The Role Model Effect

By Elizabeth Barrera Rush

One afternoon, while listening to National Public Radio, I heard this jaw-dropping statement: "Black students who were randomly matched to Black teachers did, in fact, have better long-run outcomes. Black students who were exposed to Black teachers by third grade were 13% more likely to enroll in college. If kids had two Black teachers by third grade...the likelihood of college enrollment jumped to 32%...[this is called] the role-model effect" (https://whyy.org/segments/they-see-me-as-a-role-model-black-teachers-improve-education-outcomes-for-black-students/). This statement came from a National Bureau of Economic Research study that examined the long-run impacts of students' having same-race teachers. The researchers' "results complement mounting evidence that same-race teachers are beneficial to underrepresented minority students on a number of contemporaneous dimensions, such as test scores, attendance, course grades, disciplinary outcomes, and expectations in a variety of educational settings" (Gershenson et al. 2021). Simply stated, if students have the opportunity to interact with a positive and professional adult who shares similar culture, color, or beliefs, then scholarship or professionalism seems more attainable. When students see a person of color or an openly LGBTQIA+ individual as an educator, they may see themselves as having the potential to become a professional, highly educated person, as well. They may work harder in school, be more apt to take college admission exams, or seek higher levels of education to obtain their goals.

Doesn't this make your thoughts race with excitement? What if students of color had a librarian of color at their school? What difference could an openly gay librarian have on a student who was struggling with identity? Consider the possibilities of what an active, involved librarian, who seeks to be welcoming and build relationships with students, can achieve when they have four to six years with students over the course of elementary or secondary school. Unlike a classroom teacher, librarians are available to all students, beyond the classroom, before and after school, reaching students in all classes beyond a single subject, for years at a time! Now, just think what having an educator they can identify with could do for a child's outlook on the world.

In education, where the majority of the workforce is white and female, I realize I'm asking the majority of people to ponder some serious questions. Is it possible to advocate for diversity in librarianship, to champion and support librarians and teachers on the full spectrum of differences? Is it beneficial to encourage and contribute toward the cost of educating people of various cultures, faiths, abilities, and orientation so they may enroll in a graduate program for librarianship? Finally, if someone has already had the good fortune to become a librarian, do we have the courage to advocate for underrepresented people to help them remain in the profession?

Now that I ask, you may be wondering, "What would be in it for me?" Well, I believe the answer lies in the very same reason that you entered the profession of librarianship to start: you were called to do everything in your power to support all of your teachers with the task of helping all students reach the highest possible levels of academic achievement, to assist administration in reaching campus or district goals, and to increase the odds of forming critically thinking individuals who will be poised for success now and in the future.

In the School Library Connection article, "The Unspoken Quota: Using Radical Inclusion to Disrupt Institutional Whiteness," Peter Langella and Meg Boisseau Allison make a case for white educators to engage in "radical inclusion." This means engaging in "an absolute focus on policies and practices that demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community." They argue that adding some books that celebrate diversity or inviting a Black speaker to your campus to offer "a glimpse into the experiences, perspectives, and humanity of people who aren't white isn't enough." To be radically inclusive, one must take measures daily to integrate equity and inclusion practices throughout the curriculum, the library environment, and throughout your interactions with all administration, faculty, and staff with an approach of respect and honor for the role that each individual plays in an educational community.

Additionally, Langella and Allison discuss the need for those who experience privilege to become allies of those who experience racism and inequity. In discussing the mitigation of institutional whiteness and systemic racism, they quote Xusana Davis, the state of Vermont's executive director of racial equity, who says that this mitigation needs to be undertaken by white people who don't experience it. "It is your moment to act...because as people who wield outsized and often unearned power and privilege in our society, it's especially important and necessary that you be the ones to exercise that privilege in a way that makes things more equitable for everyone'" (Langella and Allison 2020). To speak up, speak out, and champion people who are unlike yourself, is a bold, brave move that makes the statement that it isn't enough to just say you want the world to be more enlightened, better place for our children. It is the time to actually do something that can make a difference.

To be an ally, or someone who takes it upon themselves to champion diversity and inclusion for the purpose of making work and school a better place for others, you can begin first by learning about different people, their cultures, and their lives, as we discussed in a previous article ("Becoming More Inclusive Starts with Us"), and also by becoming more self-aware about our interactions with people who unlike ourselves.

