Teachers have one goal -- to teach. However, they do not have the same perspectives when it comes to their students. A new study suggests that white teachers have low expectations from their black students.
The new study conducted by John Hopkins University asked whited and black teachers about their opinion of the same students. According to Atlanta, the white teacher is 30 percent less likely to think that the black student will graduate from a four-year college. Moreover, white teachers are nearly 40 percent less likely to believe that their black students will finish high school.
The report notes that while it is true that the high school graduate rates for black students are lower, it has nothing to do with their innate ability. However, the discrepancy has something to do with unequal access to resources and opportunity.
Black students are more likely to attend high-poverty schools with fewer resources. They also have less access to advanced placement courses compared to their white counterparts.
The white teachers' low opinion of their students of color is disheartening. It only shows that racism and lack of diversity are still among the pressing issues in schools.
"What I would like to do is make teachers aware of biases," said Nicholas Papageorge, co-author of the study per Huffington Post. "Racism is alive and well. I'm sure when people look at a black young man they have certain views, and they might not realize they have these views, and that's really dangerous."
The study raises concern that the white teachers' low expectations from their black students may affect the students' future. If white teachers have low expectations to their student of colors they will not force these students to excel and their poor expectations may manifest in the black students' lives. This is a concern especially that majority of the teachers are white.
"If I'm a teacher and decide that a student isn't any good, I may be communicating that to the student," Papageorge said. "A teacher telling a student they're not smart will weigh heavily on how that student feels about their future and perhaps the effort they put into doing well in school."
Do you agree that the white teachers' low opinions of their students of color are a problem? Do you agree with the white teachers' perspective on their black students? Share your thoughts below.
