69ý

Opinion
Teaching Profession Opinion

Why Black Teachers Stay

It’s not easy, but the rewards for teachers and students can be profound
By Rann Miller — February 15, 2023 5 min read
Illustration of woman standing at doorway.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Challenges to the teaching profession right now are numerous. Teachers are coping with the educational and psychological fallout from a pandemic that grinds on. At the same time, state legislatures around the country have restricted what teachers can say in the classroom about important contemporary issues, such as racism, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

For , though, those challenges are compounded. In addition to all the duties and concerns that come with any teaching job, schools levy an “” on Black teachers. The tax is the mental toll from being charged with disciplining Black students and training them into “” in addition to serving as an expert on race and racism for white colleagues.

As if the tax wasn’t enough, critical race theory has become the target of a conservative campaign to quell demands for Black equity and deny important truths of our nation’s history. Many of those truths were revealed in The New York Times’ 1619 Project, which asserts that no aspect of the nation was left untouched by its years of slavery. In some states and districts, the white pushback has led to policies that have prompted Black parents to fight to keep certain books in libraries and Black educators to be fearful of losing their jobs.

There is much discourse concerning the , but the that has followed more than two years of national upheaval over race naturally compels Black teachers, current and prospective alike, to ask whether we’re hired because of what we bring to the table as Black people or simply to fill a quota.

Personally, I’ve asked myself that question on occasion.

I asked myself this when urged to stick to the curriculum on days when the news revealed another Black person was gunned down by a police officer. I asked this when rebuffed concerning student desires for a Black student union. I asked this when expected to hold down a lunch-duty period as my white teacher colleagues were sometimes “allowed” to miss the assignment.

I realized that the answer largely depends on whether one’s Blackness—a concept of self rooted in a collective Black experience taking place in Black spaces of development and a shared Black history—is believed to be vital to a school that serves all children or just a commodity that gives the impression Black children are valued. That is determined by the goals of school and district leaders.

I was never told to check my Blackness at the door. But my Blackness was often utilized by institutions primarily to achieve Black student compliance rather that to assure Black students of their identity and of their humanity.

While there are schools and school districts that exist where Black teachers are not just bodies, schools throughout the country are traditionally . Since the policies, procedures, and postures of such spaces are determined by whites, Black educators remain subject to or “white-adjacent” surveillance (when nonwhite actors do the same surveilling as whites). The surveillance ensures that the goals of the white spaces are met.

In addition to all the duties and concerns that come with any teaching job, schools levy an 'invisible tax' on Black teachers.

So, with all of that, why do we stay?

We stay because we’re vital to the frontline battle to, in the words of , liberate both ourselves and our oppressor through education. The content we teach then becomes a tool for young people to make communities more equitable and just spaces for all.

I choose to stay because I am committed to my students and their families, who often become extended family. That doesn’t happen because we’re touchy-feely. It happens because in our classroom, given our shared experience and history, we relate to each other very differently from how the rest of society relates to us. I am able to display Black humanity to some and Black possibility to others.

I stay because a Black teacher poured into me. Therefore, it is my turn to pour into someone that they might one day pour into another.

This is no indictment of Black teachers who leave the profession. The truth is that some of those teachers are severely wounded by their school experience and may believe they can have a greater impact outside of the classroom. They haven’t left the battle; they simply engage differently.

But as for those of us who remain in the classrooms, with each lesson we teach, whether about the U.S. Constitution or about the least common denominator, we teach young people the skills they need to both navigate and change the world. I and my colleagues are proud to be part of an intellectual tradition dating back to enslavement, where our ancestors used knowledge to free both body and mind in a country designed for their physical and mental destruction. This tradition continued into the early 20th century where the doctrine of separate but “equal” didn’t prevent Black teachers from empowering future leaders of the civil rights movement through teaching them reading, writing, and arithmetic.

See Also

Superintendent Devon Horton speaks to the employees of District 65 during a convocation at Quad Sports Arena on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 in Evanston, Ill.
A new anti-racist teacher residency program launched in 2021 by Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton, pictured at the microphone during an August meeting, highlights the staffing needs and challenges schools increasingly face.
Taylor Glascock for Education Week

Our work is a calling, tied to answering whether the United States, as Martin Luther King Jr. articulated, will be what it said that it is on paper.

There is a reason why we’re by students in general. It’s because we’re content experts while at the same time applying a perspective that both enlightens and empowers young people.

When I see my students masterfully execute a debate, skillfully articulate an argument on paper, or discover a truth about who they are that’s new to them, I wonder if I would have learned more if I had had Black teachers—even though their absence in my education was an important part of my decision to join the profession.

It’s going to take more than an invisible tax to remove us. It’ll take more than policies to deter us. Changes on school boards won’t stop us from teaching truth, and it certainly won’t stop us from being Black. Those challenges notwithstanding, we know that students, particularly Black students, need us. Their in our classrooms is largely because we see them. It’s because in them, we see ourselves.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Why Teachers Likely Take So Few Days Off
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
3 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession What the Research Says The More 69ý Miss Class, the Worse Teachers Feel About Their Jobs
Missing kids take a toll on teachers' morale, new research says. Here's how educators can cope with absenteeism.
4 min read
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year.
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. Now research suggests the phenomenon may be depressing teachers' job satisfaction.
Brittainy Newman/AP
Teaching Profession Will Your Classroom Get Enough 'Likes'? Teachers Feel the Social Media Pressure
Teachers active on social media feel the competition to showcase innovative lessons and beautiful decorations.
5 min read
Image of a cellphone on a desk.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession New Findings on Teacher Morale Highlight Ways to Make It Better
A new College Board survey on teacher morale echoes some previous findings. But it also highlights opportunities for schools to improve it.
4 min read
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
A student raises her hand to share her work with her teacher.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed