The Center for Research and Mentoring of Black Male Students and Teachers at Bowie State University has introduced The Black Male Educator and Pedagogy Professional Learning Series, a new five-part program that is dedicated to the pedagogical, or learning and development of Black Male teacher candidates and current educators.
Black males in public schools and are dropping out at much higher rate than any other group of male students. Data from The National Center for Education Statistics shows that the dropout rate of 6.8 percent is higher for male black 16–24-year-olds versus the rate for Black females of 4.3 percent. Black males are also four times as likely as their white peers to be held in juvenile facilities.
Dr. Julius Davis, associate professor of education and founding director of the CRM-BMST at Bowie State, believes there is a direct correlation between a lack of Black male teachers, dropout rates and Black males in our state and federal prison systems.
“The majority of the young black boys and young men who become prison statistics never saw a black male teacher as a role model and someone they could trust,” said Davis. “Our Pedagogy Professional Level 1 Learning Series bridges a gap and will introduce current and future Black male teachers to five pedagogical approaches including humanizing, Afrocentricity, culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy, social justice, and hip-hop to help them better understand how to effectively teach Black male students in today’s world.”