“The teacher might not behave toward the White child the way she behaves toward the black child, toward my child.” -Doucet, 2011 , P. 2723

I found this article on bridge building between family and school culture particularly relevant. I have come across a lot of literature lately about a “cultural mismatch” between teachers and students. As a white female, I am in a majority but am teaching minority students. According to a recent NYU study, “For example, in New York City, over 85% of public school students are racial/ethnic minorities, but only 40% of teachers are non-White—a difference of 45 percentage points (New York City Department of Education, 2015)”(Cherng & Halpin, 2016,p. 1). The difference in race between teachers and students in urban schools is important to be aware of. This NYU study ultimately found that student perceptions of teachers does vary by race, “Specifically, we find consistent evidence that students have more positive ratings of Latino and Black teachers than White teachers after controlling for student demographic and academic characteristics,other teacher characteristics, work conditions, and teacher efficacy” (Cherng & Halpin, 2016, p.6). Continue reading Black or White →