By: Alexsia Williams

As someone who has grown up their whole life attending the public school system, there’s only been one teacher of color I recall having, which was in elementary school. Given that I’ve been in the Spanish immersion program my whole life, one thing I’ve noticed is that all my teachers teaching me Spanish have all been white. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a white Spanish teacher, but sometimes I do wonder what it would be like if I was actually being taught Spanish by someone who has grown up speaking Spanish their entire life and that’s their family’s native language. For this reason I believe that representation truly matters because when you have someone teaching you who also may happen to look like you, there is a more likely chance that you will end up building a better connection and a stronger relationship with that particular teacher.

Studies have shown that having teachers of color can be very beneficial for several reasons. The first one being is that having teachers of color can improve a student’s academic performance, and the outcome with that is that they have the potential and a more likely chance of being referred to gifted programs when they have a teaching professional who looks like them.

The second reason being is that when students have a teacher of color they often build more trusting relationships between themselves and the teacher. With building a trusting connection with a teacher who looks like them, students of color often have a role model and someone who they can look up to.

The third and last reason why teachers of color are important is because they can bring culturally responsive teaching practices which can improve the curriculum and make learning both more fun and engaging.

Although I haven’t had a lot of teachers of color through my education experience, I hope as I leave high school and continue on with my education in college, I hope to see professors who look like me.