Student: My school district hires too many white teachers - The Washington Post

Student: My school district hires too many white teachers - The Washington Post: High school is full of, well, high schoolers. We are not naturally the most self-disciplined group. When the bell ending the lunch period rings, for example, students finish socializing and playing with their friends rather than rush to class. At Lake Area New Tech High School in New Orleans, from which I just graduated, we often talked to girls or texted each other instead of studying in our spare time.

But one day I started noticing exceptions. My fifth period history and civics teacher, Mr. Allen, was one of them. When chaos erupted at the end of the lunch hour, he simply opened his door and let his students into his classroom. They filed in respectfully, unlike in other classes. By the time the tardy bell rang, we’d all taken our seats and opened our history books, quietly awaiting further instructions.

Mr. Allen is one of too few black teachers in a school system where about 90 percent of students are black, and I think that shared background helped explain our behavior. Many other teachers cannot control their classes, let alone get their students interested in the work. Mr. Allen can do both.