In diverse classrooms, does teacher's background matter?

Fresno Unified School District recently hired a white teacher to teach cultural studies courses at the new Gaston Middle School in Southwest Fresno. Some community leaders expressed outrage over the decision and asked the district to hire a person of color. The Know’s youth reporters spoke with teachers at Fresno High about their experience teaching students of various ethnic backgrounds and asked them: Is it easier to relate to students of the same background? “To me, it doesn’t matter but I can tell it matters to students because they talk about other teachers or other classes they have. Since African-American students can relate to me a little more, there are certain things I can tell them or ways I can approach them that other people wouldn’t feel comfortable with.” Read more responses on The Know.