NYT: Race/Related

In the New York Times weekly newsletter, Race/Related, the author discusses the importance of students seeing representation in school. Diversity among teachers can drastically change a students experience and has been shown to improve the motivation of students for success. A new study found that "when students had the same race as teachers, they reported feeling more cared for, more interested in their school work, and more confident in their teacher's ability to communicate with them."

It is extremely important for young kids to have a role model in their life. The study showed that having just "one black teacher in a third, forth, or fifth grade class reduced low-income black boys' probability of dropping out of high school by 39 percent." This emphasizes the need to increase representation in all fields. It is negatively impacting the social health and possible success of children by not having people of color as educators. According to a 2016 report, public elementary and secondary schools are made up of 49 percent students of color but only 18 percent of teachers are people of color. We have a serious gap in educators who are people of color, and it is shaping how children think of themselves and what they can do in the future. In order to have a fair system, where kids can go to school and actually see examples of people who look like them and are successful, we need to close this race gap.