Minding the Gap: Cultivating Black Male Teachers in a Time of Crisis in Urban Schools
The purpose of this article is to provide insights into the challenges in developing the Urban Community Teachers Project: a campus based initiative to recruit and train Black male teachers for urban classrooms. The central argument is that given the enormous challenges in both recruiting and training Black male urban community teachers, the end result is not to place Black males in urban schools to serve simply as role models. Rather, it is a longer term commitment to having their presence in urban public school classrooms to reframe pedagogical practices and curriculum and transform communities alongside young people. Therefore, this article addresses the problems of practice in sustaining a program to cultivate Black male teachers. Keywords: African American studies, multicultural education/diversity, policy studies and social justice, teacher education, Race, ethnicity, and class The shortage of Black male teachers in pubUc education is weU documented in scholarly Uterature (Foster, 1997; Lewis, 2006; Lynn Jennings, 2009) Numerous scholars have investigated die historical and racial contexts surrounding die Black male teacher shortage (Allen Boykin, 1992; Ancarrow, 1991; Boykin, 1992; Foster, 1997; Brown Butty, 1999; Lynn, 2006; Lynn Jennings, 2009; Nweke, et al. 2004) In addition, several studies have documented the impact of teacher student racial mismatch on tiie learning experiences of Black chUdren (Cross, 2003; Dee, 2005; Douglas et al. 2008; Gay, 2000 Ladson BUlings, 1995; Lewis, 2006; Lynn Jennings, 2009 Michie, 2009) The recruitment and retention of Black male teachers has recently garnered a surge of attention in botti academic and popular press. WhUe the popular press frequently oversimplifies the need for Black male teachers to assuage tiie Black male educational crises by serving as role models for African American students, emerging scholarly Uterature is deconstructing this gender/race paradigm. Lynn's (2002) study of tiiree Black male teachers in Los Angeles and Martino and Re2ai Rastiti's (2010) study on Black male elementary teachers in Toronto exemplify studies that chaUenge dominant notions. Rather than assuming that Black male teachers want to be role models, these studies examine the teachers' perspectives about identity, roles, pedagogy, and educational reform. Lewis's (2006) study of African American male teachers in urban school districts in Louisiana examined why diese men became teachers and meir reasons for remaining in education. Based on these understandings, Lewis suggested strategies for recruitment and retention of Black male teachers to school district personnel. Lewis wrote: In this study, the top three recruitment mechanisms that were most important to African American male teachers were (1) helping young people, (2) needing a job, and (3) contributions to humanity School district officials must continue to stress at various job fairs the critical role of teachers, specifically African American male teachers, in helping young people reach their educational goals and become productive members of society. Second, as another recruitment mechanism, school district officials must continue to inform African American male college students that teaching positions are readily available upon graduation from college in a variety of subject areas. Third, school district officials must remind potential African American male teachers that their efforts are an excellent way to contribute to humanity in a way that cannot be done in many other professions, (p. 240) Lewis's use of the findings in his study to posit recommendations gives agency to Black male teachers while offering specific policy recommendations. Lewis's findings build on the idea of Black males as role models by also demonstrating their deep social commitment to teaching and educational reform. Another body of literature considers the preparation and commitment of teachers who are willing to teach in their own communities.