Teacher

Teacher– Student Interactions And Race In Integrated Classrooms Essay, Research Paper “Teacher–Student Interactions and Race in Integrated Classrooms” Studies have shown in the past that there is racial bias in classrooms. Many say that African American students are treated more poorly than Caucasian American students. Examples include less student-teacher interaction, less praise given and less help being given to African American students. A recent study showed that approximately 9 out of 10 teachers are Caucasian females from predominantly suburban settings. The study concluded that, from their background, these Caucasian female teachers had little contact with the African American culture, thus making it slightly more difficult to work with them and having a low

tolerance towards them and their actions. In this article, an experiment was performed that would show whether former studies still remained true. 417 seventh graders were chosen for this experiment, all living in southeastern Louisiana. The students that were studied were 184 African Americans (101 girls, 83 boys); 233 Caucasian Americans (121 girls, 112 boys). The selected class was a social studies classroom made up of “low achievers”. This class was chosen because it should have proven to have the most interaction between student and teacher. 16 Caucasian female teachers were also chosen, 2 from 8 schools. They were chosen by the principal because of many years of teaching experience and positive evaluations for all of their years teaching. After being studies for 32

hours (between all classrooms), the results were figured. When asked questions, Caucasian students responded more than African American students did. They raised their hands more often and always tended to be involved with the discussion. It was also shown that when questions were given that required deep thought to answer, Caucasian children were called upon almost twice as much as the other students. When it comes to praise, Caucasian American students received more than African American students, both for correct and incorrect answers. When a Caucasian student responded incorrectly, they were praised slightly, at least for answering, and directed towards the correct answer. However, when an African American student, answered incorrectly, they were told that they were wrong and

the question was moved onto another person. This study showed also that females had more interaction with teachers than did the males in the class. The females, of both races, tended to be more outgoing and involved in all discussions. The males were called on more frequently than females, mostly because the teacher thought that they weren’t paying attention. In conclusion, in most every aspect where race was a factor, Caucasian students received more attention, more praise, and more interaction with the teacher than did African American students. I thought at the beginning of the article that I knew what the outcome would be. If you have never lived near or interacted with people from other cultures, not only African Americans, but Bosnians, Asians, and Russians included, you

do not know how to act towards them. Whether a teacher or a friend, the most important thing that we don’t want to do is offend them or make them think that they are inferior. A few years ago, I spent a day in the ESL room at Proctor High School. It was definitely a mix of cultures and it was so exciting to be there. I did notice while I was there that some students did not get called on. When I questioned this after class, the teacher told me that it was because if they didn’t raise their hand, she assumed that hey didn’t know the answer. If they didn’t know, she didn’t want to call on them and risk embarrassing them in front of their peers. I agree that sometimes this is true, especially in a room where there is more of one culture than there is of another. The