Veronica – I agree it would be nice to get a discussion going on this discussion board and I think your right that this article is one that really gets people thinking. I think that this article points to something in the field of education that lies just below the surface of our culture - within this field there so much contact with people from different ethnic or racial backgrounds that in some ways it is inevitable that these kinds of issues come up. 

This particular article is interesting because this district does appear to have a diverse (meaning not too white)  teaching and administrative force.  The Superintendent of Schools is black and Latino, half of all administrators, eight of the 11 senior administrators and 32 percent of the teaching force are black or Hispanic.  It seems like the issue is being distorted and the crux of all that is being said is that some people don’t think that white teachers can teach children of color. 

There are two issues at the heart of this argument the first is that racism from the dominant white culture does exist in our society therefore it is prevalent in our institutions.  It may not be explicitly stated, in fact it may be explicitly stated not to exist but, anyone who lives in America can tell you that it does.  The question then is how does this underlying racism manifest itself – in what situations and with whom. The second issue is that some people believe that only teachers of the same “race” can really relate to students and be good role models, the article states,

``There is an ease between a black parent, teacher and student that does not exist with a white teacher.'

 I think that if you just reversed the ethnicities here it would look like an article that might have been written in the 1950s or 60s.

        It is interesting that what it appears is really being talked about is skin color.  There is no differentiation being made between “black” people.  I know, being a native of the state of Connecticut, that this population is made up of not just African Americans, but people from Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and various African countries.  It would seem to me the focus should not be on the skin color (although that is a hard thing to do considering how deep that divide runs in our country) the focus should be on the cultural differences.  I like how one of the respondents is the article put it,

“Schools are institutions that are grounded in dominant cultures,'' she said. ``We like students who are assertive, outgoing, confident, raise their hands, want to be first and can work independently. ... But a lot of children in our society are not raised with those values. They may value a different discourse such as rhyming and using language associatively. And they may work better collaboratively where one person starts a sentence and another one finishes it.”

I can see how it would be easier for everyone if we all shared the same cultural “rules” but in so many ways it seems to me crucial for children to have teachers who come from different backgrounds.  For it is with children that we have a wonderful potential to really make an attempt to chip away at the racism that exists.  If children have a highly skilled teacher who can tap into the diversity of cultures (everything from ethnicities, economics, levels of education, number of siblings etc….) and help children to become “bicultural” able to function equally as well in their culture and the dominant culture – and if teachers respect these differences as simply differences with no moral values - then the children will learn to do that as well.  The challenge for teachers is not to lump any person or group together but to learn how their individual students engage in the world.