Everyone from politicians to corporate big wigs to media personalities and pundits has weighed in on public education. With some blaming teachers and teachers’ unions and some blaming the government and the government’s role in public education, there are others who seek to privatize public education and those who huff and puff about the need to burn the whole system down. Those battles aside, the one discussion that is missing in reforming public education is nearly universal: race.
Normally the discussion of race centers on poverty and the lack of choice for kids of color. After which the conversation moves towards the parental guidance the students have or don’t have and the kinds of communities kids of color come from. Not only is this conversation short-sighted, but it fails to address the real problems with race in public education.
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When I first started high school, I attended a predominantly white school. I had one particular teacher that bashed my spirit. He told me that I would never mount to anything but a baby's momma. My parents felt the need that I needed to be exposed to my own kind of people because I was a victim of racial profiling by a person that looked exactly like me. I attended West End High. The community was not the best but I got the chance to see teachers, administrators, and other people in higher power being something other than a baby's momma, a ball player, or a rapper. I am now a junior in college and I have to agree with the fact that being around people that looks like me had an impact on my life goals. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the fact they teach better, its just knowing that they look like me and the did it then I can do it too.
ReplyDeleteKenesha,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for leaving a comment. My best teachers have been Black. I am hoping to become a professor and teach at an HBCU. I am grateful that this post was meaningful to you. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Hello! I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in EDM 310 right now. I don't think it matters what race the teacher is, as long as they do their job right and treat all students equal. I grew up going to schools with mixed races, so I am used to all different races being my educator.
ReplyDeleteRace matters more than you think. Did you know that half of Black doctors, lawyers etc earned their bachelors at an HBCU?
ReplyDelete