CitizenPained
Dissident-Jude
Since my other thread got de-railed , I figured I'd start a new one (sorry) instead of staying on topic.
This section here caught me off guard:
A Question of Quality
I've seen this a lot: Minority teachers are good for black & Latino students (never Asian or anything else, apparently...?) because they can 'relate' and have 'good role models'. Shennanigains. Any good teacher will be a good teacher regardless. I really wish districts would focus more on providing equal education services across neigborhoods (aka reducing segregation) than this stuff.
I think it's dangerous because I also hear the sentiment that minority teachers are also good for white students because it exposes them to diversity and good black role models. It helps to break stereotypes. And more male teachers are needed as well.
I reject the idea that one's skin color or ethnic background is necessary to be the best role model. I think that if teachers are respectful and aware of different cultures, they'll produce the best classroom results.
I've seen longtime black teachers that were amazing - teachers I want to be like. I've seen freshly minted black teachers that sucked. Same goes for white. I saw a Latino girl who was bilingual keep her job for years despite the fact she let the kids cheat on tests and taught in Spanish (against the rules).
Why are we trying to segregate teachers like this?
White Teachers Sue Philly For Discrimination
Here's the thing. I think that if we want our teaching staff to be more diverse, we have to give quality education in urban schools. Then the application pool will be more diverse. Sorry, but white/female/non-minority teachers are not the problem here.
I don't want this to be about affirmative action. I'm talking about education here.
Texas in need of more minority teachers
So why don't we just teach any teacher to be respective of cultural differences? I mean, the race gap in Texas schools is much smaller than most areas, but they're still aggressively recruiting minority teachers.
Here's the thing. White teachers are probably more likely to discipline harder and not understand their minority students. It ends up being a language thing, honestly. If you go into a classroom and you tell the kids they have bad English and they're lazy fucks who are lucky to have you as a teacher, of course they won't do as well. (And yeah. That happens with white teachers.)
I'm female. I'm white. I was raised in Iowa. Are you seriously telling me I'm going to deliver a subtractive education to my students by default? Because that hasn't been the case thus far. I know that in my neighborhood, the most interaction the kids will have with white people is a) bosses and b) their teachers.
Or am I not an asset to a district that has mostly white students if I'm white, because now I'm not exposing them to 'diversity'? Since when are minority folk supposed to be a god damned anthropology exhibit?
...thoughts? Am I the only one who sees this as degrading to everyone involved? The race wars are alive and well in urban ed, particularly amongst black and Spanish-speaking Latinos. (Well, here anyway.)
This is not helping.
I also hate the word 'minority'.
And I'm very sorry, my dear male teachers, but so many of you are so damned lazy.
This section here caught me off guard:
A Question of Quality
The relative lack of men in the teaching profession does not draw a lot of concern, but several experts believe more minority teachers are needed, including in mostly white districts.
I've seen this a lot: Minority teachers are good for black & Latino students (never Asian or anything else, apparently...?) because they can 'relate' and have 'good role models'. Shennanigains. Any good teacher will be a good teacher regardless. I really wish districts would focus more on providing equal education services across neigborhoods (aka reducing segregation) than this stuff.
I think it's dangerous because I also hear the sentiment that minority teachers are also good for white students because it exposes them to diversity and good black role models. It helps to break stereotypes. And more male teachers are needed as well.
I reject the idea that one's skin color or ethnic background is necessary to be the best role model. I think that if teachers are respectful and aware of different cultures, they'll produce the best classroom results.
I've seen longtime black teachers that were amazing - teachers I want to be like. I've seen freshly minted black teachers that sucked. Same goes for white. I saw a Latino girl who was bilingual keep her job for years despite the fact she let the kids cheat on tests and taught in Spanish (against the rules).
Why are we trying to segregate teachers like this?
Districts that want to aggressively recruit minority teachers have a small pool to choose from.
It's a problem that recruiters in several white-collar professions face because of the relatively low percentage of black students who get degrees from four-year colleges and universities.
White Teachers Sue Philly For Discrimination
Their lawsuits say that a former principal had them read an article that said “white teachers do not have the ability to teach African-American students.”
The teachers also allege that the principal, Charles Ray III, and others undermined their work by reprimanding them, randomly changing their room assignments and letting black teachers ignore rules that their white counterparts had to follow. Ray also retaliated when they filed union grievances, they said.
Here's the thing. I think that if we want our teaching staff to be more diverse, we have to give quality education in urban schools. Then the application pool will be more diverse. Sorry, but white/female/non-minority teachers are not the problem here.
The disadvantages of hiring only young, white, female teachers go beyond race, said Martin Haberman, a distinguished professor of education at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
He contended that, particularly in urban areas, school officials should seek out older, second-career teachers of varied races and both genders whose life experiences make them better able to manage a classroom and to make a more mature commitment to teaching.
I don't want this to be about affirmative action. I'm talking about education here.
Texas in need of more minority teachers
"The research shows that if you can match the ethnicity and race of teachers and students, teachers tend to be more effective," said Ed Fuller, associate director of the University Council for Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's important for role modeling and pushing those students to go to college. Of course, you want to make sure teachers are well-qualified and not just thrown into a classroom because of race or ethnicity."
A Harvard University Kennedy School of Government study published in 2004 concluded that white and black students in Tennessee did better on state tests with teachers of their own race.
The findings indicated that recruiting more minority teachers could generate important gains among minority students.
So why don't we just teach any teacher to be respective of cultural differences? I mean, the race gap in Texas schools is much smaller than most areas, but they're still aggressively recruiting minority teachers.
Here's the thing. White teachers are probably more likely to discipline harder and not understand their minority students. It ends up being a language thing, honestly. If you go into a classroom and you tell the kids they have bad English and they're lazy fucks who are lucky to have you as a teacher, of course they won't do as well. (And yeah. That happens with white teachers.)
I'm female. I'm white. I was raised in Iowa. Are you seriously telling me I'm going to deliver a subtractive education to my students by default? Because that hasn't been the case thus far. I know that in my neighborhood, the most interaction the kids will have with white people is a) bosses and b) their teachers.
Or am I not an asset to a district that has mostly white students if I'm white, because now I'm not exposing them to 'diversity'? Since when are minority folk supposed to be a god damned anthropology exhibit?
...thoughts? Am I the only one who sees this as degrading to everyone involved? The race wars are alive and well in urban ed, particularly amongst black and Spanish-speaking Latinos. (Well, here anyway.)
This is not helping.
I also hate the word 'minority'.
And I'm very sorry, my dear male teachers, but so many of you are so damned lazy.
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