Explore the concept of microaggressions. In the book, Political Speech as a Weapon: Microaggression in a Changing Racial and Ethnic Environment, Sylvia Gonzalez-Gorman talks about how language or beliefs that are regularly conveyed in the "political rhetoric [used] to rally supporters" can permeate the language, beliefs, or attitudes of people in everyday life. We know words can be wielded to intentionally hurt, but there are times where the language or actions may be unintentional yet still yield the same negative results: marginalizing or ostracizing students and educators of diverse backgrounds, negating or nullifying their thoughts and feelings and creating "environments that communicate negative cues to students about their academic [or professional] capabilities" (Gonzalez-Gorman 2018, p.6). Within the first chapter of this book, you may discover that you have encountered scenarios where a discussion about "a person, group, or organization" was a negative interaction for you and your coworkers. Recognizing these events, and then speaking out to stop them, is an essential step in preventing it from happening again in the future.

Finally, discover concrete actions you can take as an ally by reading the article from The Muse, "7 Examples of What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like." This article provides concrete actions to amplify the voice and success of your colleagues from underrepresented groups. If you do things such as noticing their expertise or skills to colleagues or influencers, recommending or advocating that they are hired or serve in an important role, repeating and giving credit for a good idea, ensuring that they are introduced to influential people or asking them to co-author or collaborate on a project, and seeking out publications and information authored by members of underrepresented groups. All of these, and more, are examples of how to bring equity to an organization, as well as to amplify the voices of underrepresented people in the profession.

In the article, "What White Colleagues Need to Understand," Philadelphia educators Clarice Brazas and Charlie McGeehan interview eight Black teachers to bring awareness to inequities faced by teachers of color in schools today—and how white educators can step up to address them (https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2020/what-white-colleagues-need-to-understand). These actions take courage, constant measures, and the desire to do what is ethically right.

We stand to gain so much by actively seeking out and supporting teachers to diversify the profession of librarianship. It begins by promoting the profession of librarianship to diverse teachers or to students who you currently teach. By demonstrating that libraries and librarians are welcoming to all people, by suggesting to students that "you would be an amazing librarian," you can plant the seeds that may potentially grow a few school librarians in the future. You can further this mission by contributing towards scholarships awarded by the American Library Association's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach. The ALA Spectrum Scholarship Program provides scholarships for librarians from critically needed races and ethnicities.

Bringing new life and new faces into the spectrum of librarianship, taking measures to understand and recognize the potential obstacles and challenges that underrepresented people face, and taking a stand as an ally who will advocate for others is a good and right thing to do, not just for our colleagues, but for our students, as well. Academic achievement is what librarianship is there to support. Making students feel that they are safe, accepted, and candidates for success is what we seek to achieve. Knowing that having just one Black teacher can make a difference in the academic success of a Black child is reason enough to support librarians of color. Helping one LGBTQ+ librarian to be there as a beacon of hope for someone struggling with their identity is enough motivation to champion this person. An Indigenous, Asian, or Latinx librarian who breaks the stereotype of what educated professionals look and act like, or a librarian with a disability who demonstrates that all people have strengths and talents that benefit a school community are reason enough to try. If there is a kind of life experience or knowledge that groups of people have lived that we do not have, we should seek to provide our children with an adult who is able to relate to the world around them in the same way. What a gift you will be giving to the world when you have lifted up a library professional who helps children become confident, optimistic, and ready to absorb knowledge from someone who knows what it is like to be just like them! All it takes is the first action to get started and courage to continue forward. And, this you will do for everyone, including yourself.

Works Cited

Brazas, Clarice, and Charlie McGeehan. "What White Colleagues Need to Understand." Learning for Justice. Southern Poverty Law Center, 2020. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2020/what-white-colleagues-need-to-understand.

Gershenson, Seth, Cassandra M.D. Hart, Joshua Hyman, Constance Lindsay, and Nicholas W. Papageorge. "The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers." National Bureau of Economic Research working paper 25254 (Feburary 2012). http://www.nber.org/papers/w25254.

Gonzalez-Gorman, Sylvia. Political Speech as a Weapon: Microaggression in a Changing Racial and Ethnic Environment. Praeger, 2018.

Langella, Peter, and Meg Boisseau Allison. "The Unspoken Quota: Using Radical Inclusion to Disrupt Institutional Whiteness." School Library Connection, September 2020. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Article/2252709.