 High School Student
African-American Male Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: My teachers and I definitely do NOT have a lot in common. The only thing really connecting us is that it's their job to teach me and I have to go to class. In my opinion, the biggest divider between my teachers and I are race, gender, and economic background. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes. It definitely does make a difference in the relationships that I have with staff at my school. For example, I don't see any of my teachers or staff members as people that I could truly open up to. Honestly, how could they understand me? They're all white women and I am a black male. In my perspective, I have grown up in a different world than my teachers. It's a world that they never had to experience and they never will. The only teachers/adults that would truly understand me and my past experiences would be a person of color but I don't think I've ever had a teacher or color and that's really a shame. Dante is getting ready for college where he plans to study business. He is currently interning with a youth organization where he works with kids to record music and organize performances. He hopes to become a music producer.
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 Middle School Student
Chinese + Caucasian Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: As a mixed race student, not many teachers reflect my cultural background. When my teachers and I can relate in other ways, I feel as if being a minority doesn’t matter because we connect in other, more important ways. You don’t need to have the same race or gender to understand another person, and even a small commonality can mean the world. I had an amazing 4th grade teacher; she was always extremely enthusiastic and loved teaching. Near the end of the school year, my class had an assignment to write about an important keepsake. Although at the time I had no idea what a keepsake was, I had known for a while that I wanted to write about my cello. I had never really struggled with writing before, but I was very apprehensive about how to put the connection I felt with my instrument into words. I knew it was just a hollow block of wood, but it meant so much more to me. Not many of my peers understood, and the thought that I had to funnel a tornado of thoughts into just five paragraphs was maddening. No words I knew could express my feelings. When it was time to present my essay, I was scared that my teacher wouldn’t understand exactly how I felt, and that I wasn’t precise enough in my explanation. Luckily for me, she had played the violin since she was a kid, and knew exactly what I meant. My teacher understood, and she helped me make my writing clearer. She helped me concentrate and explain my tornado of thoughts coherently. That similarity with music helped me with my education. And although my writing is nowhere near perfect, the fact that I had something in common with my teacher helped me build my skill. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Absolutely! I believe the most important part of student teacher relationships is empathy. The ability to see others point of view, and feel with them. If a student understands that their teacher respects them and knows what they’re going through, they are much more likely to respect and understand them back. Although students and teachers can be different, even the smallest commonality can make the biggest impact.  Middle School Student
Korean Female First Daughter Middle Child Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I have nothing really in common with my teachers. Almost all of them are female. I am also female. Some of them are Asian like me. Some of them have the same hobbies, play the same instruments, and some of them taught or teach my brother so I guess we both know my brother. I have a male teacher who is my only male teacher. And we do not have anything in common. He teaches my brother. But there is nothing we have in common. I don’t think I have ever had a teacher that I had a lot in common with. But maybe I just do not know. My kindergarten teacher was Korean. And my principal too. But they couldn’t speak Korean, like me. They were my only teachers that were Korean. One of my fourth grade teachers had a small collection of fossils on his desk. I also have some fossils. One of my teachers has died hair and I also die my hair from time to time. Some of them wear glasses. But only a few. I used to wear glasses too. But now I wear contacts. A lot of them have dark hair and dark eyes. I have really dark hair and eyes so it seems like black. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I do not think it matters that students and teachers have anything in common with each other. I have nothing really in common with my teachers but I get along with them just fine. I think that if a student has a lot of things in common with the teacher, maybe they could be closer. I don’t see anyone in any of my classes get along more with the teacher because they have things in common than if they didn’t. I am pretty sure that teachers treat their students equally. I had a friend who was born in the same hospital and liked the same baseball team as our teacher. Once in a while they would talk about it but I did not think the teacher was treating her better or liked her more or anything. Also, I do not think that if you and the teacher have things in common there will be a special bond between the two of you. I just think that they have something in common. A teacher is still a teacher. If you need his or her help, you can just ask. He or she will still be there for you. Similarities could start a bond between the teacher and the student but I just don’t think it matters. I think that if I actually had teachers with a lot in common, I would think differently. But I never had any teacher with anything big in common, big enough to start a bond. Even if I did have a teacher with lots in common, I would not really care. I have gone to school for years without having a special connection with the teacher and I still think that teachers are a good teachers.  Middle School Student
