Teachers Making Worlds of a Difference

From reading the personal dedication by Sunny-Marie Birney it made me reflect on my own experiences with having African American teachers. All throughout school I have never had any interactions with African American teachers inside the classroom. The closest I had ever come to having a familiar face in the classroom was if I had a substitute teacher. While I may not have had many encounters with African American teachers my mother who is an educator has had a major impact on my life. While I did not have role models in the classroom I did have a role model at home. My mother showed me that African American women can have leadership roles in the fields of education. My mother being at the top of her department and even later obtaining her Doctored degree in education sets the example for me and others in my generation that it is possible for a familiar face to not only be with you in the classroom but to also teach you. Before coming to Spelman College the only teacher I felt I could truly relate to was my own mother. She may have not been my teacher in the classroom but she brought many of her teaching skills home. She was a mother first but always a teacher.

Coming to Spelman College was a whole new experience for me. I had not been so accustomed to having majority African American teachers. The whole concept just seemed so foreign to me. I learned that by having African American teachers a new bond between student and teacher would be formed. No longer would it be based on teacher teaches student and teacher learns ideologies. Instead their would be a closer bond between student and teacher that exceeds the bounds of education. When a familiar face is in the classroom the student feels a sense of belonging and the ability to relate. With majority of my teachers I feel as though they genuinely do care about my well being and that they do want me to succeed. I truly believe that they see me less as a paycheck and more of an individual with the propensity to accomplish greatness.

-Kori A. Coleman