“Black and Brown students have already learned school isn’t made for them. Students who were already being pushed to the fringes are not attending classes and losing learning.”
A Design Session Participant
In the discourse around increasing the diversity of the teaching workforce, one crucial element has often been missing: the voices of male educators of color. It’s long been known that teaching is primarily a white and female profession. Male educators of color make up only 2% of the teaching force nationally, and in Chicago only 3.8% of teachers are Black or LatinX men.
As part of a series of design sessions last year, Thrive Chicago’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative brought together current male educators of color and alumni of the Teach for America (TFA) teaching corps to reflect on their experiences through a series of design sessions. The insights from the sessions were powerful and will inform MBK’s policy recommendations and program strategy in the future.
Common threads that emerged from the sessions were equity- and people-centered and underscored how teachers and students must be at the forefront of efforts to reshape the Educator Pipeline and increase the number of male educators. The lived experiences of boys and young men of color (BYMOC) often go unacknowledged, which can negatively impact their learning and self-perception. BYMOC are urged to assimilate and not empowered to be their authentic selves.
Sample design session insights
What was your experience in the classroom as a student? What inspired or motivated you to be successful?
“Teachers who empathized with my experiences in and out of the classroom,” said one TFA alumnus when asked what inspired their success, illustrating the gap between many teachers and their students.
“Educators who believed in my potential,” said another in response to the same question.
What was your experience in the classroom as a student? What hindered your learning?
“Teachers who had predetermined biases about who I was and what I could achieve,” noted an alum, reinforcing the disconnect between predominately white teachers and their students.
“Black and Brown students have already learned school isn’t made for them,” stated another respondent. “Students who were already being pushed to the fringes are not attending classes and losing learning.”
The design sessions have provided context for the “Intro to Urban Education” course launched by MBK and piloted this year at three Chicago high schools. The goal of the course is to introduce young men to the teaching profession while affirming their history, identity, and lived experience. Sixty Black and Brown high school seniors are enrolled in the course and preparing to pursue postsecondary educational opportunities. A poster project, “My Brother’s Teacher,” led by a team of national social justice illustrators, recently highlighted how students are reflecting on identity throughout the course.
Founded by President Barack Obama in 2014, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance addresses the persistent opportunity gaps BYMOC face and works to ensure all young people can reach their full potential. MBK Chicago has led the development of a holistic Educator Pipeline strategy with the goals of helping BYMOC identify their purpose in life through the Intro to Urban Education course and to help our city cultivate a new pipeline of educators.
Check out a video recap of MBK Chicago’s conversation and focus group with TFA Chicago male corps members and alumni of color:
