we set up in the classroom. The principal from the article by Noguera already had his own expectations about a boy and even mentioned his destiny was prison. How do these expectations from the principal affect the boy? As a literacy intervention teacher, I solely work with students that struggle in literacy. However, it is my job to hold high expectations for all my students in order for them to make progress and succeed. This is not the easiest task, yet I know if I lower my expectations of them, where will that get them? They will only feel less of a learner than they already might feel. It is quite a powerful gift we have as educators to set high expectations for our students and in turn get high results. I wonder how other factors like we discussed in the beginning of this course such as poverty and trauma tie into expectations. Although it is important to look at “roots,” how do our expectations change knowing a student’s hardship? How do those expectations positively or negatively impact a student’s life? Maybe understanding the “roots” is just another piece of the puzzle, however reducing expectations may severely limit a person’s ability to be successful in life.

Later in the podcast we learn about a man named Daniel Kish, who is blind but can actually “see.” Daniel’s eyes had to be removed at a young age due to eye cancer. He uses echolocation by clicking his tongue to sense what is around him. He is called Batman because he is the “man who clicks like a bat.” He is also able to ride a bike even though he is blind. Daniel thinks there is nothing amazing about himself, and it is not because he has learned to click. Daniel believes it is “because the expectations that you, or I, or all of us are carrying around in our own heads about what blind people can do are simply way too low.”

Of course we are caring human beings who want to help, however are we actually hurting the people we love by helping too much? Daniel’s mom allowed him to be extremely independent even with his challenges. She held high expectations for Daniel and let him run into poles on his bike because by doing so he would learn the pole was there next time. On the contrary, Adam was a blind man but everyone did everything for him. He never really experienced “seeing” because everyone “saw” for him. A quote that really struck me from this section of the podcast was “when you lighten someone’s load, you don’t allow them to expand.” I always thought of “lightening someone’s load” as a way to show you care and make things less of a burden for that person. The way this notion is described in this podcast really makes me think. Do I try to lighten too many of my students’ loads because I am aware of their circumstances at home? I am thinking there needs to be a balance of understanding and nurturing along with providing a great deal of independence to “expand.”

Like expectations, your identity has a lot to do with other people’s perceptions about you as well. Physically Adam and Daniel are both diagnosed blind, however are they really both blind? They were grouped together in school because of their disabilities, but did they really share the same challenges? Adam identifies himself as a blind man because that was the label given to him and other people responded to his blindness. Whereas, Daniel identifies himself as a superhero Batman. Daniel is aware of his physical blindness, however it is because of the expectations from others around him that created a change in his identity. From the article we read called Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who Are My People? Identity formation is described as “a lifelong endeavor that includes discovery of the new; recovery of the old, forgotten, or appropriated; and synthesis of new and old.” If Adam thought differently about himself and others expected more from him, could he change his identity too?

Another quote from Part 2 that I liked was “running into a pole is a drag, but never being allowed to run into a pole is a disaster.” In other words, Daniel was given opportunities like running into a pole and figuring things out, however people who never get to “run into a pole” are left without the learning experience. This quote reminds me of how some kids just get thrown into the water at a young age to learn how to swim. Was this really the best learning experience? One might think so because it conquered fears and forced the child to learn how to swim.

This podcast was really inspiring and leaves me thinking, wondering, and questioning. The judgements we make about people, the high or low expectations we have toward them, and the amount of help we give or don’t give a person really affects how a person “sees” the world. It is amazing how other people’s thoughts shape our behaviors and how we understand the world.

For more information about Daniel Kish and echolocation click here. He talks about being able to “see” as a freedom that all should have access to.