My Schoolhouse Is A Ghost Town

I know I am not speaking alone when discussing this matter. Most recently I had the privilege of sitting down with a retired principal and school leader for more than 40 years along with three recent retired teachers to discuss this very same subject. All of them stated that I needed to “hold on” as best as I could and when possible flee public education. As one educator mentioned, “the public schools really do not respect or want Blacks around anymore in education. They feel strongly White teachers are the better-qualified candidates to educate Black children. All of the research says the contrary speaking to how diversity and teacher role-modeling for children remains critical for all age groups (Kunjufu, 2002; Shujja, 1994; Kozol, 2012). So the notion that these educators strongly feel public education has “kicked Black educators to the side” is disturbing. However, similar to what has already been mentioned, I feel the same way. Many of the schools struggle to relate to teachers period, White or Black. Yet as history has proven time-and-time again, African Americans along with other minorities usually are the last ones to receive any fair treatment or practices when it comes to their issues. My race has had to fight for everything, and it seems to never stop. The retried principal further mentioned that the practices and current trends in education do not come from educators, but from people outside the field making it harder to service students. Who is better to know what the profession requires other than the people working in it everyday? Parents and teachers should exist on one accord to work together to streamline the necessities and best practices of education. Again, this text strongly advocates for community schooling versus private-pubic school entities managing education. Since their involvement in education, turnover, burnout, poor staffing into the profession continue to increase causing less people to want to become teachers. When I first started education, it was a delight and idealistic dream to make a difference in the lives of young people and the communities where they lived. Although many educators continue to impact students and help inspire them to achieve, far too many teachers are not appreciated for the work they perform. Maybe a national strike will get people and this country to understand educators’ value and strength to this economy. Also, it might change the way schools are managed returning the power of teaching back into the hands of the parents and educators.