America needs more black and Hispanic male teachers

By Fahima Haque

The statistics have almost become cliché: Black elementary and high school students score lower on standardized tests, on average, than their white or Asian counterparts. For years, educators have searched for solutions. For Kwame Griffith, a senior vice president at Teach For America, the way to help narrow this achievement gap is by recruiting more black and Hispanic male teachers.

Read the rest of the story:   http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/america-needs-more-black-and-hispanic-male-teachers/2012/03/29/gIQArgf0iS_blog.html

Black Men Teachers are Needed

Someone missing from schools

By Courtney S. Giles

Cuts in education funding have influenced a shift in our focal points regarding the quality of education in the public sector. While the No Child Left Behind Act implications are based upon that of every school in the nation accounting for 100 percent in terms of Adequate Yearly Progress, the achievement gap between majority and minority students remains and is continuously widening.
In particular, our black male students are being left behind more than any other subgroup.
Where are the role models for our young black men? I ask this not because I am a black female educator, but because it cannot continue to go unnoticed.
I predicted to a couple of my colleagues a few years back that the demand for more black male teachers will be at the forefront on the path to improvement of educational success in the black communities. With constant increases in federal and state education mandates, school systems are pressured to ensure the quantity of instructional practices exist, while the quality of those practices are lacking.
Moreover, with school discipline being a major concern for many educators, it proves to be difficult to deliver quality instruction with so many disruptions.
Contrary to what is often said in the media, all of our black males are not currently or destined to be incarcerated, on the streets, or in the graveyard. They are waiting for a role model to emerge.
The presence of the black male teacher is not needed in our schools simply for disciplinary purposes, but for the equality and balance that the stature brings to the education setting. Equality of gender greatly impacts student achievement in all subjects of the curriculum.
So the question remains: "Why are there fewer black male teachers in comparison to other races and gender?"
While beliefs about gender-specific roles continue to influence the ambitions and academic performance of our boys and girls, these factors still do not account as conclusive reasons for the lack of educational equality in terms of race.
My thoughts about the increasing need for more black male teachers in the public sector most correlate with those of author William L. Jenkins. Black males must understand the dire need to accept ownership and value for each other. More must be done on the behalf of the individual black man to convey the meaning of black leadership and how it begins in the schools.
To quote one of Montgomery Public School's best principals, "Not only did I desire to be a principal to assure academic excellence in general, but more important, I wanted to be an example and make a difference in the lives of black children, especially our young, black males."
Having worked under the administration of this principal, I can honestly attest to his philosophy of giving back to the community and making a difference in the lives of those who follow us. Those who work closest to the children are the most knowledgeable about how they learn and what they need.
More black male teachers must show our young black males that there are avenues to achievement beyond athletics. They need to understand that rap music is specifically for entertainment. They must be taught that a low-socioeconomic status is only a temporary setback, because with determination, anything is possible. They must value themselves and the responsibility they have to learn.
They need to see more black men in suits, nice shirts, ties, and dress shoes and not so many black men dressed in white tee-shirts and saggy pants.
Instructional approaches geared toward the improvement of the child must reflect concerns of the whole child, in aspects of his educational, physical, mental, and social well-being. Therefore, it is important that young black boys have a black male educator who can model how important it is to be engaged in school and instruction in the classroom. This will also help them develop a sense of relation and ownership for the teaching.
In many instances, a black male educator is the only positive black male figure many of our young black males encounter.
Many of the students are in single-parent homes, and the majority with mom being the sole provider. Being a single mother myself, I can confirm that it takes a black man to show a young black boy how to do many things.
Young blacks need to be able to witness first hand that there is a place that they must take in this world.
Once the value of the black male role model is accepted, it will take collaboration between education policy makers, higher education officials and the community to ensure that programs are implemented to attract adolescent black males to an educational career.
I am not saying that the success of our young black male population lies solely at the responsibility of the education system; however, being an advocate for all children and their academic success, I do support the theory that black male educators contribute positively to the academic success of the black male youth.
The phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" extends past just having a group of concerned individuals to help in raising the child; it will take someone who the child can most identify with in order to rear the child successfully.
If education policy makers remain faithful to the principles of the teaching profession, more must be done to develop educational equality for all. With a growing population of black male teachers, our young black males will be encouraged to write statistics rather than be one.

Courtney S. Giles,Ed.S., is a reading specialist at Brewbaker Primary School.

Few men teach at elementary schools; those who do often have a big impact

As the only male teacher at Wallace Elementary School, Carlos Mendoza is often asked by female colleagues to help discipline select students -- usually boys needing extra attention.


"I guess it's because there is always a mom figure and a dad figure. Things you can get away with with mom, you'll have a different attitude and behavior with dad," said Mendoza.

Having positive male role models is important for elementary school boys and girls, Mendoza said. It's good for students -- especially those without a father at home -- to see a man caring about their well-being and success, he said.

But the number of men nationwide teaching elementary school is hovering around a 40-year low, said Bryan Nelson, founder of the nonprofit and advocacy group MenTeach.org. Only about 5 percent of early education teachers nationwide are men, he said.

