Akilah Bolden-Monifa: NAACP Board Supports Marriage…
Filmmaker Spike Lee joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan in issuing a call Monday for more black men to become teachers, making their plea at the country's only all-male historically black college.
The two took part in a town hall meeting at Atlanta's private Morehouse College just a week after President Barack Obama urged more people nationwide to become teachers.
Duncan told an audience that more than 1 million educators are expected to retire in the coming decade and that federal officials are hoping to harness that opportunity to create a more diverse teaching work force, noting that less than 2 percent of the nation's 3 million teachers are black men.
"Everybody can't be a business major," Lee told the auditorium packed with male high school and college students. "We have to educate ourselves. We have to educate our young black men."
Lee, a Morehouse graduate, said he was influenced most -- outside of his own family -- by two of his Morehouse professors. Both educators attended Monday's gathering and were asked to stand up to be honored.
Duncan used the occasion to promote the federal TEACH campaign. The program was launched in the fall to persuade more minorities -- particularly males -- to enter education. The federal government has launched the teach.gov website, a one-stop-shop for anyone wanting to enter teaching, including professionals hoping to switch careers.
"If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher," Obama said in a video address taped for Monday's event. "Our country needs you."
Read more about Spike Lee's call for more black men to become teachers on The Grio. As young black men are now experiencing a crisis in education, Spike's message comes at an important time. Teaching is a wonderful profession. There is not a teacher in the world who has not expressed the sense of personal satisfaction that comes from this career. What a great field for black men -- who are often emotionally stymied by society -- to get into. The issue of black male unemployment could be addressed with programs that help African American males claim this social role while providing our underachieving young men with role models, killing two social ills with the positive arrow of education.
The only obvious drawback to encouraging more black men to enter teaching is the current environment in education. Severe budget cut fever has already swept through the public sector -- and the call for more cuts is spreading nationwide. School systems across the country have been hobbled by the shrinking tax base caused by unemployment. Educators have been laid off in 80% of America's school systems because the money is not there to pay them. In all, this is not the best era to get into teaching for the sake of creating personal financial stability.
Hopefully our public school systems will be adequately funded in the near future. Increasing the diversity of our teaching pool with black men who can inspire troubled youth is a viable plan to improve our school systems while providing vital jobs -- but only if government agencies really step up to the plate. They must invest in the public school system overall. Otherwise, Spike Lee is encouraging black men to enter a field that is sadly doomed.
If we as a nation do not invest in education overall, we are ultimately dooming our future.
Comments: (4)
Add a comment
By: Dj on 2/01/2011 5:28PM
It is about time Teacher's start to gain respect, my brother is retired teacher and has been a mentor to both females and males. the money they make will pay for a home, car and any other thing they want. We need more great men standing up showing thye have something to offer. Great for Spike Lee....
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: girlking on 2/01/2011 5:46PM
I am so happy to see that African-American men are being targeted for teaching our young African-American men. The Latino/Chicano community needs to do the same thing. If we want our children taught properly and yes I said properly, we need more African-Americans at the head of the class. Little Malcolm will appreciate more if he see Big Malcolm at the head of the class.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Lolo on 2/23/2011 12:00AM
I hope black men who read this article will take the advice literally. I am a speech therapist in the schools. It is amazing how young people respond to male educators. They give a whole level of attention and greater respect to males period. Some of the caucasian female teachers really speak in demeaning tones to black kids. I am being totally honest here. I am hurt sometimes when I hear a younger white teacher demean a little kindergartener by saying things like "you did not listen so you are last in line and you will miss the movie this afternoon. YOu may go next door while everyone else watches our movie. I kid you not, they are mean and uncompromising with black kids. Parents are so blind and deceived. If parents (especially african american parents) knew how their children are being spoken to, they would blow a major top. By the time these same kids are in middle school, they have developed a low tolerance for the mean teachers at that level and they begin to rebel. Many of these kids are justified. White teachers know when and how to get away with subtle battering. It saddens me that I know and witness these things. Sometimes, I will address it by saying to the teacher, is this such a major matter or I will say are you having a bad day? Some body has to let them know they are not getting away with their meanness.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: CRM2011 on 2/05/2011 8:48PM
Why just start with teachers ? we need more black lawyers, doctor's, firemen, police officers, paramedics, registered nurses,etc. being a teacher is a great profession but very underated and underpaid plus teachers are not the only ones who make the world go round by they do play a very important role in the education process !!!!!
Reply to this Comment | Report This