Diversity Matters...Teachers Matter

New York City. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. A city of diverse population. A city of more than 8.4 million people - where more than half of those are represented by diverse cultures. To address the needs of these many diverse cultures, the New York City Young Men’s Initiative was created. According to their website, “In August 2011, New York City Young Men’s Initiative was created to address increasing disparities among black and Latino men between the ages of 16 and 24 in education, employment, health and justice.”

In January 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio, working with New York City's Young Men's Initiative, made a bold pledge: NYC will develop new initiatives and programs aiming to put an additional 1,000 men of color on course to become NYC public school teachers over the next three years. The NYC Men Teach initiative is aimed at putting diverse male role models in the classroom. In a city that is known for its widely diverse population, the NYC Young Men’s Initiative and NYC Men’s Teach is showing that diversity matters and should be embraced within schools and communities. Young men need to see people who look like them and their families reading, learning, and teaching. The website continues to share that, “Research shows that students benefit from being taught by teachers with similar life experiences who help create a positive learning environment and leave a profound impact on students' grades and self-worth. As classrooms are also the major cultivators of tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of diverse cultures and backgrounds, a diverse teacher population is also critical to improving the quality of life in our communities.”

Additionally, the NYC Men Teach initiative is aimed at showing that teachers matter too! The program is designed to support the teachers in its program, with a focus on recruitment and retention “aimed at keeping teachers of color in schools for at least three years.” The initiative hopes to show that NYC Men Teach doesn’t just care about its students, it cares about its teachers too!

You can learn more about the NYC Young Men’s Initiative and NYC Men Teach by visiting their website. You will also find a great overview video there that lets you hear from actual program participants. Check it out to see how New York City is working with its diverse culture to change lives and empower students.

Pepper is also working to help teachers grow and teach to make a difference in the lives of students. Pepper provides a wide range of courses and workshops for teachers that allow for growth and learning opportunities. As a member of Pepper you also have access to Pepper's online learning community where you can meet others who are teaching in schools across the country.