Before his sudden passing earlier this month, I featured Dr. Kenny Knight, Dean of Students, Bright Futures Academy. He shared his thoughts on national shortage of teachers and how we as Black male teachers are the solution.
We are experiencing a national state of emergency.
The crisis is not the wall for border control, but it’s the wall around education preventing growth.
Anything that impacts the well-being of our children should cause us to be alarmed.
Trump is right, we are in a crisis!
As bad as it sounds, I have to agree with the President.
Schools are suffering because of the lack of funding and quality of teachers.
As a teacher I can tell you that we are barely surviving due to our wages.
America will face a major shortage of teachers within the next two years. It’s the 21st century race to get out of the classroom. Teachers love the profession but we are the working poor!
“What a teacher is, is more important that what he/she teaches!”
Words spoken by the late Atlanta Educator, Dr. Kenny Knight. Knight was a member of Profound Gentlemen and shared his thoughts on the crisis early this school year before his sudden passing in April 2019.
I feel that teachers are burnt out due to a lack of parental, administrative, and resource support. Teachers are working extremely hard to get the job done with little to no help.
There are other job markets that are attracting teachers, however it’s sad because the passion is being channeled elsewhere.
“Black male teachers will be a solution to the teacher shortage.”
Teachers are necessary components to the culture and climate of education.“That’s why I believe improving the teaching climate is attainable,” says Knight.
This work begins with acknowledging that only 2% of teachers are Black men. Especially with helping more Black boys find success in school.
Knight believes there will be a huge increase of energy, enthusiasm, and effort from educators. He states, “I’ve seen this work through organization like Profound Gentlemen!”
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.