African-American Teachers

Campus Racism 101 is an article written by Nikki Giovanni that speaks of her struggles teaching at a predominantly white college. Speaking of the hardships she has faced when it comes to being African-American teaching mostly Caucasian students. “People who think I should be at a predominantly Black institution will ask “Why are you at Tech?”’- (Nikki Giovanni) Giovanni soon goes into why she doesn’t feel that just because she is African-American she should be at a predominantly black college. Bringing to topic everyone (Blacks and whites ect.)

This statistic shows the lack of diversity in the educational work force. Robert Jensen, a professor at the University of Texas and the author of the 1998 White Privilege Shapes the U.S., points out a simple observation; that even white professors who lack the preparation and knowledge that is required in order to successfully teach, can have their disqualifications easily overlooked based not only on their race, but also on their social class, and often times their

The article written by Ashley Griffin and Hilary Tackie “Through Our Eyes: Perspectives and Reflections From Black Teachers” divulges a seldom insight at the roles and responsibilities Black teachers in America take-on in our current education system. It raises an important question about what can be done to attract more teachers of color to get into the education field, but more importantly what can be done to reduce the burden and stress held by Black teachers trying to relieve the plight of black students struggling in our schools. Having the ability to connect through shared similar experiences in their own lives is one of the most beneficial characteristics Black teachers have with their students.

This chapter discusses the beginnings of African-American children gaining an education and I found the table on page 99 to be interesting in comparing the number of black and white teachers, my initial assumption would be that white teachers vastly outnumbered

Most minority students and English language learners are stuck in schools with the most new teachers.” These differences are outrageous, all due to racism either being encouraged or not monitored enough in these schools. This kind of teaching only appeals to whites, and will embolden blacks towards failure, as well as spur up hatred and criticism towards them. In another article, “‘To be white is to be racist, period,’ a high school teacher told his class,” a teacher by the name James Coursey says in a high school lecture “Am I racist? And I say yea.

Issues such as racism and xenophobia consistently surface and there is a mutual distrust and resentment of other races amongst the pupils. This results in the teachers struggling to do their jobs in a tense environment and having to tackle complex issues such as discrimination. They are forced to attempt to unite students of differing ethnicities who are completely unaccustomed to co-existing with each

The underrepresentation of African American teachers in U.S. schools is a longstanding issue that has significant implications for student outcomes. This dissertation will explore the historical context of African American education and teachers, highlight the persistent disparities in education outcomes between African American students and their peers, and examine the impact of the underrepresentation of African American teachers on student outcomes. Despite decades of progress toward greater diversity in the teaching profession, African American teachers remain vastly underrepresented in comparison to their white counterparts. This thematic concern is of particular importance because research has shown that students of color, particularly African American students, benefit academically and socially from having teachers who share

Hispanics, initial drawbacks frequently come from their parents ' immigrant and economic position and their sparse knowledge regarding the United States education system. While Hispanic students navigate through the school system, insufficient resources in schools and their awkward rapport with teachers continues to weaken their academic achievement. Initial drawbacks continue to mount up, causing the Hispanic population in having the least high school and college degree accomplishment, which is counterproductive of having a possibility for stable employment. According to Portman & Awe (2009) school counselors and comprehensive school counseling programs are anticipated to play a dynamic role in addressing the discrepancy between diverse

The educational system in America contains numerous racial disparities that affects the very core of the children who is suppose to benefit from education. This disparity comes in many forms in primary schools, a teacher’s attitude being one of them (Epps, 1995). A teacher’s attitude in a classroom consisting of a racially diverse children is a large contributing factor to the academic success of their students, more specifically, the minority African American students. It is a given that all schools should employ qualified teacher who are passionate about their students and the quality of education they provide to these students. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many urban schools that house a large proportion of African American students

Beyond this many teachers gave poorer evaluations of students due to their race or ethnicity (Egalite et al.). By having more racially diverse teachers we can help students achieve and pursue success. Integrating this diversity is also important for white students because it allows the students to understand and value equal and fair opportunities for themselves and their peers. These pieces of evidence support that students' test scores are positively skewed when a teacher shares the same race and culture with the student. While test scores are important they are not

courses in college that have opened up my mind to the issue. The more information I learn about this issue, the more surprised I am that our society still exhibits bias, because as much as the United States preaches about equality, it appears as if society has segregation in minor ways. Although the debate between whether there are biased questions on the SATs or not seems to favor that there aren’t by popular opinions, there is still biased behavior occurring in school systems that prevent certain groups of students from getting the proper resources needed. Because I would like to work in an low-income area, which most likely would contain minorities, as a teacher I would make the effort to help those students get the sufficient help needed. This motivates me to become a part of the education field, because caring teachers are much needed in area like this.

As Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Donovan Livingston, a graduate at Harvard Graduate School of Education, has similar views on education. His passionate and inspiring speech called “Lift Off” was given at HGSE’s Commencement Ceremony on May 25, 2016. The speech discusses the importance of education as well as the obstacles and injustices students, especially those of color, have experienced throughout history in getting an education. Livingston’s graduating classmates who are becoming teachers, as well as teachers and educators in general, are the audience of his speech.

Racial inequality in education is predominant in black students and is perpetuated further by educators. A theory that explains this could be the “hidden curriculum” theory which conditions students to believe that their cultural backgrounds must be silenced to resemble the model white student. Studies show that training educators in cultural sensitivity and establishing trust between students and teachers allows students from varying cultural backgrounds to improve in classroom settings. RACE INEQUALITY IN U.S. EDUCATION Considered the “melting pot” of the world due to its high diversity, the United States has been renowned for the varying cultures and races populating the country.

2.2.5. Cultural diversity in Classroom: There are various cultural differences that teachers are likely to come across culturally diverse classrooms including Gender, Age, Cognition, Norms, beliefs, Primary language, Exceptionality, Cultural heritage, Socio-economic status, Opinions, ideas, Attitudes, Expectations, Behavioral styles, Geography, Learning styles, Communication Styles, Decision making styles, Ways of Communicating Non-verbally, Ways of Learning, Ways of Dealing with Conflict, Ways of Using Symbols and Approaches to completing tasks etc. According to Pratt-Johnson (2005), there are six basic cultural differences that teachers are likely to encounter in the culturally diverse classroom. Familiarity with these differences will begin

thesis: 1) proper education can inspire a positive attitude to racism 2) education helps racial students to move from intolerance to acceptance and understanding of cultural difference 3) education provides cognitive skills, which increases people’s captivity people’s capacity to detect prejudice and to reject it. Is Education the Best Inversion Against Racism? The ex Prime minister of Britain Tony Blair has always insisted the importance of education in preventing racism. According to Tony Blair some people are born to be bad, you can’t stop people from being bad (Blair, T. Education backs Lessons Against racism 1999.) proper education can help get rid of prejudice and changes in the national curriculum of the British educative system whereby