"If we are to be responsive to the special demands and great opportunities of our nation's pluralistic makeup, we should develop a teaching force that is diverse...Children need role models- they need to see themselves in the faces of their teachers" (Clinton 19).
Page by: Victoria Gnat
The lack of ethnically diverse teachers in today's educational systems has a great impact on students of color because minority teachers have the ability to serve as role models and better relate to their ethnically diverse students. As a result of sharing a similar culture and experiences, minority teachers are uniquely placed in a position to teach minority students. This improves the learning environment as well as increases a student’s self-confidence. Thomas Bochnak, a social science teacher at Jones College Prep High School writes, “ I struggle to connect with students from different ethnic backgrounds… A student is more apt to trust me if we share similar experiences. If I did not rise up from poverty, how could I tell my own students that they could do it. I don't fully understand their situations”. Since many racially diverse students come from distressed economic backgrounds, having successful adults that are culturally alike in their communities positively affects young adults. Many students seek role models who can understand their conflicts and provide helpful advice. April Reese Sorrow writes, “Both male and female students would ask for advice on premarital sex, how to treat a girlfriend or boyfriend and about parenting” (2). According to research by Wilkens, ethnically diverse students tend to request consultation regarding to non-educational matters. Research also shows that African-american teachers decrease African-American teenage pregnancy rates.
If educational institutions have diversified populations in the teaching force, stereotypes and racism can decrease stupendously. White students can learn that “adults of racial/ethnic minority backgrounds are responsible and contributing members of society” (Villegas, Strom, Lucas 286). Walters argues that “daily interactions with teachers of color could potentially dispel myths of racial inferiority that white students might have internalized about people of color from their socialization outside school” (358-367). Stereotypes cause many teachers to expect more from Asian and White students than from African-American and Latino students. Research shows that “teachers’ lower expectations towards ethnic minority students may discourage them to take more rigorous courses… students not exposed to rigorous course work tend not to perform as well in school as those with such exposure” (Haycock 1). Creating multicultural classrooms is an increasing priority in today’s educational institutions. By encouraging careers in education and improvement to the hiring process of schools, students will be more likely to succeed in the future and end the corrupt cycle of achievement gaps.
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The shortage of racially diverse teachers also affects the future of many ethnic minority students. As reported by Freakonomics, the minority achievement gap shrinks in a class that is taught by a minority instructor. The author writes, “While minority students are overall more likely to drop a course, less likely to pass a course, and less likely to have a grade of at least a B, these gaps decrease by 2.9 percentage points, 2.8 percentage points, and 3.2 percentage points respectively when assigned to an instructor of similar minority type” (Freakonomics 1). The role of ethnically diverse teachers can play a significant part in a racially diverse students life because they can inspire and motivate professional careers. If students fail to see racially diverse adults in professional careers, then they are less likely to hold those positions because they never had an individual to look up to. By not being exposed to teachers with a similar culture, students do not identify themselves with the idea of a skillful occupation. According to Paul Beare, “Few minorities, especially men, think about becoming teachers. Many have simply never had minority teachers themselves” (Deruy 4). This vicious cycle, known as the teacher supply pipeline, has a great impact on many ethnically diverse individuals and is is the major reason for the immense achievement gap within the ethnically diverse population.
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Works Cited
Deruy, Emily. "Student Diversity Is Up But Teachers Are Mostly White." Fushion (2013): 1-8. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.< http://fusion.net/american_dream/story/student-diversity-teachers-white-11783>.
Freakonomics. "Why The U.S. Needs More Minority Teachers." Freakonomics 7 Sept. 2011: 1. Print.
Haycock, K. "Good Teaching Matters: How Well Qualified Teachers Can Close the Gap." Www2.edtrust.org., 1998. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://www.edtrust.org/dc/publication/good-teaching-matters-how-well-qualified-teachers-can-close-the-gap>.
Sorrow, April Reese. "Study Finds Black Teachers Reduce African-American Teen Pregnancy Rate." Huffington Post 7 Nov. 2013: 1. Print.
Villegas, Ana Maria, Kathryn Strom, and Tamara Lucas. "Closing the Racial/Ethnic Gap Between Students of Color and Their Teachers: An Exclusive Goal." Routledge Taylor & Francis Group(2012): 284-98. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10665684.2012.656541#.UxDiVLCvKSo>.
Walters, M.M. The Educational Forum., 1989. Print.
Freakonomics. "Why The U.S. Needs More Minority Teachers." Freakonomics 7 Sept. 2011: 1. Print.
Haycock, K. "Good Teaching Matters: How Well Qualified Teachers Can Close the Gap." Www2.edtrust.org., 1998. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://www.edtrust.org/dc/publication/good-teaching-matters-how-well-qualified-teachers-can-close-the-gap>.
Sorrow, April Reese. "Study Finds Black Teachers Reduce African-American Teen Pregnancy Rate." Huffington Post 7 Nov. 2013: 1. Print.
Villegas, Ana Maria, Kathryn Strom, and Tamara Lucas. "Closing the Racial/Ethnic Gap Between Students of Color and Their Teachers: An Exclusive Goal." Routledge Taylor & Francis Group(2012): 284-98. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10665684.2012.656541#.UxDiVLCvKSo>.
Walters, M.M. The Educational Forum., 1989. Print.