Teaching students of color: Looking race in the face

To promote equality, many educators try to be “colorblind.” They try to look past the race of their students to avoid bias and create a refuge from the racially charged atmosphere outside the classroom.

Although the impulse is understandable and the sentiment is admirable, the colorblind approach is misguided. We cannot avoid being affected by racial currents in society, whether we acknowledge them or not. We all aspire to a world in which race is not used to prejudge people. However, by confusing the pluralistic and embracing world we strive for with the racially divisive world we have, we decrease the likelihood of ever attaining our goal. Likewise, many educators espouse the mantra “all students can learn,” but they tend to avoid hard conversations about strategies that will help particular students learn.

Programs aimed at meeting the needs of “all students” — for example whole-school reform and school-accountability initiatives — don’t necessarily address the needs of black youth challenged by poverty. Typically, black students still perform at significantly lower levels than white and Asian students. Schools that do achieve strong results for black students address racial dynamics carefully yet directly, empower students to bring their whole selves to school, and teach in ways that leverage students’ experiences and cultures. In particular, these schools do four things to ensure success with black students: