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Becoming - a Feeling Before a Result

Midterms are here and we get to pause and relax with spring break. But before the break, there is a mad dash to get everything taken care of. My students are taking their third exam right now on cognitive development and motivation. And I am almost finished reading Michele Obama's memoir, Becoming. The book is structured mostly chronologically beginning with a description of her childhood on the Southside of Chicago. She admitted that the public school teachers didn't always care and that resources at the schools were scarce at times. In hindsight, Michelle knows that she was fortunate enough to have a parent that advocated for her education and participated in the PTA. Her mother knew about the opportunities available and encouraged her academic success. Michelle described herself as an ambitious and competitive student from day one when her Kindergarten teacher tested her class on sight words. She misspelled white and demanded a retest the next day. She was determined and excelled. Her stories are intertwined with reflections on education. The following is the most memorable, as she repeats it throughout the book:


This is a quote I will make sure to include in my future lectures on the social cognitive perspective of learning because what we think and feel are shaped by others and REALLY make an impact on our behavior. The same goes for becoming. We have to feel success, self-efficacy, before we actually become successful. Above all other self-beliefs, Albert Bandura, believed that self-efficacy was the MOST important.
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