Characteristics of Successful Teachers Working with Different Racial Groups
...s, or color a successful teacher find ways to introduce the curriculum in way that facilitates success for all students, it is presented in a more personal manner. These successful teachers have a positive sense of teaching efficacy, they rely on past experiences, they learn from other teachers, and they visualize their teaching strategies to help them teach successfully. However, at the same time a successful teacher who works with minorities focus on the collective as well. The teacher is sensitive to the class as a collective and exemplifies the adage “I am because we are”, thus each individual’s success is a result of the group’s success (Marshall, 108). In this classroom an environment is created were both the teacher and the students expect all the class members to learn and succeed. Marshall claims that this is achieved by de-emphasizing competition for grades thus creating students who are responsible for their own success and the success of their peers. Also, the teacher connects classroom content to the surrounding community. Basically, content in the classroom can be applied to real-life experiences. Learning does not end outside the classroom, students can take what thy have learned and use it in their everyday life and, in theory, that will give students a stronger desire to learn more. The teacher teaches in a way that will not alienate students from their own communities. The successful teacher is not only sensitive to the community but also to issues surrounding second languages. The successful teacher understands and is knowledgeable about the difficulty and complexity of second-language acquisition faced especially by Hispanic American students (Marshall, 179). This teacher realizes that as important as it is for the st...