Caucasian Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I do not have a race. All of my friends have different races though, which has made me learn so much. My best friend Laura is Asian and my other best friend Megan is Filipino. Because I am a white female like many public school teachers, I have had things in common with teachers. It is good I have things in common with my teachers, but they are not diverse, like all of my friends. I would also like my friends to have things in common with their teachers. Also, my parents are divorced, and my brother has moved away to Utah, so my family is somewhat broken apart, but we make it work. I rarely see my dad, only every other weekend. I am with my mom during the weekdays, and every other weekend. None of the teachers I know have had divorced parents, or at least don't speak of it. Students are so diverse. Teachers are not diverse. It is not fair for the kids to not have any teachers like themselves. Teachers and students need to be equally diverse. People should have things in common with the people they spend the most time with and learn from. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes. Very, very, very much. Even though few students may have things in common with teachers, very many do not. Kids have to have someone to look up to, and teachers can have an impact on that. If teachers were more diverse and kids had things in common with them, then kids would look up to their teachers more, and trust them. If a kid is going through a tough time, the teacher could help a lot more if they had things in common and they went through the same experiences. You have things in common with your friends, which is why you are friends, right? I think that may be why kids do not like school, because they have nothing in common with their teachers. It is easier to learn with a teacher that you have things in common with. There are so many people on this earth that are diverse and most public school teachers in America are white women and public school students in America are diverse. I find that something is wrong there, and we need to fix it so more kids can have things in common with their teachers.  Middle School Student
Male First Generation American Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: When we first immigrated to the United States, I was only three-years-old and I had just learned how to speak my primary language--Turkish. At the playground, while the other kids played Bakugan, Pokémon, and Beyblade, I just sat in the corner and watched. When the time came to go to pre-K, I did not know what to do. This was because I had just mastered Turkish, which made it harder to learn a second language without mixing the words up. In addition, it looked like every kid around me was a master at English. Apparently, my teacher was just as I was. She had also just moved to the United States a couple years before. My pre-K teacher knew what I was going through, so she gave me extra support. She taught me almost everything I needed to know. Eventually, by the time I went to Kindergarten, I was the first kid there who learned how to read. On one of my first experiences with the American school system, I learned that having things in common with your teachers is very important. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Of course! It does not matter how many similarities you may have with your teachers. Any similarities can help start a bond between the two. As a student, I think it is very important to have similarities between each other. By having similarities with your teachers, this creates a friendship that is very important to have. Additionally, I think it is much easier to learn from a person who has similarities with you, know or trust versus a person who you have never seen in your life.  Middle School Student
Indian + Chinese Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I hate the weekends. I have five extracurricular activities, which is not a lot compared to some people. Three of the activities are on Saturday, and two activities are on Sunday. My older sister has seven extracurricular activities and six of them on the weekend so it is even busier to take us both to some different classes. I like my extracurricular activities, but it is extremely chaotic. In fifth grade we did a vote to see what our favorite weekday is. I was the only one who picked Monday. My teacher never understood why I picked Monday because he did not try to find the reason. I was very surprised that he did not try to find out why because he was the person that always asks “why?” to everything. Actually, I did not even have this in common with my classmates either. What I learned from this experience is that people, especially teachers, will not always try to get to know you and you will not always get the opportunity to get to share things about yourself. If you do not get the opportunity to share a little bit about yourself then the teacher will not know the similarities and they will not think that he or she can relate to you. From this experience, I also noticed how important it is to have even the smallest connection to a teacher, it can help you agree on things to make your classroom community better. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, I think it is important to have things in common with your teachers because it helps you and your teacher have a better connection in school. By having similarities the teacher can get to know you better and put that into your learning to help you learn in a better fitting way. It can also help with communication. It will help you communicate and talk to your teacher without feeling like talking to a total stranger. A teacher looking at their students will probably think of them as stereotypical kids in their grade if they do not want to put in the effort to notice them as individuals. Without having a connection with your teacher or student, it is going to be hard to understand who they are as a person. At school, they might act a lot different than they actually are to show the perfect impression towards their teachers or other students. It is also important to have things in common with your teacher because that way they can have empathy instead of sympathy. Instead of just feeling bad for your teacher or student you can relate and imagine what it was like in their shoes. This allows the teacher and student to have a more personal bond so they feel more comfortable talking to each other with more personal things.  Middle School Student
