A Talk to Teachers, Essay Example

In “A Talk to Teachers”, James Baldwin discusses the high risk that African Americans and other individuals of color face due to discrimination on the basis on their skin color (Baldwin, 1963). The first time the author states the word “Negros”, he does so to state that these individuals have a high incidence of developing schizophrenia as a consequence of their treatment by society. Furthermore, he explains that while they are technically American, they are not afforded the same rights as their fellow Americans. In order to ensure that every American is able to enjoy their status in this country equally, it is the responsibility of educators to use educator to bridge this gap and help all Americans set straight on the path to success. Furthermore, it is important to teach children about their own cultures in school, not just the traditions that Europeans brought to the country. It is important to consider that America is a melting pot of different cultures and the author emphasizes this importance.

Overall, I agree with the author. Because this speech was given, we are now more aware of the needs of diverse peoples in society and their needs are better able to be met. Providing everyone with equal access to education is the first step. In terms of this specific case of discrimination, Baldwin saw that the first step to ending discrimination was to address this issue directly with teachers and persuade them to implement cultural competency in the classroom. Even though it appears that modern classrooms implement some of the advice presented by Baldwin, it is clear that education is still not equal for all. In low income neighborhoods, students are likely to have lowest quality of teachers and a high teacher turnover rate because there is no significant incentive for teachers to work within these communities. To truly enact change, we must alter our outlook about what it means to provide equal education and what is necessary to ensure that resources are distributed adequately to achieve this goal. Modern programs such as Teach for America are attempting to resolve this discrepancy, but they still do not produce enough teachers to be able to fully reverse the problem at hand.

It is apparent that the role of teachers is not just to deliver education, but to adapt to the needs of students. Independently of neighborhood, it is important for teachers to act as a support system for their community. A “Caring and Moral Education” is one that is designed to create change in the community and provide students with skills necessary for them to thrive. In many cases, the teacher is an individual that spends more time with students than their own parents. Therefore, they must also act as role models and teach their students basic life skills. The experiences and opportunities that a teacher provides students often goes beyond the classroom and it is important for these experiences to be designed in a valuable manner. To ensure that were are able to help teachers achieve this challenging goal, it is necessary to put more educational support systems in place. Often, teachers are not given the physical materials necessary to do their jobs, and this is a first step we could take to bridge the apparent gap in education between members of different communities.

References

Baldwin, J. (1963). A Talk to Teachers. Retrieved from http://richgibson.com/talktoteachers.htm