Years in Education: 20+ Asian Male Technology Integration Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: Hawaiʻi is a very multi-ethnic place where there are no "minorities." My Asian ethnicity is common, and is in common with many of our students. Having been raised here, I also have cultural commonalities and share common values with many of our students and families. I also believe that we share similar interests, pastimes, music, and even foods. The local culture here is a blend of many immigrant cultures that came to Hawaiʻi to work in the sugar plantations. It is beautiful and has a unique charm. I teach at a school for Hawaiian children. Although they are part-Hawaiian, they are a majority of other ethnicities. Still, I thought it was important to learn the culture and language. I have grown a love and passion for the Hawaiian culture! It has given me insight, empathy, and a place in the ʻohana and community. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I believe that learning is very relational, and it is helpful when students can relate to a teacher or mentor. I believe that it is also important to have role models of similar race, economic status, and orientation. There is a hope and a power in making that kind of a connection. Because Hawaiʻi is such a tiny place, there's always been that "underdog" mentality. It is important to have local role models whom students can relate to. I believe that transparency in the teaching/learning relationship (or in any relationship) is important. When students get to know you, something just might resonate and make all the difference in the world. When I was an elementary student a teacher would throw football with me during recess. That connection and relationship made a huge and lasting impact. The first time I brought my ukulele to class, I was finally able to connect with a student who often seemed disengaged. And again, learning the culture(s) of your student population can lead to more connections and empathy. Sometimes even the use of a local slang can make an impact. "Shoots! All pau. Good job!" When you have things in common, you can start to break down barriers and build community. Alan is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. To find out how Alan is amplifying student voices in Hawaii through real-world community leadership follow him on Twitter @alantamayose.
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Years in Education: 20+ White Female Mother of a Transracial Family High School Humanities Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I now live in the same town as my students (although I haven’t always). My children attend school with and are friends with many of my students. I have race in common with about fifty percent of my students (gender, as well). As I have an Asian child and other Asian relatives, my family's status as transracial is also a feature I share with probably thirty percent of my students. My childhood family culture was probably similar to about half the students I teach, in that I grew up with one caring parent and and we were financially secure, but not wealthy. I attended public schools, did well with my academics, and dabbled in extracurricular activities, as many of my students do. I also grew up with the expectation that I would attend a 4-year university and earn at least a BA, which I believe is true for practically all my students. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Today, my students and I discussed the death of a character in a novel, and whether or not he’d had a “good life”. At the start of the discussion, I mentioned that one reason we often read novels featuring death is that it’s the job of great literature to remind of us our own mortality and to teach us how to live so that we don’t die with significant regret. But another reason to read is that learning universal truths reminds us of our shared humanity. Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? Well, we DO have things in common, so how are are going to capitalize on them? I feel so lucky that my discipline is all about examining those things. This is not to dismiss the very real isolation that people feel when they experience a lack of connection. On the contrary, my response here is a blatant plug for the vital role of the arts and humanities in reaching across social and cultural divides, so that common areas are acknowledged and manifestly visible. I can't change the conditions of my birth or childhood to endow myself with more similarities to my students, but I know where to look to find the bridges that connect us. Marrene has lived in the greater Seattle area her whole life, except for the 2 years she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania. She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle with her husband, two teenagers and two adorable dogs. Years in Education: 11-15 Caucasian Heterosexual Male Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math Integration Elementary Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I teach in a demographically diverse elementary school: linguistically, culturally, and economically. With 15+ different languages spoken in a given classroom and no ethnicity representing more than a third of the population, the students I teach are generally as different from each other as they are from me. That being said, I did grow up in the district where I teach and we share that experience. Most of my students enjoy learning and school. Our region is a STEM hub so students like technology. Most also love hands-on learning and science. Engineering activities are popular as well. In addition to increasing access to those STEM interests, I am able to serve as a male role model for the boys (there are very few male elementary teachers). As such, I am able to model equal access for all and showing the assertive boys the value of encouraging less assertive students. Being a very diverse population, we value and celebrate our diversity together. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes. As human beings, when forming relationships we tend to connect where we have things in common and build from there. I am fortunate that my school is so diverse because we all share that as a sense of community. Yet, I am also aware that it is hard for many of my students to look at me and see themselves because of differences in gender, culture, language, ethnicity, etc. With this in mind, it is important for educators to seek out as many things that they do have in common with their students as possible, e.g. sports, music, hobbies. Teachers should also take an interest in their students' unique interests and encourage them in these areas as a way to connect. Still, having students able to see themselves reflected in their role models is important. To this end, I cannot change who I am, but as a teacher I can reach out to community members and ask them to visit our school. So, yes, it matters and we need to do what we can to encourage teachers from all backgrounds to enter the profession--a diverse workforce is a stronger workforce in so many ways. In the meantime, those of us who are already teaching can invite in role models that our students can relate to and see themselves reflected in as they envision their own dreams. As adults dedicated to the future success of all of our students, we all have this in common. Douglas is a Washington State Teacher Leader and an innovator in the Maker Movement. To find out how Doug is creating hands-on, student-led opportunities for his students to connect their learning to the real world, follow him on Twitter at @DaskalosDouglas. Years in Education: 4--6 Malaysian + White Female Immigrant First Generation American Middle and High School Math Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: My students are all recent immigrants and refugees to the U.S. I share the fact that I am an immigrant with them but I moved here under different circumstances than them and at a much younger age so my transition was different. I don't know what it is like to be Muslim in America but I know what it is like to be a womxn of color and someone who is committed to racial and social justice. While I may not share everything the same with my students, I know that our oppressions are rooted in each other and their fight is my fight. Together in solidarity we find our strength. