The institution of education no longer has the most committed educators as we did in the previous generations before Generation X.

In those previous generations the best and brightest African Americans went into education because it was one of the few professions we could go into because of systemic racism, discrimination and because school systems were segregated.

Currently we have a deliberate purging of African American teachers that has occurred over the past 20 years due to school choice, private schools and expected retirements. In addition, the institution of education has not attracted the best candidates because of low salaries, unfunded continuing education requirements and a teacher certification process that’s become a costly, disorganized, lengthy bureaucratic pathway for those considering a career in education.

So where does that leave us? Unfortunately, it leaves us with an aging population of teachers just picking up a paycheck who’re unable to foster, motivate and connect with a younger dynamic technology driven generation of students who expect and require a better quality of instruction.

The institution of education needs to create an environment committed to attracting and training the next committed diverse generation of educators who see a career in education as their purpose rather than simply steady paycheck regardless of them producing student growth and persistence.

The combination of student persistence, parental involvement and teacher success must be fostered through intentional motivation, policy and strategy.

Michael Blanchard 2019