A good solid education will prepare our youth to compete in society. Teachers are needed who can motivate and educate minority students to meet the challenges of competing for fair housing, fair education, and fair job opportunities that still exist in America. Teaching is a commitment to lifelong learning and rewards. Children who have no sense of worth, or who constantly experience failure, do not look forward to attending school nor will they gain academic success. Teachers that understand and relate to the African-American culture can impel students to reach beyond their potential in preparation for adulthood and the challenges of a global society.
Teachers have a great influence on students and can make a difference.
When the best and the brightest pursue a career in education, the missing link will become the connecting chain. The latest research according to the National Commission on Teaching and America s Future indicates American schools will need two million teachers in the next decade. There is a strong need for male and female African-American teachers in every facet of education from classroom teachers to building administrators to district superintendents. Teachers are needed who are able to successfully work the diversity of America s student population. In 1997, the American Association of Employment in Education reported the greatest shortage of teachers in the areas of special education, math, speech therapists, and bilingual education.