Journey to Teaching Excellence: Lessons Learned From an Era Past on Preparing Teachers to Teach Black Students

• In Event: 61.049 - From Preschool to High School: Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers to Meet Students' Needs

Abstract

The field of education has been and will continue to be essential to the survival and sustainability of the Black community. Unfortunately, over the past five decades, two major trends have become clearly evident in the Black community: (a) the decline of the academic achievement levels of Black students and (b) the disappearance of Black teachers, particularly Black males. In 1940, the number one profession for Black men in the United States was teaching (Ruggles, Alexander, Genadek & et al., 2010). Approximately 36 percent of the Black male population was standing in front of the classroom delivering instruction to young Black men and women. Today, of the 3.5 million teachers in America’s classrooms (AACTE, 2010), only eight percent are Black teachers, and approximately two percent of these teachers are Black males (NCES, 2010). Over the past few decades, the Black teaching force in the U.S. has dropped significantly (Lewis, 2006; Lewis, Bonner, Byrd, & James, 2008; Milner & Howard, 2004), and this educational crisis shows no signs of ending in the near future. As the population of Black students in K-12 schools in the U. S. continue to rise – currently over 16% of students in America’s schools are Black (NCES, 2010) – there is an urgent need to increase the presence of Black educators.

Drawing on a data from an autoethnographic case study of a veteran teacher in U.S. South during the 1950s, this paper examines how beliefs a teacher has about her students who attend an all-Black school impact their life trajectory. One participant who was taught by the veteran teacher over two years recounts the teachers approach to teaching her Black students, lessons learned, and impact the teacher had on her career as a teacher educator.

Findings suggest eight guiding principles that educators of Black children must consider if they are to be effective teachers of Black children. By drawing on tenets of critical pedagogy and racial literacy the presenter will discuss how this veteran teacher established classroom practices that addressed the social and cultural realities of her students while maintaining the highest of expectations for them.

Author

• Suzanne C. Carothers, New York University