Just recently I read a very interesting article about the impact of teachers of color on children of color in the classroom. It forced me to think about the important role models I had growing up in New York City. My first experience with a teacher was, Mrs. Henson, a black kindergarten teacher. Of course, I do not remember specific details about her, but I do remember how familiar she felt to me. Leaving home to go to school for the first time was traumatic enough. It was comforting to have someone guide me that wasn't alien to my existence and had high expectations for us as students of color.
After kindergarten, I went to St. Clement Pope School. It was our parish school that was full of nuns. They were white women dedicated to God, who I would like to think had our best interests in mind. What I do recall was the heavy-handed discipline at the hands of these women that, at times, bordered on abuse. I was too young to understand the implications of their treatment but had a firsthand purview of the 'difference' in treatment of the few white students versus the black and Latino ones. Please take my word for it...that's another blog.
However, it was Mrs. Bryant and Mrs. Franklin who had the strongest impact on us. They were two black teachers that I can clearly recall the impact they had. I'm sure most kids in this predominantly black Catholic School have stories of high expectations and no-nonsense treatment from these women who were aware of the world we lived in. Nonetheless, they gave us something that no white teacher could - they instilled a passion for learning, the beauty of our skin color and history, and incorporated many cultural references that provided direction and guidance. Their expectations were that we reach the goals they set, exceed them, and do even better in society. The most impactful things was - if they could do it, so could we!
Eventually my mother and aunt taught at St. Clements. There's no need to elaborate on that - they gave us everything we needed in and out of the classroom.
Our children need examples of what they can attain. They need teachers that understand them as well as have the highest expectations of them. Our children need teachers that will go the extra lengths to assure that our children reach their highest potential. From my experience, I will always know what can be achieved because I saw it firsthand in school!!
Here's an article that quotes studies on this topic. http://bit.ly/X02ssQ
Project Brownstone (projectbrownstone.org) applies a holistic approach to empowering and developing underserved youths in Harlem by using education as a tool. Project Brownstone challenges kids to see themselves from a different perspective, and to imagine themselves as entrepreneurs and leaders.
Having a teacher that looks like you is very important. Role modeling is also a very good way of getting students to see themselves achieving goals. I speak Mandarin Chinese and my nieces and nephew are in an immersion school in Detroit and they all take Mandarin as their language. I visited them at their school several times during their elementary years and all the kids of color, boys and girls, were happy to see someone who looks like them speaking to their Chinese teacher in her language. Each year when I returned to visit, the majority of the kids of color were achieving their language skills and they were very good. A good role model is always welcome and helps encourage the children to be their best.
ReplyDeleteHaving a teacher that looks like you permits learning on a deeper level because they understand, and identify with they're students. That makes a big difference.
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