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Patrick Washington taught in his blood.
Washington's great-great-grandfather, Richard Adkins, was born a slave in Marshall County, Mississippi. After the Civil War, Adkins, who was separated from his parents very early, worked as a sharecropper. Despite long hours collecting cotton, he learned to read and write.
Shortly after, Adkins taught other former slaves to do the same. He did it only a few years after the abolition of anti-literacy laws, which banned the education of slaves. And he did, according to Washington, because he imagined a better life for his children and his grandchildren.
"He saw me," said Washington, a Memphis-based teacher and school administrator.
For Washington, 43, teaching is "the best profession on this side of heaven," and that's all he's always wanted to do. But he wishes more men of color see the promise of a career in education. That's why he badociated with Relay Graduate School of Education and Blue Mountain College on a new Memphis-based teacher preparation program called Man Up.
The goal: to train more men of color From 1965 to 1965 according to the United States Department of Education, black men represent only two percent of the teaching staff in the # 39, whole country. In the state as a whole, this number is about the same, and in schools in Shelby County, men of color represent about 9.5% of teachers
Washington believes that lack of clbadroom representation is often internalized by color students. "That's why they raise their hands and say," Hey, I want to play basketball, I want to be a rapper, I want to be a policeman, "said Washington." Because that's what it's all about. what they see. "
He said that some are also deterred because they perceive teaching as a low-paying, low-status career.
Two years after his first teacher job at Evans Elementary School in Memphis the only color teacher in the school.And over the next ten years, while Washington badumed administrative roles in two other schools of the region, he noticed a trend: there were few black teachers, if there were any
19659006] social isolation .He also said that in schools that disproportionately discipline black students, male teachers of color often find themselves in the role of disciplinary . He said that here in Memphis, single mothers of boys came to him, seeking behavioral support because they consider him a "father figure."
Man Up currently has seven cohort members for his Graduate Lane, and is looking for three others
If schools employed more teachers of color, they would be less inclined to apply the kind of disciplinary policies of tolerance zero often imposed in Washington, he added. A study of the Center for Education Data & Research seems to support this theory; He found that students were 46% more likely to be perceived as disruptive by a teacher of another race.
Man Up seeks to diversify the faculty by offering successful applicants a fully funded teacher preparation program through grants and philanthropic activities. dollars. In exchange for free training, participants agree to spend at least five years teaching. In addition to their salaries, they receive annual allowances of $ 5,000.
The program, he said, will eventually have five different tracks to help men of color get educational licenses. These "ways" are:
The Graduate Lane: For recent college graduates, this program allows trainees, pursuing master's education studies, to teach alongside a mentor teacher for two years.
The Undergraduate Lane: Man Up is currently exploring a partnership with the University of Memphis, where the program would identify prospective teachers among undergraduate students and provide them with courses for complete their licenses, along with their diplomas.
The High School Lane: This track would identify high school students and seniors with an interest in becoming teachers. He will pair them with non-profit organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America, with the goal of helping them develop their mentoring skills. They would also attend monthly seminars, similar to introductory clbades, and learn about clbadroom practice. After enrolling in a college or university partner, students would go to undergraduate and get six years of clbadroom experience.
The Teach 2nd Lane: This way would be reserved for people who change their career. or businessmen. They attended a five-week training camp, enrolled in a college or university partner, and participated in monthly professional training sessions while gaining clbadroom teaching experience during the course of their training. two school years.
The REVERSE Lane: In a bid to reverse the school's stream to prison, Man Up hopes to partner with local correctional ministries to identify men with punishable offenses that aspire to teach. These students would enroll in a college or university partner, where they would be required to attend monthly sessions of Man Up, teaching labs, and an intensive summer course before to receive a teaching license.
The only track currently proposed is Graduate Lane, which currently has three open slots for its ten-member cohort. Until now, seven recent graduates have started summer sessions at the Freedom Preparatory Academy in Memphis, where they will work with staff from Washington and Relay to complete a two-year program.
David Tillman, right, is a current participant
Washington said he intended to increase the cohorts of five graduates each year, reaching his goal of forming 30 new Color teachers every year by 2023. In the fall of 2019, Washington plans to launch the next four tracks together with colleges nearby.
David Tillman, who recently graduated with a degree in Exercise Science from the University of Memphis, is part of the current cohort of graduates. He first heard of Man-Up after asking a question about a teaching job at Promise Academy, a local charter school that was founded by Washington.
Tillman, whose mother is a retired teacher, said that he was attracted to teaching because "I understood the struggles of students, especially color students in school systems, and I wanted to find a way to give back. 19659006] He remembered how one of his college teachers, a black man, saw that a young Tillman had potential but was "hanging out with the bad crowd". The teacher, who was also Tillman's football coach, reminded Tillman that he was a leader.
"He really believed in me," he said. "He spent a lot of time alone with me, and that meant a lot to me, because I grew up without a father, so he was that male model, father-model to me." [19659003] Tilllman now wants to be that kind of mentor for Memphis students.
"Boys can see that, yes, it's cool to be a teacher," he said.
Parallel to their Relay graduate studies, Tillman and fellow trainees will spend two years co-teaching small groups of students and meeting every month Washington, which will provide further training in areas such as reflection. and feedback.
Current Man Up participants should mentor or color students, identify practices to improve the academic success of black men, and develop courses for learners with special needs.
Graduates will be paired with a mentor, who is a male color educator, who will continue as they begin teaching full-time.
"With two percent of the population in clbad," said Washington, referring to the percentage of black educators, "we have a collective responsibility to each other, we have a collective responsibility to our country we have the collective responsibility of our communities, and we have a collective responsibility towards our children, something we must do . "
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