Men in the Classroom

Via the EdWonks, an interesting story about efforts in Florida to recruit more black male teachers. Both men and people of color are underrepresented in teaching, and the numbers from Florida presented in this article are truly astounding--it says the state's teacher preparation programs produced only 61 black male teachers last year!

There are real reasons to be very concerned about the achievement of black male students as a group. Educators and policymakers are eager to attract talented black men to teaching to provide role models for black male students and send the message that academic achievement is not inconsistent with being a black man. But it's difficult because talented black men are very much sought after in the workforce, so young black men who would make excellent teachers often opt for more lucrative and prestigious options in business, law, etc. There's also something of a vicious cycle at work, too. Because so many young black men are not receiving a good education that prepares them to succeed (according to the Manhattan Institute, the national 4-yr high school graduation rate for black males in only 48%), we're losing out on a lot of potentially good black male teachers who've never had the opportunity to reach that potential.

It's also worth noting that alternative routes to teaching, such as Teach for America, Teaching Fellows programs and Troops for Teachers, seem to be having more success attracting males and members of minority groups to the profession, although still not enough.