of these pieces of information is overtly present in the surface structure of
the sentence. The sentence does not say, “Even Richard, who is not too
bright a student, could pass that course, which is a cinch!” The implicit
meaning or presupposition, however, is blatant (Elgin, 1980).
Over time, these kinds of messages seep into children’s awareness.
Usually the children are unaware that such verbal violence is being used
against them, but they feel hurt or insulted in response to language that
may sound, on the surface, like a compliment. Interestingly, people
behave in response to others’ perceptions of them: they behave as if they
are expected to behave that way. Over time, negative presuppositions
accumulate, and they influence students’ poor self-esteem and negative
self-concepts as thinkers. Negative behavior follows.
Using positive presuppositions is possible. Teachers can purposely
select language to convey a positive self-concept as a thinker: “As you plan
your project, what criteria for your research report will you keep in mind?”
Notice the positive presuppositions: that you are planning, that you know
the criteria for the research report, that you can keep them in your mind,
and that you can apply them as you work.
Te a c h e r s n e v e r p u r p o s e l y s e t o u t t o d e p r e c a t e a s t u d e n t ’s s e l f - e s t e e m.
These negative presuppositions, however, may creep into the language
of classroom interaction. Teachers who speak mindful language monitor
their own words to offer positive presuppositions. Consider the following
examples:
Instead of saying... Use mindful languageby saying...
“Why did you forget to do “As you plan for your assignment,
your assignment?” what materials will you need?”
“Why don’t you like to paint?” “We need you to paint a picture to
add to our gallery.”
“Did you forget again?” “Tell us what you will do to help you
remember.”
“When will you grow up?” “As we grow older, we learn how to
solve these problems from such
experiences.”
130 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind