Where Are The Teachers Coming From?

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages you have had,” - F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in “The Great Gatsby.” This often happens when we look for outside sources to blame for failure that we feel doesn’t belong to us.

Our education system is in the toilet. It once was a commodity we worked hard to earn, and strove harder to pass on the next generation. It used to be a time-honored belief that with an education you could do anything, and become anybody. The poorest of the poor believed that in America , education was a key that would unlock any previously locked door. But somewhere along that path to greatest, the door got locked; the key thrown away, especially if you happened to be male and especially a male of color.

The educational arena is not a pretty picture. Test scores have declined as prison populations have increased. The numbers tell us we spend more money to build prisons, than to build schools. We spend more money to house thugs, rapists, and petty thieves than to educate tomorrow’s children. As we get overwhelmed by a society that stereotypes, denigrates and marginalizes minorities, many of those who are in the minority have forgotten what they were expected to do with the advantages their ancestors gave them. We see this in the paradoxical face of the largest graduation class in our country’s history, facing one of the largest unemployment rates in decades.

A couple years ago, I went to a conference that focused on educating black children, specifically black males and heard Dr. Lucian Yates from Kentucky State University , an Historical Black University talk about his passion: growing black male teachers. Dr. Yates doesn’t have time to criticize. He’s too busy taking advantage of the education system to groom tomorrow’s future in the African-American community…black teachers.

He said two years ago that in 10 years, we will need 2 million new teachers. Are any of you reading this interested in becoming a teacher? There once was a time when teachers were revered. The profession itself has taken a back seat to many, but who spends more time with our children today, than teachers? And when you look at the mix of teachers and the mix of our growing diverse population, we should become alarmed at the advantages many of us had, our kids no longer see. We should also become alarm when we realize that male teachers are at a 40 year low.

When a child can go through 12 years of school and never see someone who looks like him in charge of a classroom, something is wrong with that picture. When a student can graduate from any public or private school of higher learning and never be taught by a person of their heritage, something is wrong with that picture. When we in America cannot see what our public school system is becoming as it continues to plummet when compared to the rest of the world, that picture of having an advantage is eroding with every book that’s not read, every paper not written or every grade not completed and every child, black or white, male or female who doesn’t graduate. It’s late, and we don’t have a curfew anymore. It’s as if we don’t care.

There are fewer teachers of color now than before the Supreme Court mandated desegregation with Brown vs. Board of Education. 90% of the teachers are white, 75% are women. African American, Latinos, Asians and Native American only make up 9 – 14% of all teachers in this country, and various research organizations expect this to drop to about five percent, as the minority population grows. And for those of you men who aspire to teach. Go for it! In 1980, 17% of elementary school teacher were male. Today that number has gone down to 14%. You want a young boy to aspire to be a teacher? Then give him a model in the classroom rather than in court. Currently only 2.4% of K – 12 teachers are African-American, and most of these are in the secondary schools.

These are just a few of the fact Dr. Yates shared at this conference as he brought a busload of his students to this conference and they came with stories. One story that particularly touched me was a young man who taught pre-school. He wrapped his hair up in a turban. He taught his young kids French. He made them have a passion for learning as he demonstrated his passion for teaching. He was so good that parents were in love with this young man they had never met. Dr. Yates shared compassionately the story of one mother who wanted to meet the man who was teaching her daughter French. She was so excited her daughter was in love with learning. But as often happened, when faced with truth, we sometimes forget how blissful ignorance can be. When this young girl’s white mother finally met her three-year old daughter’s teacher, the mother refused to shake the black teacher’s hand.

This is what the new millennium is all about. It’s about moving forward and learning. It’s about overcoming adversity. But when parents refuse to acknowledge that black men can teach, and teach well, we are still disadvantaged. When parents refuse to encourage their sons or daughters to become teachers, we are still disadvantaged. And when parents refuse to instill in our children the principle that ‘education is something no one can take away from you,’ we still will be disadvantaged, and we will never overcome until we realize as Horace Mann said, “Education is the great equalizer.”

Am I saying we should be turning out more teacher of color? NO. I’m saying we should look at how to overcome the disadvantages in front of ourselves. We cannot do it alone, but with an education, we can damn sure do better than we have in the past, and understand that some of us perhaps need to be criticized, because we have too much, and think we are no longer disadvantaged. We need to work harder to be smarter and help our children to take care of themselves and teach others to do the same, particularly our men as they work hard to be fathers our children need to become advantaged through the benefits education offers forever.

"...I do know, and sincerely believe there is a God. And he loves me. And no one is going to snatch that away from me."
Jon Rose - from Murder on the Pier," by Jere Myles, [p. 171]

Archie R. Wortham, PhD
Educator & Writer