Maxwell: We need more black male teachers

Writes St. Petersburg Times columnist Bill Maxwell: “I do not have solid proof, but I believe that the public school experience of my generation of black males in Jim Crow’s South was far superior to most young African-American males in today’s public schools anywhere in the nation. My generation’s experience was better, I am certain, because we had a substantial number of black male teachers as role models.”

Only 2 percent of the nation’s 4.8 million teachers are black men, Maxwell notes. The figure in Florida: about 3 percent. In Pinellas: 1.7 percent.

Ron Matus, state education reporter

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Comments

[marie]

Have the author to contact Ulyses Gilbert. He runs a program called "Call Me, Mister" which is dedicated to getting black and hispanic males to teach in elementary schools. It is modeled on a long term successful program from South Carolina. The Legislature provided a small amount of money for the program in the 2008 session, but they had nothing this year. I believe that the program is still ongoing, somehow.

[Insider]

Andrea;
I appreciate your request:) Here are some of the sources for my statistics...

Hopefully, you'll be able to access these links, if not, you can use the info to Google.

US Dept. of Commerce News- FEBRUARY 14, 2000 (MONDAY)
Public Information Office
e-mail: pio@census.gov

Buraeu of Census Memo--"Profile of the Country's African American Population Released by Census Bureau"

http://www.diversityinc.com/public/2174.cfm

Article--Statewide Parent Advocacy Network Newark, NJ --http://www.spannj.org/BridgeArchives/index.html

[DMJ]

Mr. Maxwell's fondness for his Jim Crowe days is troubling. He needs to resign or be fired.

[DMJ]

Why would they become teachers when teachers are treated like dirt by the DOE and legislature? Can you blame them for not doing so?

[andrea]

insider--

i'm wondering where you located those facts? i'm not taking issue with your statements but i always like to know the sources.

thanks :)

[Insider]

I hate to even acknowledge the ignorance and obvious insensitivity that I continue to read out of you Terminator, but to be honest, it's getting old. Please get your facts straight before you spout off about things that you apparently have no understanding of. Some food for your thoughts...

True or False: In 1991, there were more black males aged 18 to 24 in prison than in college.

False: In 1991, there were 378,000 black males aged 18-24 in college, while there were only 136,000 black men the same age in prison!

Total number of students enrolled in bachelor’s, graduate, and professional degree programs: 17,758,870

Total number of Black students enrolled in bachelor’s, graduate, and professional degree programs: 2,279,605

Proportion of undergraduates who are Black: 14.1%

Proportion of Black men and women who hold at least a bachelor’s degree: 18.6%

What percent of America’s drug users are black and what percent are white?
12% black, 70% white

What percentage of the 71,000 Americans employed as any type of professional athlete are African-Americans? 10%

I hate reducing this discussion to race-related debate, but some of you are well-meaning, but misdirected.

As for role models...I AGREE that color should not be the PRIMARY focus, but to suggest that it doesn't matter is to suggest that young women should not respond positively to other womens accomplishments, or that our ethnic backgrounds have no bearing on our identity. We all know better.

[brandnewtothis]

Terminator and others,
There is no mistaking that there are a black males doing negative things in our society but as you put it in your list “most” black males can only do four things: commit crimes, under achieve, play sports or rap. This kind of thought is why many blacks that aren’t any of these things have a difficult time even when they do all the “white male” things.
What was your idea behind posting a list like this? What does it help? How does it do our community of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and Tampa Bay, any good?
Many times I read the negative statements on this blog site and I wonder what are people trying to prove? Are we trying to improve our community or continue to move away from anything positive? You don’t know who may be reading your list. The funny thing that this article and this post is about the education community. I believe that everyone is a teacher, including people that continue to share negative lists that do nothing constructive for our community. I believe that you Terminator and others that continue to share negative and insensitive statements are educating anyone that read your statements. So again, how are you helping our community?
I am not saying ignore problems but you act as if you have never met any black males that are doing anything positive. How would you define “most” in your statement “most black males...” I would think a minimum of 6 out of 10 would define that. So, as per your statement 6 out of 10 black males fall in your four categories? Prove it. Then give a list of suggestions that can help the situation.
Negative lists do nothing, help by giving our community a positive list.
Maybe black males have moved into other areas that pay more and have decided that teaching is a career that they can only do. During Maxwell’s days there were only a few jobs that educated black males were allowed do if they were educated; the military and teach. I think Maxwell’s statements misdirected people or were taken out of context. How can one compare the options for black males during Jim Crow’s South with the options of today for not only black males but many other “categorized” citizens of our community.

