Inequality in the classrooms: Why having diversity in our teachers is a must
How diverse is our school, really?
As of now, we only have one AP teacher who is a Person of Color. Mrs. Jones-Watts. Anyone who takes AP classes will tell you, most of their peers are white. Our AP teachers also lack diversity. In Mrs. Jones’ fourth block AP Lit however, that is not the case. It is an extremely diverse class. How diverse is our school, really? While pondering over this dilemma, I thought the best way to get answers is by asking the legend herself.
How long have you been a teacher?
Jones: Eight years, I just started teaching AP. This is my first year.
What kind of expectations do you place upon yourself as an AP teacher?
Jones: I feel like I'm the last stop before a student goes off to college or the real world so I expect to give students some valuable instruction. I make myself really study the content so I can teach it in an easy way so that my students can get it. Once they get it, I can challenge them so that my classes are challenging and meaningful.
What about as a person of color?
Jones: I have to work 1,000 times harder. I feel like if students of color see a teacher or color doing a really good job, that will force them to do a really good job. If I mess up, I have a higher chance of the class being taken away from me and I don’t like that. It doesn’t help that I'm one of the younger ones teaching AP. I feel like I have to prove my worthiness. The pressure is on.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Jones: I feel like this is an issue that should be talked about, but it's not. And you know it should because the students don’t even notice and that shows that they’ve been trained to associate AP teachers with teachers who lack color.
Next, I interviewed two students who typically take honors/AP classes.
How many AP classes have you taken?
Layla: I'm currently in my first AP class. I was supposed to take one last year but the class was full.
Kaya: I've taken three. AP Gov, AP Geo and AP Lit.
Do you like your class?
Layla: My class is a bit... Ehh? It's hard to explain the class.
How do you feel about the diversity of our staff?
Layla: I think it's important, like when your teaching to have a different outlook on the topics you teach as well as your experiences in the world today
Kaya: With gender, we’re good. But in ethnicity, we could use some work in diversifying our staff. The issue isn't the staff, we have mostly ethnic custodians but not many ethnic teachers. It’s the balance of where people of color are placed in the school.
Layla: Our AP teachers are mostly white women, who are older. I would like to see more minority women teaching AP, since we only have one.
Why do you feel that diversity in your teachers is important?
Layla: You get more of an outreach. Once in a class, a teacher said she wouldn’t ride a plane with anyone wearing a turban. As a Muslim, I found it insulting. I understand where she's coming from. It hurt me but I can live with it. It's not the first time I've heard something like that so it's whatever. I feel like if our teachers were more understanding to diversity they wouldn’t say things like that.
Kaya: It's imperative that the staff looks like the students. Especially the students aspiring to be teachers.
Diversity matters. Plain and simple. The best way to have a more diversity in our world as a whole, is to start with our schools. I know I'm ready for a diverse learning environment. Are you?
