Middle School Student Chinese Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I had a few connections with my first grade teacher. When I was six, in first grade, I had just moved from China. My parents already knew a lot about English. On my first day of school, my head was still full of Mandarin dialects. I knew little English during that period of my life. I had to take a class with others my age and that class would help me learn English more fluently. I would always ask my first grade teacher what others had asked her. For example, a student near me asked her how to spell a word. Then I would ask the teacher how to spell a word as well, but a word I already knew how to spell so I could make sure that the answer was what I thought it was. My teacher knew that I was learning a lot and starting to understand English more. It did not impact me a lot with my teachers being from a different area than me. I loved their personalities. In addition, my fifth grade teacher and I had a very strong bond when we would do writing with our class. When we had conferences, each time I would get to know her a bit more personally. I honestly feel like having a race connection with your teacher does not matter at all, personality matters more. If you know each other personally, it helps you have a stronger bond. That is much more important than where you are from and what language you speak. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It might have been easier for me if some of my teachers were Chinese too. Mostly, I think being from different areas is what makes us unique. I think that one of the most important things in school is to have a bond with a certain teacher you know personally. It feels like you and the teacher have a special link. Just like a friend. The first step to becoming a friend with another person is knowing more about them. If you never knew that person, you will not be friends. It is the same with knowing teachers. That is why a bond with a teacher is important. Another thing is that when you are connected to a teacher, you are more likely to give attention to their lessons, and that way you have a larger learning opportunity. A bond like that is important becuase not all students are very engaged in what teachers have to say. Sometimes when you know more about your teacher than your classmates, you feel special since it is like a secret no one else knows about. That is another reason why having a bond with your teacher is significant. You might be more willing to talk to that teacher if you have a stronger connection with them. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong
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Middle School Student Indian Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I moved to America when I was three so I was brought up here, even though I was born in India. Most of my teachers have been American. I only had one Indian teacher and that was in preschool. I did not have a larger understanding of race culture and religion back then so it did not make a great impact in my life. If I had an Indian teacher now or in elementary school, it would have been different because my parents and the teacher could talk it over and have more in common. So there is not much I had in common with my teachers other than being female. For some people, teachers of the same gender can understand them better. However, that was not the case for me. I never really connected with my teachers most of the time. I was an average student who didn't have any problems. I never had too many personal or exiting things to share with my teachers. The only difficult thing was probably was being of a different race and religion. My family has a special way to do things. There are also some things in my religion that we do. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, I does matter because teachers need to connect with students to help with any problem they are facing. When students connect with teachers, teachers can understand the student and figure out a way to help them. That is why teachers are here, they guide students to become great successful people. Sometimes kids are afraid to talk to teachers because they worry they might be judged because they do not have that necessary bond. The student can end up in lots of pain. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong High School Student Middle Eastern Muslim Heterosexual Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: If I am being completely honest, the only thing I have in common with my teachers is that they are mostly female – that is it. I have never encountered a Middle Eastern or even a Muslim teacher in the time that I have been in school. However, with the recent politics it is very comforting to know that many of my teachers share some of my same beliefs or at least support me in expressing my own ideas and opinions. After the inauguration this past January and after all the political protests and sadly the many violent acts against specific groups of people it was very easy to feel alone. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I came to school and almost all of my teachers and all of the office staff were wearing pins with different messages that preached equality, freedom of expression, and safety. Although I do not have a very direct commonality with my teachers, it is comforting to know that they are so accepting of who I am and whom I represent. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think it is so incredibly important for students and teachers to have things in common because it brings them closer together. Even though it is not commonly viewed this way, teachers and students have a very special and intimate relationship. Teachers help students build their character, their interests, and ultimately their future. The exchange of information that happens between a student and a teacher is so valuable and so important. However, if a student does not feel like they can trust or feel close to their teacher then it is very likely that they will not absorb the material. A teacher’s job is not to stand in front of a class and lecture their students. A teacher’s job is to connect with students and help them interpret the information and apply it to their own lives. In addition, when it comes to education, communication is one of the most important factors. If the student does not feel like they have anything in common with their teachers then that line of communication can very quickly be closed. If a student has something going on at home that prohibits them from finishing their homework, or if they are going through certain mental health issues, they need to have comfort in knowing that their teacher is someone they can come and talk to. I have seen multiple situations where a student is too afraid to talk to their teacher and ask for help because they feel like they will not understand. Having something in common with a teacher makes them less scary and more approachable. They no longer become a daunting adult, but rather a friend and someone that can easily be approached. Recently, my mosque was burned down in a very unfortunate case of arson. Coming to school and having multiple teachers ask me if I was okay, if it was the mosque I attended, and if there was anything I needed really made me feel like they cared about me and what was happening in my life both inside and outside of the classroom. I am thankful to have had amazing teachers in all my life in school and I really do believe it is because I was able to build relationships with them based on commonalities and trust. Middle School Student African African American Female First Generation American Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I have moved to various different schools in three different school districts and most of my teachers did not relate to me by where I came from. I had mostly girl teachers. I had one teacher that was a male in the first grade. However, all of my teachers were white. While I was born in America, my mom and dad were born in Kenya and they moved to America for work. Now I can tell you that none of my teachers were African so it was hard to relate to them culture-wise. Although some teachers I could get something in common with. For example, my fourth grade teacher loved to read and write and get creative, so I could talk with her about books and poets and get to know her and create a bond. But then I moved to a new school and that bond had been mostly broken and I had to create another bond with another teacher in a new school. All my teachers had various personalities so it was hard to pick out every piece of myself to understand how to talk and relate to them. None of my teachers really tried to get to know me better, or to ask me question about myself or childhood or anything, and they didn’t really take much care in telling about themselves and showing me a side of them. There were even times when I could not talk to my friends or I could not make friends so easily partly because I moved a lot and partly because I did not relate to other kids. What I had with my teachers was not much but I seemed to connect to the other staff much more. The office assistant was an African American so sometimes I would like talking to her and have help from her. Another thing that helped is that my mom was mostly in the school I went to so I could talk to her but sometimes you might want to get away from your mom and talk to someone new. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think it is very important for teachers to have something in common with their students. Coming from a person who has moved to many schools, for me, I think it would have been easier to learn from my teachers if I did connect to them. Although having differences with my teachers did start up conversations about my different experiences. Also, I got to learn a little more about their culture and what they liked and how it even related to my experiences even though we are from two different places. The only thing that bothered me a little is that my teachers were usually all from the same place and the same culture so when I kept moving I was thinking maybe I would learn something new and I didn’t. But I learned their likes and hobbies. I had one teacher who was a little tough on the kids and I thought to myself, maybe if I started a conversation with her I can get her perspective, but I never found anything in common with her. Later on that made me realize the importance of having something in common with someone. 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. 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 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. 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. |
ROLL CALLHumanizing the gaps separating teachers and students. Archives
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