Violet Jiménez Sims, recipient from 2008, writes about her experience at New Britain High School, where she teaches Spanish. Ms. Jimenez Sims earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Connecticut and is a graduate of Connecticut’s Alternate Route to Certification. Posted January 20, 2012.

As I walk down the hall of an urban high school, I hear the N-word being thrown around more frequently than “please,” “thank you,” or even “hello.” Somehow I don’t cease to be amazed when even a white kid walks down the hall, passes one of the “cool” kids, and immediately tries to connect by exclaiming, “What up, my nigga!” I cringe at the sound of this foolishness. The African American students are not offended by this; after all, they are the first ones to run around using it as a show of affection.

This mental slavery that so many of our young people subject themselves to is an absolute disgrace to all the civil rights leaders who fought to eliminate injustice and the open degradation of people of color. The shackles are not physical, but yet their subliminal control is more powerful than a wrought iron ball and chain.

Supposedly, the N-word has changed in meaning. Many claim it is still used with both negative and so-called “positive” intention. The spelling change that is often claimed as significant is simply an ignorant cop-out. Have you even been in an urban environment? Urban vernacular commonly drops “er” endings without words losing their meaning: “motha” “fatha” “sista” “brotha.”

The word “nigger” was used by the “massa” to label slaves with an artificial ignorance that would justify why they traded them like cattle, and physically abused them in a way that would have PETA in an uproar if the same were done to a dog. It defines a lazy person with no self respect, no regard for family, ignorant, stupid, slow moving, who does not speak proper English. Even after so-called “freedom” and emancipation, the KKK used the term to identify those who would be hanged, castrated, or even burned alive.

Sadly, while most Americans can trace their lineage back for centuries and to their countries of origin, it is difficult for many African Americans to trace their lineage past a few generations. Family histories were lost due to the slave trade’s purposeful separation of parents from their children and siblings from each other. As a result, African Americans developed a more inclusive term, one that connects those who shared an unimaginable struggle, and was often heard in the uplifting discourse of civil rights leaders, “brother.”

So, why use what the oppressor developed rather than that of the people who sacrificed in unthinkable ways allowing us to have the opportunities and enjoy the freedoms we have today?

And if you think that history doesn’t apply to you because you’re Puerto Rican or Dominican, you are mistaken. Learn your history, because the slave trade on our precious islands began even before it did on the U.S. mainland, and its effects are still apparent today.

The change would be small, but its effects on camaraderie would be immense. Conveniently, brother and sister also happen to end in an “er” that is often replaced by an “a” in urban vernacular. So, all your favorite raps would still rhyme while you boost your morale by referring to each other with words that foster unity rather than ignorance. The invisible shackles must be broken and replaced by visible embraces. Instead of tripping each other we could actually hold each other up.

The N-word alone is not the problem. Inflated poverty rates, disproportionally low graduation rates, and unemployment rates are bigger problems.

But the frequent use and acceptance of the N-word by our own people is a daily reminder that, although we have overcome many things, many of us have lost sight of how far we have to go.

Saying this word and allowing others to say it is a sign that we have given up, or mistakenly believe the fight for equality is over.

Sacha Kelly shares her thoughts on the need for greater diversity in the teaching profession. Ms. Kelly, honored at a reception on May 20, 2009, has a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and a master’s degree from the University of Saint Joseph. She began her career as a mathematics teacher at Big Picture High School, Bloomfield, Conn. Posted June 25, 2009.

In order for the Connecticut public schools to be truly successful, it is critical that there are more talented teachers and school leaders of color, reflecting the diversity of the student population. Alma Exley’s scholarship program is helping to meet that essential need.

Would you believe that in my 28 years of education, attending public schools in New York City and private colleges in Connecticut, I have never been in a math or science class taught by a woman of color?!

When I work in schools today, I usually ask the students whether they have had women of color as math or science teachers. Sadly, most respond they have not. This unfortunate and commonplace absence of female teachers of color in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects fails to reflect the diversity of public-school students, and does a disservice to students of all backgrounds.

Happily, I know the presence of a mentor teacher can have a lasting impact. In high school, an African-American female teacher became my mentor. Although I never took a class with her, she showed me new possibilities for my future that I had not previously considered. I wish to thank her and the other extraordinary teachers who have had a positive impact in my life. As a result of being reached through their dedication to educate, I decided to teach to ‘pay it forward’ and inspire my students.

As an African-American woman with secondary licensure to teach high school mathematics, I am motivated to show diverse students a new image for math teachers and to encourage them to excel in STEM subjects and careers.

This spring I had the opportunity to teach geometry and algebra II as a student-teacher at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford. Then I was also privileged to be a part of the GO-GIRL program at Saint Joseph College, a STEM enrichment program for 7th grade girls. I’m sure the students I reached in these experiences didn’t need a woman of color to learn, but I think my teaching presence left a positive impression that they could be successful scholars. The successes from these two recent teaching experiences have further reinforced my passion to teach and my commitment to inspire students, especially those of diverse backgrounds.

Chi-Ann Lin, from Newington, Conn., is a social studies teacher at Staples High School in Westport, Conn. She was the 1999 recipient of the Alma Exley scholarship and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education with honors from the University of Connecticut. She serves on the scholarship program’s selection committee. Posted Sept. 7, 2008.

Being a teacher has provided me with some amazing opportunities. Several years ago, I volunteered to teach the East Asian Studies course at our high school. On a personal level, I felt that this was my chance to learn about my own ethnic background. Although my parents are immigrants from China and Taiwan, I knew very little about the history of their home countries having been born and raised in the United States. Although I still have much to learn, I am now able to understand further the struggles they have faced as they left their families, became citizens of the United States, and entered a vastly different culture.

My genuine interest in the region has led me to apply for various programs available to teachers. Last fall, I traveled to Japan as part of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund with a group of 200 teachers from each of the 50 states. As part of this fellowship, which was created to strengthen the relationship between Japan and the United States, we attended lectures given by educational and political leaders and had the wonderful opportunity to visit and observe classrooms in the elementary, junior high, and high schools. In addition, this past summer, I participated in a Yale PIER (Programs in International Educational Resources) Institute focusing on cultural exchange through trade along the Silk Road. The field study following this course led us to the cities of Xi’an and Dunhuang in western China, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Istanbul, Turkey. These incredibly rich experiences overseas have inspired me with ideas for the classroom, stories to share with my students, and new outlooks on the world.

As an Asian American, I feel an especially strong obligation to provide my students with an accurate and meaningful curriculum that will inform them of a region that is sometimes misunderstood. This commitment has strengthened further as I see more Asian American students enroll in the East Asian Studies course each year with desires of understanding their own culture and history. And each year, as I attend the Alma Exley Scholarship reception to congratulate the new recipients and to reunite with past recipients, I am again reminded of the important obligation we have as educators to serve as role models, especially for our minority students.

I also hope that my travels abroad will inspire my own students to explore the world beyond their hometowns and familiar borders. Perhaps one of the most important lessons I have learned as a teacher is the importance of being a lifelong learner. I therefore hope that this is just the beginning of my exploration of the world. These hopes that I hold for myself as well as my students are essentially the same hopes embodied in the spirit of the Alma Exley Scholarship, a program that encourages cultural understanding by supporting teachers of color in the public education system.