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes! Sharing common experiences leads to trust. You do not need to have everything the same as your students, differences cause us to push one another to help each other grow, but seeing someone who you can find parts of your self in matter. It is important that students see themselves as potential educators, or where ever their path may lead; and it is important for teachers to see themselves in their students, to have that empathy and understanding. There is a reason that there are so few teachers of color and why students of color continue to be disenfranchised. My hope is through collectivity we can change that and truly be in solidarity. Saraswati teaches at the Seattle World School, which serves primarily immigrant and refugee students. She is a Washington State Teacher Leader and in 2016 she won the Imagine Us Award for Bold and Visionary Leadership in Equity and Justice. Follow her on Twitter @saraswatinoel. Years in Education: 2--3 White Cis-Male Middle and High School Social Studies Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I spent nearly thirty years in the business world, mostly high tech, before I got my teaching certificate. Although I am old enough to be a grandfather to my students, I can almost always find commonalities with them. We can talk about favorite books and favorite authors, I can talk sports, or cars, or music or theater. Because I am an older teacher, my life experiences are broad and deep. If a student has knowledge about a subject, I can usually dredge something up that relates. We are all humans. We share life experiences. I know love and loss. I can relate to the tragedies and comedies that my students are going through, as they journey up and down the emotional scale. That 8th grader going through an emotional breakup with their partner? We could laugh that off as just a silly Romeo and Juliet romance. But they are experiencing it, and it is very real to them in all its horribleness, and it’s exacerbated by their fluctuating hormone levels. A student identifies as a member of the Queer communities? I can relate: one of my own children came out as gay, then trans, as a teenager. Another is severely depressed? Been there, done that, got the T-shirt: I literally kicked down locked and bolted doors to save my kid who attempted suicide so many times I lost count. This one feels isolated because they aren’t part of the in-crowd? So was I. It’s called life, and we all journey through it without a guidebook. Our students are having to do it without the maturity of an adult and the wisdom of years to help them. No, I don’t listen to all of the same kinds of music my students love, but I listen to enough that I’ve heard or seen some of their favorites. I keep up on YA literature because it interests me and I personally know many local YA authors (the advantage of being married to one, attending conferences with her, and having common friends!). As an older, white, cis male I’ve not had to personally deal with the many issues surrounding racism, sexism, queer and religious intolerance, etc., but, I have friends from all kinds of backgrounds who do so on a daily basis. I can empathize with almost anyone. One of my greatest strengths as a teacher, is building rapport with my students, and I work constantly to continually build a safe community in my classroom. The only way I can do that is to accept my students where they are, wherever that might be, and to listen to their stories. Each student’s voice is essential. Knowing their voice is heard is even more important – and listening more than talking, my friends, is what each of us can do. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It’s helpful. We certainly don’t have the same experiences that our students have, nor can we ever. However, by listening more than we talk, and by validating their experiences and assuring them that they aren’t alone, more than makes up for the facts that we are not their age, not their race, not their orientation, or gender, or immigration status, or religion, nor all the other factors that make up their story. In addition to being a teacher, Andrew is also a pirate. Follow him on Twitter @andrewlbond. Years in Education: 11--15 Caucasian Heterosexual Female First in Family to Graduate From College English Language Development & AVID High School Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: Like my English Language Learner students, I worked hard in school to learn another language, Spanish, which helps me to connect not only with their language-related struggles, but also allows me to better form relationships with their families and encourage their primary language development. Travel has also enabled some surprising commonalities. For the past eleven years, I have spent a considerable amount of time in Asia during my breaks, so in addition to being familiar with some of my students' home towns, I know the feeling of being a stranger in a strange land, with little knowledge of the language, ability to communicate with others, and the general discomfort of being in a completely unfamiliar setting. This helps me relate to and empathize with newcomer students who are often feeling the same way within a week to a few months after moving to the United States. Another thing I have in common with several of my students is that I was the first in my family to graduate from college. While I was extremely fortunate that my parents were overall very supportive of me throughout high school, they were ill-equipped to help me navigate the world of college applications and the FAFSA. I did not have a close relationship with a guidance counselor or teacher to help me with the complexities of applications, moving away, and enrolling in college, but in retrospect, I wish I had. I hope to relate that experience to my students who may be too afraid to ask questions. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, I believe that it is important that students and teachers share commonalities. I feel that it is extremely impactful for students to see their reflection in and have shared experiences with their teachers. That being said, there are many things a teacher can do to cultivate authentic relationships and establish mutual respect and trust. I also believe that there is much to be learned from a diversity of experiences and perspectives, and frankly, learning from and about my students has made me a better person. That being said: has it been as beneficial for them to learn about my experience as a white woman? I'm not so sure. Our teacher education programs need to actively recruit more diverse candidates to effectively represent our student population. Our students need to make those connections through better representation in education and a host of other fields to better help them aspire to be whatever it is they choose to be. Tiffany is a TED-Ed Innovative Educator. To find out more about how Tiffany's Innovation Project is connecting classrooms around the world, follow her on Twitter @BadgerEDHS. |
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