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Desember Wright

Professor Saladino

EDU 201

October 23, 2020

Diversity in Schools

I chose diversity in schools because diversity in schools is important for the success of

our children whether we are White, Black, Hispanic or Asian. Segregation ended in 1964 and in

2020 there is still racism in people’s hearts, why 60 years later is this still a problem? I believe

racism will be a problem until my kid’s generation dies out because racism is taught not passed

on through genes. Now my grandparents aren’t racist but when they were kids, they could not

use the same bathroom as a person of color, some peoples hate didn’t just go away when a law

was passed it was passed on. If we can be more diverse in our schools, we can teach our kids to

teach their kids how to love and they can teach their kids and so on and so forth until there is

nothing but love for every race in people’s hearts.

The part of the article that interested me the most was the part when they talked about

how students do better in school when they have teachers that match their race or ethnicity. I

think this is so true if I have a black or Hispanic student, I cannot relate to them on a personal

level. I can be an amazing teacher and teach them what I need to but if they’re struggling or

acting out, I fear I can’t help them because I can’t connect with them on that level. I can do my

best and help give them the resources but eventually I may only be able to do so much. But if

they have another teacher of theirs that shares the same race or ethnicity, I could maybe go to

them for help and pull them in to talk to this student.

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Now let’s say I teach at a school that is 90%-100% white, this would make it difficult and

the odds of them having a teacher with the same race or ethnicity will be rare. I want my students

to feel comfortable coming to any teacher or myself and if a child feels like they can’t do that

because there is no teachers there that share the same skin color as them, that would break my

heart that they would feel alone. I want students to be encouraged to pursue a higher education

and potentially teach one day and if even one student sees teachers that look like them and

decides to pursue being a teacher that is a win for me.

I don’t believe it is all about the students either, we have to think about how Black,

Hispanic or Asian teachers feel when they walk into a gymnasium full of white teachers. Schools

need to think about hiring a diverse staff more for the children and the teachers than how it looks

to check off a box of having some diverse staff members. I can’t imagine how discouraging that

feels, only thing I can relate to is when I met ALL of my boyfriend’s family for the first time. I

felt so awkward and talked more with the toddler there because that was my comfort zone. I want

to be a safe space for my students no matter the color of their skin or what their first language is.

This article really taught me a lot and helped me learn that sometimes I won’t be that

comfort zone for some students because I don’t look like them… BUT THAT IS PERFECTLY

OKAY. As long as I do everything I can and provide them with the help or give them a person

they can relate to, that is all that matters. I never want a student to leave my class at the end of

the year and feel like I was just a white teacher who didn’t care about them. I also want my

students and coworkers to feel respected and valued in their place of work no matter the color of

their skin. I want them to look back and think wow she did everything she could to understand

me and help me when needed, I want to teach them kindness and how to give love for everyone.