The Professional and Cultural Experiences of Black Male Teachers

• In Event: Stronger Classrooms, Stronger Communities: Developing Revolutionary Educational Practices to Transform Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to utilize narrative inquiry to look at a sample of four, Black Male teachers within the 2013 Teach for America Corps in NYC in hopes of moving forward in the struggles for, and over, increasing and sustaining the numbers of Black male teachers in public schooling, specifically in NYC. I used the term Black (non- Latino) contextually because these men self-identify as African American. The main purpose was to ask what we can learn from this examination to increase and sustain the numbers of Black Male teachers in public schooling, specifically in NYC. As Lewis (2006) suggests, many of these Black male teachers consider their role bound to some form of social justice. This inquiry aims to talk across the struggles and challenges of Black men in the NYC corps of the TFA program and to reach an authentic understanding of their experience and of the ways ideologies and narratives are negotiated and navigated in schools and classrooms – with specific emphasis on their narratives around being Black, Male and Teachers. My questions of inquiry aimed to provide insight with regards to recruitment, retention and professional support of the Black male teacher, both in TFA as well as outside of this program. It was my hope that more understanding would be gathered from the data revealed after engaging with the participants. Participation in this study was limited to Black male educators with one year of middle or high school teaching experiences; to draw on and speak to the greater presence of male teachers at those levels to help us navigate towards better recruitment and sustaining more Black males in the classroom.
The reason for my focus on Black men is because Black men make up about 2% of the national teaching corps and as Brockenbrough (2012) reminds us that there are recurring themes within Black masculinity studies that are central to bear in mind when looking at the lived experience of these Black male teachers.

Author

• Marcelle Mentor, Teachers College, Columbia University