Importance of Demographics

Understanding demographics are important because as a teacher you need to know where you’re students are coming from and how their environment has made them who they are, what they know, and how they learn and apply themselves. The cost of living in New Jersey is certainly ridiculous when one actually cannot afford to live in New Jersey on minimum wage alone never mind support a family on minimum wage.

In urban areas, the cost of living greatly affects students’ performance in their academics. Many students work in helping to support their family, or come from backgrounds where it is difficult for them to work on their academics outside of class time. I found that speaking with a harp teacher in who worked at a school in East Orange that many students see school as a safe haven coming from backgrounds where they are struggling at home.

Demographics are also important in understanding school budgets and funding. In New Jersey, funding and budgets are usually by district, and some urban communities do not have close to the same funding of some rural and suburban communities. Demographics also tell you what kinds of races, cultures, religions, nationalities, etc. that have a large impact on the community that your student is a part of. This type of knowledge can help your students feel more comfortable in your classroom if you apply it and also can help you introduce your students to and help them to appreciate cultures that they are not aware of and different cultures of their classmates.