The Dubious Value of Teacher Diversity

[pknopp]

A student goes to school for 180 days, 6 hours per day, more or less. The rest of life is outside school. Whether the teachers share his life experiences is very close to meaningless. In my own experience (not scientific relevance, of course) from first grade through JD, I never once spoke to a teacher about my personal life. Not once.

The idea is for the teacher to speak about theirs.

 

[Blues Man]

The idea is for the teacher to speak about theirs.

Students couldn't care less about the private lives of their teachers

 

[Unkotare]

The idea is for the teacher to speak about theirs.

Making a connection with students has a significant impact on effectiveness in teaching and learning. Of course there are more than a few ways of doing so.

 

[Unkotare]

Students couldn't care less about the private lives of their teachers

Actually, students are usually very interested in learning about their teachers. This is one way of making that important connection.

 

[AMart]

Of course it can.

2 plus 2 = 4.

 

[pknopp]

2 plus 2 = 4.

My educated encompassed more than math. Sorry yours was so narrowly tailored.

 

[SweetSue92]

Teachers are pretty much worthless. If anything they are a detriment.

You wish you could get my gig though. I teach recess for great pay and great vacations.

Recess. Yeah.

 

[AMart]

My educated encompassed more than math. Sorry yours was so narrowly tailored.

"My educated encompassed" LOL you can't even spell.

 

[BlackSand]

My educated encompassed more than math. Sorry yours was so narrowly tailored.

.

What could possibly be wrong if kids in a 5th grade Social Studies class ...
Conduct a CSI type investigation in order to decide whether the Boston Massacre was an Accident or Travesty?

They hung the classwork on the wall outside the classroom.
Anyone walking by could read it.

The majority of the students had decided that the Boston Massacre was an Accident ...
That could have been avoided if the people had just done what the British were telling them to.

It isn't hard to tell what the children were being taught ...
And it was approached as being a scientifically supported result as well.

Do what the government tells you, so they don't have to kill you.

.​

 

[Paleman]

A teacher's life experiences can have a significant bearing on how he relates to and communicates with his students. This is much, much more about individual experience than race, in my opinion, but it is a factor to a degree.

Social studies, maybe ok but what the heck does a teachers life experience have to do the basic or higher math? Nothing is the answer because 2 plus 2 is four regardless of where you come from. Stupid liberal BS.

 

[Unkotare]

Social studies, maybe ok but what the heck does a teachers life experience have to do the basic or higher math? Nothing is the answer because 2 plus 2 is four regardless of where you come from. .....

It has nothing to do with what the answer to an equation is (come on, think a little before posting). The fact is that students tend to remain interested and engaged, and ultimately acquire the information more successfully - regardless of the subject matter - if the teacher can establish some kind of connection with them. This inspires trust and motivation. It isn't a racial thing so much as it is a personality/life experience thing, although to an extent these can overlap.

 

[Paleman]

It has nothing to do with what the answer to an equation is (come on, think a little before posting). The fact is that students tend to remain interested and engaged, and ultimately acquire the information more successfully - regardless of the subject matter - if the teacher can establish some kind of connection with them. This inspires trust and motivation. It isn't a racial thing so much as it is a personality/life experience thing, although to an extent these can overlap.

More liberal spouted BS.

 

[Unkotare]

More liberal spouted BS.

What are you talking about?

 

[DGS49]

I can relate to that. We were interested in the lives of our teachers. But we rarely learned anything meaningful. All I really knew was that the nuns and Christian Brothers were single, no kids.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Most black teachers seem to have gone to Sheila Lee Jackson University.

Racist bastard. Welcome to my ignore list, you fucking stupid asshole!

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

That's all a load of bullshit.

When I was in high school, the faculty was 100% honky. But we did have 2 African American students in attendance. They definitely did better at our school than they would have in the failed Government Schools that had black teachers.

Wow! A whopping two!

Where did you go to school, Canada?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

A student goes to school for 180 days, 6 hours per day, more or less. The rest of life is outside school. Whether the teachers share his life experiences is very close to meaningless. In my own experience (not scientific relevance, of course) from first grade through JD, I never once spoke to a teacher about my personal life. Not once.

I have never seen or heard any POC saying that they would have done better in school if his teachers "looked like him." Again, not scientific, but telling.

That's you and your experience. I had a student that once adopted me as the father figure in her life. She visited my classroom several time a day, even when I was not teaching her. After two years, she wound up sharing three classes with my son. Six months later, they were engaged, and she has been my daughter-in-law for going on 16 years. I am still the only father figure she has. She is the ultimate example of course, but I had literally hundreds of students that I got to know very well of all different colors, religions, and ethnicities.

I taught in one school for 3 years with only one teacher of color. I taught a half year in another high school replacing a teacher who was fired for misconduct. Racism was a massive problem for the few students of color who attended those high schools from their white bread classmates.

I taught in a inner city middle school where you could count the white students on you two hands. Every faculty member except one special education teacher and one assistant principal, every other faculty member was like me, white as snow. That was the worst school in the state.

Pardon me but your lack of knowledge of the teaching profession is sticking out like a sore thumb.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Social studies, maybe ok but what the heck does a teachers life experience have to do the basic or higher math? Nothing is the answer because 2 plus 2 is four regardless of where you come from. Stupid liberal BS.

I was a math teacher for 21 years. Before that I was a naval officer. Imagine all of the stories I could tell about my math knowledge coming into play in that job!

 

[SweetSue92]

What we see now, sadly, all over Tik Tok is very young teachers spouting off about their "identity", thinking that this will be an "inspiration" for kids and yadda yadda. The conservatives get fed a steady stream of this through accounts like "Libs of Tik Tok" and think this is all teachers, of course.

Shame on both sets of nonsense.

Wiser, veteran teachers know the kids don't give a crap about you until they know that you 1. actually have something to teach them 2. respect and care about them 3. and can deliver. Then they might want to know something about you, but that doesn't really matter, because THE CLASSROOM IS NEVER ABOUT YOU. It's about learning and kids. That's it. Learning and kids first.

 

[Blues Man]

Actually, students are usually very interested in learning about their teachers. This is one way of making that important connection.

Bullshit.

No one I was ever in school with gave a rat's ass about their teachers' personal lives. And if i want to know what students think I'll ask an actual teacher