Coming from a tiny community in Western NY, I can say that growing up I never have had many experiences with culture differences. Let’s back up and give some background information on my school. I went to a central school with a total of around 700 kids, and yes this is all the way from pre-k to 12th grade. Walking the halls as a senior I would run into all grades of the school every single day. With this I noticed most of the population had experienced the same culture backgrounds as I had. Throughout my school there was probably a total of 10 colored students. With this I never really got to truly experience other cultural differences first handed. Not until I went to college and even then, my campus mostly consists of white students. Â
However, being a future educator, Black representation in education is important as it helps create an inclusive educational environment. While I always had a teacher to talk to that represented the same identity as me, it has always been in the back of my mind how Black students have felt when trying to look up to an educator that reflects their identity. If anyone knows anything about the most important part of education, it all adds up to the connections students have. If a student has a connection with their teacher, they are more likely to exceed in school. Â
With having black teachers in the school, it helps students foster connections with these students that need comfort from people who reflect their identity. Not only is it important to have this support for the students but it also creates cultural competency among students. This allows students to be able to feel comfortable expressing their cultural differences.Â
This goes a lot further than having more Black teachers in school, it is also important to integrate Black culture into the curriculum. This allows students that may not be Black to also experience and learn about other cultures. This further allows for understanding of the experiences Black individuals have gone through as well as understand the world around them.Â
Having this in mind as a future educator that wants all my students to succeed, I find black representation in schools critical in creating a successful cultural competency, as well as closing achievement gaps. Having Black representation ensures that all students have the ability to feel seen and valued, which makes a huge difference in a school setting, and I hope that I can find a school to teach in that exceeds Black representation.Â