Looks Like Me: Representation in the Classroom Matters

Skylar Brown

This project explores the importance of representation for student success in K-12 education. In a profession that does not have adequate representation of minority teachers, it is important for young Black and Brown students to see representation from someone who looks like them throughout their classrooms. According to Laura Thomas, “(o)ur children's early experiences…shape what they imagine to be possible for people who look like them, live where they live, or come from where they came from. Simply put, kids determine what they can be based on the examples around them” (Thomas, 2016). Ensuring diversity in the classroom requires a proactive and intentional intervention, but that effort helps many students increase their self-awareness, self-esteem, and ownership of their grades. However, representation is not just a matter of skin color. Even with a college education, research shows that Black and Brown professionals are more likely than their white counterparts to have experienced financial hardship (Scott-Clayton and Li, 2016). Teachers who have experience or personal knowledge of poverty can model a path to a better life for poor students. Understanding the language and characteristics of poverty will help all teachers not only to help but also to better understand the struggles of their students of color. Having strategies that address these students’ needs and identity can help teachers with classroom management, student success, and teacher/student relations. Representation is love.

• Skylar Brown is a graduating senior Teaching Fellow and Honors College Member. She recently presented this research on the importance of representation in the classroom at the Southern Regional Honors Council Conference in Birmingham. Skylar also volunteered as a tutor and created summer school curricula for Community Initiatives, a local nonprofit. She will be teaching 3rd grade at Rice Elementary school in the upcoming school year.