Why Black Men Don’t Teach: Understanding the Existing African-American Male Teacher Shortage

According to Robert L. Smith, “the achievement gap separating black boys from just about everyone else springs from a powerful, anti-education culture rising in the black community. Parents who undervalue education, and a mass media that peppers youth with the quick, shallow rewards of hip-hop lifestyle, are steering alarming numbers of boys down a dead-end path.” Erik Eckholm explained that “terrible schools, absent parents, racism, the decline in blue collar jobs, and a subculture that glori…