Teacher Diversity & Student Outcomes

I wanted to share the following article, but I admit I'm frustrated by it as well. The results, though important, seem incredibly obvious to me. A lack of teacher diversity negatively impacts students of color. Is anyone surprised by this finding? But I know that we need to start somewhere and this is a good starting point. My hope is that it's not the ending point. There are always more questions to be asked. I believe that some of those questions are: how does a lack of racial diversity impact Caucasian students? How does this lack of diversity impact students who are not racial/ethnic minorities but rather sexual, religious, or linguistic minorities? When looking at teacher diversity, are we only interested in racial/ethnic diversity or does other diversity matter as well?

What questions would you want answered next? What about the children in your life? An article like this is a great way to help them develop critical thinking skills. It is short and sweet and you could ask your child(ren) what additional questions they would ask. This could also be a great exercise to use in a classroom to inspire discussion. Educators - how might you use this article in your classroom? Parents - how would you use this for conversations with your kids? Leave a comment below.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/further-research-finds-lack-teacher-diversity-negatively-impacts-minority-students-1256084765

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