Into the Strenuous Briefness

gritinthegap:

Why we need more black male teachers now

This is so timely. There are two hours at the end of my day that leave me wondering why on earth I am these kids’ teacher. It’s a bunch of 7th-grade African American boys with no father figures and major, major behavior problems—which, give me a school year and LOTS of back-up from a black male SOMEWHERE (which I had a lot of at my last school), and I can have them opening doors for me, asking for more homework, and accidentally calling me mom. But I’ve only had these children for 7 weeks, there is not a single person with cred enough to say, “Hey, Ms. Basye is cool. Listen to her.” Or “Hey, Ms. Basye is the boss. Or else.” And it feels a little hopeless because we only have two-ish months left. I don’t really know how far I can get with them, and it feels like I am babysitting or my classroom is a holding cell. I often end the days wishing for someone else to come do the job—not even like I want to escape, just like I know I am not the best person for this job.

Truth.

I’m so lucky to have a great Black Student Achievement Program at my school, and the young African American guy who runs it is a powerful mentor for many of my students.