There are many ways to approach this week's essential question. Technology is changing classrooms, with 97% of schools reporting a connection to the internet as of 2010 (Education Week, September 1, 2011), and the Common Core State Standards are reshaping much of the way we used to think about teaching (Edutopia, February 5, 2013). I do not question the importance or potential impact of these changes, but chose to focus this post on another sea change in education today: the students themselves.
According to an Education Week article from 2014, that year was the first that non-white students comprised a majority of students in our nation's public schools. At the same time, teacher ethnicity remains largely white, at 83%. (Education Week, August 19, 2014). The importance of student-teacher relationships is well established (Hamre & Pianta, 2006). So how does a changing student body, together with stagnant teacher diversity, impact learning? I'd be a very wealthy person indeed if I knew the answer, but I think the question ought to be at the forefront of every educator's mind as they welcome students into their classrooms.
Student-Teacher Relationships. Hamre, Bridget K.; Pianta, Robert C.
Bear, George G. (Ed); Minke, Kathleen M. (Ed), (2006). Children's needs III: Development, prevention, and intervention. , (pp. 59-71). Washington, DC, US: National Association of School Psychologists, x, 1106 pp.
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2011, September 1). Issues A-Z: Technology in Education. Education Week. Retrieved September 23, 2015 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/
How Will Common Core Change What We Do? (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-change-teaching-erin-powers
According to an Education Week article from 2014, that year was the first that non-white students comprised a majority of students in our nation's public schools. At the same time, teacher ethnicity remains largely white, at 83%. (Education Week, August 19, 2014). The importance of student-teacher relationships is well established (Hamre & Pianta, 2006). So how does a changing student body, together with stagnant teacher diversity, impact learning? I'd be a very wealthy person indeed if I knew the answer, but I think the question ought to be at the forefront of every educator's mind as they welcome students into their classrooms.
Student-Teacher Relationships. Hamre, Bridget K.; Pianta, Robert C.
Bear, George G. (Ed); Minke, Kathleen M. (Ed), (2006). Children's needs III: Development, prevention, and intervention. , (pp. 59-71). Washington, DC, US: National Association of School Psychologists, x, 1106 pp.
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2011, September 1). Issues A-Z: Technology in Education. Education Week. Retrieved September 23, 2015 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/
How Will Common Core Change What We Do? (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-change-teaching-erin-powers