Part of that is due to a societal misperception that men aren't as nurturing as women toward young children, Nelson said. Surveys also find men choose other professions for higher pay or fear suspicions of abuse if they interact closely with children, he said.

"Men are suspect if they want to be around children ... It's a barrier for some men, like, 'Do I need this headache?'" Nelson said. "It takes fortitude. It takes a very strong self-confidence to stay in the field."

Many Longview and Kelso elementary schools have only one male teacher outside of physical education or other specialty classes. One school, Carrolls Elementary, doesn't have any male classroom teachers at all. Olympic Elementary in Longview appears to have the highest number of male teachers -- five -- or about 33 percent of the school's teaching staff.

Kelso School District's affirmative action plan calls for increasing the number of male elementary school teachers, though Longview's does not. School officials said few men apply for the jobs and schools by law cannot consider gender in the interview process or specifically recruit male teachers.

"We want our staff to be representative of our students," which is about 50 percent male, said Jenae Gomes, a Kelso School District human resources officer. The district's affirmative action plan aims to have 50 percent of its elementary staff be men, she said.

Neither Longview or Kelso school districts track the percentage of men who teach elementary grades.
Mendoza, who teaches second grade, said he's happy to fill a void of male teachers at Wallace. Students and parents have never expressed concern about having a male teacher, he said. After a while, students get used to him and sometimes even forget he's a man.

"Sometimes they call me 'mom' by mistake. They'll say, 'Mom? I mean, Mr. Mendoza?" he said. Students aren't trying to be funny or disparaging, he said, but "I just chuckle."

Mendoza said he makes a point of attending social events, such as baby showers, hosted by colleagues -- but even he says "no thanks" when it's time for diaper-folding games.
"I support them a lot in different things, but I have my limit," he said.

Most of his daily interaction with another man is the school's lead custodian. It's nice to relax, joke around and talk football with him during breaks, Mendoza said.

"It's kind of a lonely life," he said. "I have really good (female) friends, but it isn't the same as asking a guy, 'Did you see how the Steelers played?' "

Mendoza said he takes several precautions his female counterparts don't have to worry much about.
"As male teachers, we have to be careful with how we deal with little kids. Hugs are on the side" of his hip and nobody sits on his lap, he said. "We have to have those rules in our heads all the time. You have to be careful because there's a very thin like between good touch and bad touch," he said.

Students benefit not only from having strong male role models, but also from seeing positive interaction between men and women in the classroom, Nelson said.

"Students see teachers interacting all the time. 'Can you give me a hand here? Can you watch my classroom?" he said.

While it's good to have men represented in elementary grades, it's important to maintain balance.
"I don't want to imply this is men-versus-women. It's just saying, what do we want that's best for our children? It's not just that we want more men, we want quality teachers, we want quality teachers that are men and women," Nelson said.

If school districts want more men lead classrooms, Nelson said, schools need to be more welcoming to men and better portray men as nurturers.

"If we look in schools, we don't have images of men being nurturing to children. We have pictures of men in a suit on the wall. These messages hit you over and over again."

http://www.menteach.org/news/few_men_teach_at_elementary_schools_those_who_do_often_have_a_big_impact

Op-ed Article to the Wall Street Journal by William R. Harvey

TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BY

WILLIAM R. HARVEY

PRESIDENT OF HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY BOARD ON

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (HBCUs)

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Jason Riley questioned the relevance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in today's society. He complained about President Obama's conventional approach to HBCUs and opined that "instead of more subsidies and toothless warnings to shape up," the President and federal government ought to "…remake these schools to meet today's challenges."

I cannot speak for the President, but I have spoken to him about HBCUs. An ardent supporter of historically black colleges and universities, President Obama understands and appreciates their value to the nation and the world. The facts justify his support, i.e., representing 4% of all American colleges and universities, HBCUs conferred over 22% of all degrees awarded to African Americans. With only 13% of African Americans in higher education, these colleges awarded nearly 30% of all undergraduate degrees earned by African American students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines; 50% of all bachelor's degrees in teacher education received by African American students; and 85% of Doctor of Medicine degrees acquired by African Americans according to statistics compiled by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

Most HBCUs are also economic engines in their communities. According to a 2006 National Center for Educational Statistics report, the short term economic impact of HBCUs is $10 billion annually, providing more than 180,000 full and part-time jobs. The report also noted, "to put that in perspective, the rolled up employment impact of the nation's HBCUs exceeds the 177,000 jobs at the Bank of America in 2006, which was the nation's 23rd largest employer."

In attempting to make his case, Riley presented biased, antiquated suppositions such as articles written by Thomas Sowell some 36-years ago along with references by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman some 43-years ago. Riley also makes such groundless claims as "…available evidence shows that in the main, these students are better off exercising their non-HBCU options." What evidence? This certainly is not the experience that we have seen at Hampton University.

Another ridiculous assertion that Riley offers is that "For-profit entities could be brought in to manage other schools." He uses the University of Phoenix, a for-profit college, as an example stating that they confer more bachelor's degrees on black students than any other school. Does he really want HBCUs to model themselves after an institution whose latest graduation rates, as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), was 1% at 4 years, 4% at 6 years, and 6% at 8 years?

