Double Take

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Research Alert

Access to Diversity Is Not Enough

Scholars and educators have argued that interracial friendships can have social, emotional, and academic benefits for children. Unfortunately, according to a recently published study of 53 elementary and middle school classes in a racially diverse suburban school district, these friendships may become less common as the school year progresses. Significantly, the study found that teachers' behavior played a role. Students who perceived their teachers as warm and respectful were more likely to maintain cross-race friendships instead of gravitating only toward students of their own race. According to the study's authors, one lesson is clear: If we want students to develop and maintain interracial friendships, it may not be enough to have diverse classrooms and schools. Teachers must establish supportive, trusting classroom climates that nurture such friendships.

"The Hidden Role of Teachers: Child and Classroom Predictors of Change in Interracial Friendships" (Journal of Early Adolescence, May 14, 2016) is available for a fee.

Screen Grabs

All About Connectedness

CBS's 60 Minutes reported on an all-boys parochial school in Newark, New Jersey, where relationships are at the heart of everything they do. St. Benedict's Preparatory School serves 550 students in grades 7–12—many of whom represent racial minorities from Newark's low-income neighborhoods. The school, named after the patron saint of students, achieves amazing results: 98 percent of students graduate and 85 percent earn college degrees.

When students gather in the noisy gymnasium for a schoolwide meeting each morning, the young men become silent within seconds of the school's student leader raising his hand. This student-led brotherhood is built by design through programs such as a boot camp for incoming freshmen and a 55-mile group hike on the Appalachian Trail. The school also provides intensive emotional support for many students, including group counseling sessions led by a psychologist. "It's all about connectedness," says the psychologist. "All about teaching that young man that we're not going anywhere."

Relevant Read

Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students (second edition)

by Pernille Ripp (Routledge, 2015)

In Passionate Learners, Ripp confesses that during her early years as a teacher, she followed a tight-gripped classroom management style. She sums up that approach as "I am the sun. You are mere satellites. Welcome to my universe." But today she questions whether this method (one that many other educators follow) truly engages and empowers students. She espouses a teaching approach that's all about students—and that starts with relationships.

Ripp's book addresses how to bring such a student-centered approach into reality. She devotes chapters to handing over control to students during the first week of school, establishing a classroom community where student voice is valued, and letting go of the "punish, behavior, reward" cycle. The book is practical at its core; each chapter includes ready-to-implement takeaways. The appendix also features printable resources, such as student and parent questionnaires, conference sheets, and a particularly insightful tool for teachers called, "Would I Like Being a Student in My Own Classroom?"

Numbers of Note

How Do Students Feel About Their Relationships with Teachers?

In a 2015 report, more than 2,000 young people offered thoughts about their relationships with adults at school. Those who had attended high school continuously had very different views from those who had left school at least temporarily. Here's what they said.

Double Take - table

	Students with Continuous Enrollment	Students with Interrupted Enrollment
Felt that adults at school always or almost always cared	46.6%	33.7%
Were encouraged by school personnel to drop out	5.1%	10.3%
Went to a teacher when they had trouble in school	19.8%	8.8%
Turned to "no one" when they struggled	11.6%	23.3%

Source: Center for Promise at America's Promise Alliance's Don't Quit on Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships.

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Priming the Relationship Pump

"When you don't have that natural spark of chemistry, close relationships between teachers and students can be engineered." So notes NPR's "Hidden Brain" podcast about how teachers can prime relationships with students by drawing on commonalities. Harvard researchers administered a survey to teachers and their 9th grade students, asking questions about personal preferences, subject-matter issues, and so on. The researchers then disclosed common interests revealed on the survey to teachers and selected students. The result for students who had been clued in about the commonalities? They benefited from stronger relationships with teachers, and their achievement scores—especially for minority learners—improved dramatically.

Find the episode titled "In the Classroom, Common Ground Can Transform GPAs."