When Dejesus Adefuye arrives at Daniel Webster Elementary school in Dallas, he inquires about the children’ well-being and whether or not they are prepared to learn. The students are in the third grade and are studying language arts. Because the responses he gets aren’t always positive, he will give the pupil a purple stuffed monster and give the children fifteen minutes to get their ideas and feelings out of their system.
It is possible that some of Adefuye’s classroom techniques are not typical for other teachers. In the classroom, he takes on the role of a father figure, and outside of the classroom, he provides assistance to parents by making visits to their homes, organizing a day trip to the park for the students during the holidays, and inquiring about whether or not they require more assistance outside of the school setting.
He discovers that it facilitates his connection with his students, which in turn makes it simpler for them to acquire knowledge.
It was he who made the statement, “My presence here is more than just, you know, a Black man teaching.” Because they are now able to see someone who is similar to them, it is more meaningful to the kids. As a result, it has transitioned from merely instructing to now motivating.
In the classroom of Zara Amaechi and KERA Adefuye, who teaches language arts at Daniel Webster Elementary School, there is a wall of white boards that is covered in writing.
There are fewer than two percent of all instructors in the United States who are black males like Adefuye, despite the fact that fifteen percent of the student population is black. About ninety percent of the student body of Dallas Independent School District is comprised of either Latinos or Blacks.
The Dallas Independent School District began a program in the year 2020 with the goal of increasing the number of Black and Latino male teachers working in its classrooms. These numbers are difficult to ignore.
After doing a comparison between the numbers of the Dallas Independent School District and those of the entire country, Steven Jackson, the director of recruitment for the district, presented the residency program to the department of racial equity. Although there were approximately 10,000 teachers in the district at the time, only around 950 of them were males of African or Latino descent. More than two hundred new educators have been hired as a result of the program since it kicked off.
“We’ve had people who used to be police officers who have gone through our program, who come from all different walks of life, and who have now discovered their passion and what their true calling is,” said Jackson. “We’ve had people who have worked in the police force in the past.” And that is what it means to be a teacher.
Through the provision of mentoring, the development of skills, and the administration of certification examinations, the residency program aims to increase the number of male teachers in the local community. According to Jackson, the district’s recruitment strategies have been instrumental in changing the notion that teaching is a field that is dominated by women and challenging cultural stereotypes. These strategies specifically target Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and regions with high minority populations.
In his words, “The image of what you see on TV is not truly the image of what Black and Latino males are,” and he went on to say that “for those students to be able to see them in the classroom and get that image of their professional, their educators, it changes the narrative for them.”
In the beginning of his professional life, Jackson worked in the field of media production. However, when he realized that he could no longer picture himself pursuing a career in that field, he decided to embark on a similar program called Teach for America in order to become a special education teacher.
The statement that he made was, “When you go into a new situation, it is always going to be difficult.” It is not an easy field to work in education. In order to ensure that the next generation is superior to the one we are now living in, you are there. This is your ultimate objective.”
During the process of beginning his new job, he reflected on the significant male characters in his life, namely the four African-American male teachers he had while he was growing up and attended a Catholic school that was largely white. According to him, parents instilled in him the significance of knowledge from a young age, which made it easier for him to put himself in their position.
They instructed me on how to behave as a guy. I knew I could relate to those instructors, and I knew they could relate to what’s going on with me and in my life,” he added. “I could go and talk to those professors because I knew I could relate to them.” In addition, it was a significant factor in shaping me into the person I am now.