Chinese Male Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: In California, teachers were treated with the utmost respect. Everyone wanted to be a teacher. One day, I was thinking about all the things that were the same and different about California teachers and Washington teachers. I was also thinking about one specific teacher, my favorite teacher, Mrs. Hogan. Mrs. Hogan was my 2nd and 3rd grade teacher. For many years, I had thought Mrs. Hogan and I were really different. But when I really came to think about it, we weren’t that different from each other. When she was small, her last name was also made fun of just like mine. Hogan is a word for an Indian hut. My last name was also made fun of, everyone thought that it was a stupid name and very funny. There are also other things that made us the same too. For example, our families both immigrated to America and we all had relatives that had fought in a war. We both also loved pizza and lasagna because she is Italian. Even her friends were similar to mine. Her friends loved to watch football (even though they support the Packers and I just liked the Patriots). Her friends loved to run and be active rather than play video games and it was the same with my friends. I think that having things alike impacts you no matter what those things are. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Even though I said that being alike impacts you, I don’t think that you need to be alike. Being alike with a teacher can be good in many ways. You can still be very good without being alike with a teacher. Having things in common with a teacher makes you want to come to school to be with your teacher. If you are too alike, than you will start going to school just to see your friends and the teacher and you won't actually try to study or anything. Still, wanting to come to school is better than not coming to school. My mother didn’t really have that much in common with her teachers. Still, she still has a good job.  High School Student Iranian Female Heterosexual Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: Most of my teachers have been white women. I have never had a Middle Eastern teacher while in public school, even though I know several Iranian students and an even greater number of Middle Eastern students. However, I have had a few Asian or multiracial teachers. For example, in seventh grade Humanities class, I met my teacher and eventual Writing Club advisor, Kristin Leong. I look forward to casually strolling into her room and asking what she’s working on. From my experience working with Ms. Leong, I’ve learned she loves to fill her schedule with exciting opportunities related to writing, activism, and any of her other interests. I can relate to her love of working on a multitude of projects and to her active character. My schedule is also full of things I love such as starting my own vegan truffle company, yoga, blogging, and writing for Points Living Magazine. My twelfth grade mathematics teacher and I are both interested in health and wellness. She is vegetarian, and I eat mostly plant-based foods. My Senior Project advisor is also interested in health and wellness, and working with her on my senior project on health-food entrepreneurship is very exciting. I appreciate that I share similar political views with some of my teachers. Class lessons about the current political climate have inspired me to write political raps and attend events such as the Seattle Women's March of 2017. I have analyzed the president’s tweets and watched his inaugural address at school. It means a lot to me that many of my teachers also have similar stances on the immigration ban even if they do not share my ethnic background. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes. It does matter that students and teachers have things in common. I believe in the importance of student and teacher relationships. For me, it’s easier to create a meaningful connection with someone if we share similar experiences, backgrounds, or interests. This way, teachers become more approachable and the learning material becomes more influential. When I can converse with teachers about vegan truffles, Persian festivals, and poetry slams outside class, I also feel like I can ask teachers questions with less hesitation inside class. Teachers who mention healthy eating in a science lesson or tie in anecdotes about their culture into history lectures also create more engaging and relatable material. Teachers who share backgrounds with students are able to tap into students’ perspectives and mindsets. They can teach in a way that personalizes the information for the students and helps them learn the material in familiar styles. The reason I know about spoken word poetry is that my seventh grade humanities teacher, Ms. Leong, introduced me to it. Because we shared similar interests and personalities, I formed a long-term relationship with her. Many of the opportunities I currently experience developed from that relationship. If I were unable to connect with my teacher in seventh grade, I would not have started Writing Club, learned about spoken word poetry, and started several writing projects in high school. I do not believe I would have pursued these opportunities if I did not have a teacher with a similar character to inspire me. Diversity in the teaching industry is important because it brings new perspectives and stories into the classroom. When I was in elementary school, many of my teachers were my role models. If there were a more diverse range of teachers, students would have culturally diverse role models to inspire them. This would be empowering for many young students who come from many different cultures, which is very important especially at a young age.  Niki is currently applying for college while running her company, Rawcoco. To learn more about Niki and her adventures in entrepreneurship, performance poetry, and training for a World Record in planking, or to order her delicious raw vegan truffles, visit Rawcoco.weebly.com.
 Middle School Student
Chinese Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: Both my teachers and I share many similar day to day experiences. We all live or interact with the same community and setting, be it school or the greater Seattle area, so many of the things they run into I have dealt with as well. My teachers will tell the class about an experience they had with traffic, SEATAC airport, or someone at the grocery store, and I am able to relate to it. Even their childhood stories and personal preferences coincide with mine at times. Some days I've had conversations about pets, foods, and TV shows that both my teachers and I absolutely adore. Other times we complain together about not wanting to run or wake up early! Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I believe it is essential that students and teachers have things in common and share them as well. Personally, I know it's sometimes easy to get caught up in the grading aspect of school. At times, I'll forget the ultimate goal is to learn from my mistakes rather than just being upset about them. Shared interests and experiences make it so in the eyes of students, teachers are not just the people that critique and stamp letters onto our work. When I can relate to who I am learning from, I feel I can better reflect on the suggestions and markings I see. I know the person who wrote them understands personally what I go through on a day to day basis, and I know they want me to improve. |
ROLL CALLHumanizing the gaps separating teachers and students. Archives
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