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Fostering Open-Mindedness through Teaching Remain a Critical Component in Education
By Kyla Still and Dr. Benjamin M. Drury
A marked incongruity exists between the racial demographics of educators and students, predominantly comprising white teachers and a student body of diverse racial origins. Despite the expectation for teachers to treat all students impartially, this demographic mismatch poses substantial obstacles to fostering cultural and racial understanding within classrooms.
A critical challenge stems from the affirmation of cultural identity. When educators primarily represent one representative of the socialization process within every culture, people may find it arduous to grasp and validate the cultural identities of their varied students. This can result in misconceptions, communication breakdowns, and a near total lack of formal and institutionalized inclusivity in the educational milieu.
Students feel most comfortable when there are open lines of communication with their teacher and other agents of their educational community.
Entrenched practices of institutional racism, sexism, and classism or perhaps a purposeful avoidance of consciousness among educators can exacerbate these challenges. For…
