Let’s start with an exercise: Hold both hands out and put down a finger for every teacher you have had that has been a person of color. If you put all your fingers down, that’s amazing. If you only have one hand down, that’s good as well. But if you weren’t able to put many fingers down then you’re just like me and other students in our situation.
It might have had something to do with where you lived so don’t feel guilty. I was a military child so I moved around a lot and normally went to predominantly White schools with only one or two POC teachers. It’s just the same as if you lived in a city or moved up North, you might have been zoned in schools with a diverse community of teachers and it was easy to put down so many fingers.
In 2017–18, about 79 percent of public school teachers were White, 9 percent were Hispanic, 7 percent were Black, 2 percent were Asian, 2 percent were of Two or more races, and 1 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native.
I had never been taught by a Black teacher until high school and to this day, I have never been taught by another Latin person like me. I didn’t think anything of it until my sophomore year of high school when I was in my Biology class. I had been talking to a friend of mine in the class and I told them I was thinking about no longer being in Honors classes my junior year.
I will never forget the way my then Biology teacher whipped her head towards me so fast and said, “What did you just say?” I was terrified I had done something wrong and I froze, unable to repeat my sentence before she began, “Did I hear that correctly- did you say you weren’t doing honors anymore next year?”
I nodded my head reluctantly and waited, as I watched her normally friendly face contort into the expression she wore when she was in ‘serious teacher mode,’ except this time, it felt personal. “You will do no such thing,” she told me, “Do you know how many Latin and Hispanic students are in the Honors program? Barely any. You could count them on one hand.”
She was right. I knew it as soon as she had asked. I remember the days of looking around and only seeing one other Latin student in the class, but I never realized the importance of it before. “You walk in those classrooms and you represent the entire Latin community- you represent every Latin woman or man who could not be in those rooms,” she said, “So don’t you dare give up that seat. You stay in those Honor classes for them and for yourself.”
I stayed in Honor classes next year and the year after that. I never imagined the words of an old Black woman would inspire me to stay in those classes and try harder than I ever had to get all A’s, which I managed to do. She was part of the reason why I decided to become a teacher as well, for all the Latin girls who never saw a woman who looked like them leading the class. So I could inspire them just as that one teacher had inspired me, and so I could write this article in hopes that I am able to show you and others the importance of POC teachers.
Let’s get real… the statistics don’t lie
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the school years 2015-16, “over 80 percent of teachers were white and less than 7 percent were Black.” That is a lot when you consider just how much 80% is compared to less than 7%. Statistics also show that there were more Black teachers in the years 1999-2000 than there were in the years 2017-2018. So not only are there not enough POC teachers to begin with, we have been decreasing in numbers.
If you take into consideration that we are facing a national teacher shortage, it is not all too hard to piece the puzzle together and ask why POC students aren’t becoming teachers. Not only do teachers undergo low salaries, high work demands, and overcrowded classrooms- and that isn’t just the grit of it– but it is also discouraging to work in any work force where you don’t see yourself. You want to feel like you belong at your job and sometimes, it is hard to do so when you are the only person there who is different and you find it hard to relate to anyone. You need a community.
We could do a lot of things to change this. Ranging from schools taking the initiative to diversify their worker population to schools building a safe, more comfortable space for their POC teachers to bettering the teaching profession in hopes it might attract more teachers, which includes POC teachers. We could do a lot to change that, but why is it important to do so?
So why do we need more poc teachers?
I hate to get all statistical here, but they help get the point across. It was revealed by a report from the Learning Policy Institute that “when taught by teachers of color, students of color have better academic performance, improved graduation rates, and are more likely to attend college.” That is HUGE. Especially when you consider just how many students there are around the world and in America, that is a lot of changed lives.
We all need our role models and POC teachers are just that for students of color. Without my own experience in that Biology class, I never would have continued in Honor classes, which would later help me get into a great university with several scholarships to help me financially. Just imagine all of the students who thought they wouldn’t make it and one teacher who looked just like them showed them it was possible, despite all the odds and challenges. They weren’t alone and they had support.
Not only that, but POC teachers statistically tend to teach culturally relevant classes and use material that is not completely biased or written under the “White Lens.” They tend to connect their lessons with current events, especially ones to do with issues in the world today. It can make a student connect better with the material and leave the classroom feeling like they can actually use what they learned in class. It challenges their minds and creates a conversation- and that is exactly what learning is about!
In addition to that, their students are learning real material about things that actually happened. It is so important to read accurate history articles about what happened in our country’s past so we become aware and can reflect, so then we can make sure not to repeat the same things our ancestors did. It is also important that we honor the truth and give respect to those that came before us.
Every one needs poc teachers, not just poc students
Students of color are not the only students who benefit from having POC teachers. According to the Learning Policy Institute, even White students report feeling “cared for and academically challenged by teachers of color.” White students are also able to learn from POC teachers, taking in their much more diverse experiences and lives to expand their own perspectives of the world.
I decided to ask around for some real life input and I was able to get some quotes from students in my own classes. Lilie Kyger, a Freshmen Choral Music Education major shared her own experience with POC teachers as a White student. “My experience has been that POC teachers have been some of the most culturally diverse classes I’ve been in. Their unique experiences and perspectives made the class that much more exciting and meaningful,” she says.
Another student by the name Naitonio Hare, a Secondary Education Social Studies major, who hasn’t been taught by many POC teachers, especially Black men like himself, says “I think it’s important because they have a different outlook on things based off how they lived and that’s not to say that non-POC teachers haven’t been through anything but they never had to experience things through a POC lens. So it provides more perspective and maybe they can reach kids that other non-POC can’t.” He reports wishing that he had been taught by more POC teachers but just lacked that experience in his education. Now, he is being that teacher for students like him.
Anthony Brockington, a Political Science major, tells me his own experience with POC teachers and how his own father, a Black male teacher, impacted others. “Having a POC teacher can be life changing. My first and only male POC teacher was my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Adam. He kind of guided me into my love of reading and taught me certain skills like how to be a leader amongst my friends. His impact on my life has been monumental. Not only him but also my father. I can’t remember a time when we as a family would go out and we didn’t get stopped by one of his former students thanking him for his help or saying that they should have listened to him. He had a positive impact on a lot of people’s lives. He gave kids a positive Black role model that some didn’t see unless it was on TV,” he says.
In conclusion…
I hope this article has allowed you to see the importance of having more POC teachers in the work force. More now than ever, we need them. With all of the racial tensions and movements, teachers are a fort standing steady and strong for students like me and you trying to figure out what is going on in our world and how we can navigate through it, all while stressing over exams, relationships, and finding who we are.
I can only hope that as the years pass by, we see the teaching climate shift as more students like me and other races, genders, identities, etc. join the education field. Teachers can make a change for everyone, especially POC teachers. If you have a teacher who has changed your life, especially one that does not look like you, or maybe one that does, thank them. They made it there for you, especially your POC teachers.