Outrage: Teachers Already Deal With Enough
Right after the
Janus decision dropped, I had this conversation with an associate who’s an educator: “I had to resign because the pressures of leading a school in a struggling city without support from the district and taking care of my family
and myself was taking a toll on my mental and physical health.” Keeping it real, I’m not an educator—so having minimal insight into their work has sometimes led me to be only mildly sympathetic to their struggles. And being from a city where
the teachers’ union has seemingly used its power for political gain and not that of students and families has somewhat soured my views on unions. But the disappointment behind losing a great educator because of lack of support helped put things into perspective, and saddened and pissed me off. [pullquote position="right"]Good educators who actually care about students are hard to come by.[/pullquote] Someone
has to be able to stick up for them. Educators are
overworked,
underpaid and doing the best they can—most of them. And while I may not like teachers union politics, I respect how they hold their teachers down. Teachers unions have paved the way for and supported many who, at one point, were kept out of the teaching profession. Stripping them of certain powers could mean losing some amazing teachers, which has consequences for kids. Is
anyone thinking of them?
Hope: Black Boy Magic
Antwon Rose’s English teacher knows the deal.
It’s important to know that so many people have this perception of our kids as being these violent gangbangers, when most of them are just kids going to school, trying to make themselves better, doing what you ask them.
And for those very reasons,
Black boys as young as 5 are being pushed out of schools because of
unfair discipline practices,
shot dead by police and killed in the streets before they even graduate from high school. And the ones who do “make it” still struggle. Only about half of Black males graduate from high school and less than half of those who go to college earn a degree. So [pullquote position="left"]we need this “Black Boy Joy”[/pullquote] from kids like
Ishmale Powell who’s headed to college at 15 years old. Twins
Malik and Miles George are co-valedictorians who are headed to MIT in the fall. And
Demetrius Harmon, who almost committed suicide but survived because of his mother. Because, while the
achievement and
belief gaps still exist, these young men are pushing through despite the obstacles. These real life examples serve as encouragement. Our boys
and girls of color have to be continuously encouraged to keep pushing. And so do the rest of us. Let’s acknowledge a new generation of leaders, like these new
Ed Trust West Fellows and these
EdLoc recipients of the Boulder fund. I salute my sister Vesia Hawkins for calling out
a great school in Nashville and an opportunity to start more of them. Kids can’t wait.