Why hiring more Latino teachers is not the solution
*Ray Salazar makes a good point – while having Latino teachers for Latino students is needed, what’s more important is how good the teacher is. VL
By Ray Salazar, The White Rhino
On Friday, the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus released a statementcriticizing Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the lack of Latino leaders in the Chicago Public Schools. Interim CPS CEO Jesse Ruiz resumed his position as vice-president of the Board of Education—not president–generating some backlash against the mayor for not naming Ruiz to a higher leadership position. It’s unclear if Ruiz even wanted one of these roles.
[pullquote][tweet_dis]While there is a shortage of Latino teachers, we cannot push Latinos or other minorities into this field simply to change data.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]Interestingly, some of the alderman quoted in the statement did not back the Latino mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in the mayoral election. They did not support the opportunity for this city to have its first Latino leader.
[pullquote][tweet_dis]While cultural awareness and competence play important roles in teacher-student relationships, what plays the definitive role is how good the teacher is.[/tweet_dis][/pullquote]The Latino Caucus members call on CPS to hire “greater numbers of Latino teachers and Latinos in leadership positions.” They cite Illinois State Board of Education data stating that 4.8% of Chicago teachers are Hispanic while Hispanics make up 46% of the CPS population.
My question for the Latino Caucus is—where do you expect these high numbers of Latino teachers to come from?
Click HERE to read the fulll story.
This article was originally publisheed in Chicago Now.
Since 1995, Ray has been an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. In 2003, Ray earned an M.A. in Writing, with distinction, from DePaul University. In 2009, he received National Board Certification. His writing aired on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio many times and have been published in the Chicago Tribune and CNN. For thirty years, Ray lived in Chicago’s 26th Street neighborhood. Today, he lives a little more south and a little more west in the city with his wife, son, and daughter.
[Photo US Department of Education/Flickr]