Riley's mindset, journalistic standards, and research methodology aside, as President of Hampton University, and Chairman of the President's Advisory Board on HBCUs, I want to provide a more accurate view of HBCUs and the quality work many of these institutions perform.

First and foremost, just like predominately white institutions, HBCUs are not a monolith. Some are exceptional, the majority are sufficient — all but a few are accredited institutions that meet or exceed the standards set by the accrediting bodies for any institution. An acknowledgment of some of the world-class academic and research activities at HBCUs is in order. Let me begin with my own institution—Hampton University.

In August, Hampton University began seeing its first patients at the Hampton University Proton Therapy cancer treatment center. The center is one of only eight in the United States and the largest free-standing facility in the world. Sixty-five percent of the patients treated at this facility will have prostate cancer, the other 35% will be those with breast, lung, ocular, and pediatric cancers.

Faculty in our School of Pharmacy have been involved in Alzheimer's research. If their research on proteins in the blood can provide a link to Alzheimer's, then a protocol establishing an early diagnostic test will allow physicians to treat the disease before it manifests itself.

Our Skin of Color Institute is a research center dedicated to probing issues, challenges, and diseases unique to the skin in people of color. The goal is to develop new and better treatments.

In 2007, Hampton University launched a $140 million weather satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base to study noctilucent clouds in the ionosphere. With this feat, Hampton became the first historically black college or university to have 100% responsibility and control of a NASA satellite mission.

Hampton is also home to the National Center for African American Marriages and Parenting. The Center's mission is to strengthen families in the African American community by helping them gain essential knowledge, skills, and other resources required for building and sustaining healthy marriages and practicing effective parenting.

Hampton's nationally known physics department continues to do outstanding work. One physics group has received 12 patents on prostate and breast cancer detection devices. Another group has 14 patents on prosthesis for artificial limbs.

The Hampton University Leadership Academy is providing a multi-faceted approach to improving the level and effectiveness of school leaders. Hampton is the only educational entity in the entire state of Virginia to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education in support of this initiative, and will work with the public school systems in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Franklin, Danville, and Roanoke, Virginia.

When one looks at the depth and breadth of Hampton University's academic, research, and public service activities, any objective analysis will show that Hampton does not need a remake, as it is clearly one of the best and most productive modest-sized universities in the country.

Other HBCUs are also doing outstanding work. Xavier University in New Orleans has educated nearly 25% of the approximately 6,000 black pharmacists practicing in the United States, and ranks first in the nation in placing African American students in medical schools. Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 institutions whose graduates earn PhDs in science and engineering disciplines. More than 40% of Mississippi's practicing African-American physicians, dentists, other health professionals, and attorneys are graduates of Tougaloo College.

North Carolina A&T is the nation's largest producer of African-American bachelors and doctorates in engineering. North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee, Florida A&M, Spelman, Tennessee State, Prairie View A&M, Morgan State, Howard, and Alabama A&M cumulatively graduate more than 30% of all African Americans who receive engineering degrees.

In addition to training physicians, dentists, and other health professionals, Meharry Medical College has a Center of AIDS Health Disparities Research. Faculty at this Center have discovered and patented a salve that removes cholesterol from the HIV virus causing it to lose its ability to infect.
This short list of some of the research and academic activities at HBCUs refutes the assertion that HBCUs are inferior. In fact, it illustrates that some HBCUs are superior.

Better research could have enlightened Riley immensely. Sometimes, however, particularly when a viewpoint is inaccurate or extreme, people don't want to be confused with the facts.

Clearly, historically black colleges and universities do not need "a makeover" or "a new mission." What is needed are major publications, such as the Wall Street Journal to conduct solid and sincere research so it can better appreciate the value and contributions HBCUs make.

R.E.A.L Men Read

More than 180 male volunteers will fan out among Atlanta Public Schools’ 4,000 second-graders to help boost literacy through the R.E.A.L. Men Read program. Started in Chicago’s public school system and then to Houston, R.E.A.L. (“read, excel, achieve, lead”) Men Read hopes to solve two ongoing concerns: the lack of visible male role models who read, and the lack of books available in the homes of young students.


The volunteers will make monthly visits to the elementary schools over the next sixth months, introducing the students to books by reading to them, and then offering a seventh book for summer reading. The program enjoyed a kickoff event on Nov. 9 at The New Schools at Carver, with a reception featuring a version of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” by Carver School of the Arts senior DeAngela Glaze. (Watch her entire performance here.) Motivational speaker Mike Howard served as MC, and the program featured appearances by SRT-3 Executive Director Michael Pitts, Atlanta City Council member Ceasar Mitchell, APS literacy director Monishae Mosley-O’Neill, a videotaped speech by Ambassador Andrew Young, and an appearance by Greg Worrell, president of Scholastic Classroom and Library Group.

Watch the video above, which includes highlights from the program along with an in-depth explanation of the program by Mosley-O’Neill.

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