[terminator]

there is a limited supply of black male teachers.

most black males are either:
a. in prison
b. dead from criminal acts
c. on parole
d. on probation
e. on some sort of community control
f. don't have a college degree
g. a combination of any of the above.

oh, and the rest are either professional athletes or rappers!

[Concerned Parent]

These kids need FATHERS. Fathers make great role models if they are providing for the family (financially and emotionally).

That's the problem.

[justthinking]

In the elementary schools - maybe it is a priority to have role models teaching that reflect different student's heritages since young children tend to think in simple terms... I had a discussion about this back in 1992 with a friend of mine who explained that one day her young daughter came home and told her that she "wished she was white" and when her mother asked her why she said that the child replied,"Because I want to be a teacher when I grow up and teachers are white." So, yes at the lower grades it can be important. But, in recent years - at the middle school level - my experience has been the opposite - particularly with some of my black male students - who are determined to be viewed as individuals not as someone of a particular race - and resent people assuming that one of the black teachers in our school can "reach them" or "understand" them just because he happens to be black. In fact, I had one young man chastise another young man who said (when trying to identify another student)"It was that little white girl over there in the red shirt" The student said to him, "Don't say "white" girl - Don't bring race into it! Just say the little girl sitting over there in the red shirt". Most of my middle school students have moved beyond race - it is the parents who are stuck in the past due to the mistreatment they suffered as children. What they don't recognize is that their children are living (thankfully) in a different reality. So I believe that the real problem is not a racial one but the impact of economic differences between families - the students who come from low income families (regardless of race) are the ones who often see no point in going to school. They don't see college as an option so they don't see a point in learning. I agree with DUH - lets get some trades taught in the schools that will enable students who can't afford college or who DON'T want to go to college to graduate with a marketable skill!

[Joey]

Why not rephrase the question as "We need better teachers?"

The former sounds like the author feels that dark skinned men are somewhat inequal to lighter skinned men.

My god aren't people over this segregation thing yet???

[redisni]

Opinion without merit and unscientific. In my humble opinion, role models are for everyone not only for a selected group.

What you did not have in your generation was gangsta-rappers that make millions without education, quarterbacks that make millions while promoting dog-fighting, drug dealers in your neighborhood 24/7, an epidemic of crack-babies now reaching maturity age, fatherless homes that then become welfare-sustained homes (why work if the government can provide.)

What is needed is for the real role models to come into African-American neighborhoods 24/7 and talk to the children; even if they are white, black, brown, yellow, they will make a difference.

[flateacher]

Good luck with that.

[DUH]

Let's see if this makes economic sense for any one, especially for inner city youth......

They can make $400 in ONE HOUR selling drugs to buyers or they can make $400 in ONE DAY panhandling on any corner of Dale Mabry or make $400 in ONE WEEK flipping burgers...all without any educational background or make $500 per week teaching and paying back over $25,000 in student loans.....

hum.........

It will take more than an increase in male role models in education to achieve that uphill competition........

How about AT LEAST training them to do technical jobs like plumbing or electrical(not illegal and not as time consuming) which pay far more than teaching and cost far less in overall educational expenses.......

And now can even be taught in high school career academies in some counties and cost next to nothing.....at least this way they might stand a fighting chance in this bad economy.

[Susie]

Well, I guess that it's up to the black males to become teachers.