I have thought a lot about the idea of white teaching minority students, as I myself want to teach in the Bronx. But, I just cannot agree with the statement that White teachers cannot connect with minority students. If we were truly embracing multiculturalism in our classrooms, which public education says it does which is false, a connection between minority kids and white teachers wouldn’t be a problem. Here’s the thing, ill be able to connect with my students because our relationships will be based on the individual rather than race. I will build a community in my class and I will connect with my students because I will care about who they are as individuals rather than as minorities. I can’t stand the idea that I wont be able to connect with my students because I am white. I understand race is an issue, but here’s the thing, my focus isn’t about race, it’s about making a true community of learners. Another problem is that multiculturalism is such a misused and thrown around term that its lost it value and true meaning. It’s a term embracing pseudo-equality especially in education, which makes white teachers look like they are doing a good job of teaching minority students while still becoming a authoritative figure in front of the class. I feel like if we focus all our attention on ‘well he’s white so he can’t see from a black perspective’ so many problems are generated that learning isn’t even an element of the classroom anymore. And yeah maybe I don’t understand every aspect of a minority student’s life, but they also don’t know every dimension of me. I am not going to look at my black students as black students; I am going to look at them as individuals.
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