African-American Teachers

Why are the number of African-American teachers in urban schools declining? As the granddaughter of an educator I grew up listening to stories from the classroom and witnessing the respect and admiration given to the teachers in our community. It is because of that reverence and the positive role models I was exposed to, that I chose Child Development as my major. The lack of respect and the change in the level of prominence and respect for those who chose to engage with students; the increase in technology and the creation of new opportunities for employment have many millennials seeking positions, pay and professions that are far away from the traditional service professions, many did exist the 1990s . These professions are viewed to have

For the first time in the history of our country the number of children of color, specifically African-American, Latino and Asian are quietly passing the number of white children. This change impacts not only our nation’s public schools, but will impact the culture of our entire nation and poses a conundrum for society. In order to maintain our status as a Super Power in the world we must improve the academic outcome for the new and diverse majority of American students. Their success is linked to the well being of our entire country. There are other challenges faced by educators today, such as more students living in poverty, more ELL students, changes in curriculum and environmental changes. While our students have this experience, the experiences of those who stand before them in classrooms, are different and their faces are predominately white. As the K-12 enrollment has become a representation of race and ethnicity in our country, the face of the classroom teacher remains predominantly white.

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2011-12 school year, 82 percent of the 3.4 million public school teachers were non-Hispanic white, while 7 percent were non-Hispanic black and 8 percent were Hispanic. There has been little to no change in that number over the last ten years. This creates a major cultural split between students and the teacher. It

Suggestions for how to maintain the workforce range from better training on how to understand the certification process having mentors who could help keep them on track at least until they receive tenure, and more training at the college level on the curriculum. Waiting until the Internship is too late to provide on the job training. By then you’ve spent 3 years in theory and non on the reality. The reality of the job means bad-tempered students with no accountability, little or no parental involvement , lack of leadership, inconsistently enforced administrative procedures and miserably low paychecks. Some students lack the financial resources and support to make it through college and the large differences in the teacher training process in colleges and universities cause another disparity. Low pay and high stress are the predominate factors that are forcing black and Latino teachers to leave the profession at higher rates than their white peers and deterring others from entering the profession however the symptoms contribute to the overall dilemma we find ourselves