Contrary to recent news reports that Black male teachers are becoming extinct, a new analysis shows it could not be further from the truth.

The top occupation for Black men with at least a bachelor’s degree is elementary and middle school teacher, with secondary teacher following at no. 5 and education administrator at no. 6, according to research by Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D. of Howard University in his series on TheRoot.com called “Show Me the Numbers.”

Toldson’s report also shows that Black men with degrees traditionally go into the field of education more often than white men.

Later this month, Toldson and Chance White will release a book titled Black Male Teachers: Diversifying the United States' Teacher Workforce that will suggest “responsible methods of increasing the number and capacity of Black male teachers, without subjecting them to differential standards of success.”

Much of the conversation existing around Black male achievement and Black males as educators are based on stereotypes and not solid data, according to Toldson.
The Root reports:

Unfortunately, this narrative on Black male teachers is based on supposition and stereotyping, not a careful analysis of the data. Males of all races are underrepresented in the U.S. teaching force. The percentage of white male students in pre-K through 12th grade is twice the percentage of white male teachers; the percentage of Black male students is more than three times the percentage of Black male teachers; and the percentage of Hispanic male students is almost seven times the percentage of Hispanic male teachers. Asian males represent less than 0.5 percent of the teaching force.

Later this month, Chance Lewis and I will release a book titled Black Male Teachers: Diversifying the United States' Teacher Workforce. In the book, we suggest responsible methods of increasing the number and capacity of Black male teachers, without subjecting them to differential standards of success. For this entry of Show Me the Numbers, I examine the myths used to explain the shortage of Black male teachers, and why the purpose of diversifying the nation's teacher workforce should be to benefit the teaching profession, not individual students.

Black males are not avoiding the teaching profession because they are less altruistic and more interested in lucrative careers.
Read full story here. 
BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, R. Kelly, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar and many more. Go here for more details and info on how to buy tickets.

(Photo: Baltimore Sun/MCT /Landov)