REAL MEN
TEACH
“The New Wave of Teacher Leaders” Holly Madrey Pitts, Coordinator, Real Men Teach Program Christopher Graham, Junior, Physical Education Major and Real Men Teach President
Real Men Teach (RMT) is the brainchild of former SEHP dean, Dr. Cynthia Jackson Hammond. The program was instituted on the campus of Winston-Salem State University during 2007-2008.
Its purpose
is to attract, prepare, and encourage more young men to teach.
RMT offers support and resources
to maximize the academic growth and potential of these young men so that they may be prepared to teach and lead effectively in diverse school settings. In fewer than five years, more than 40 young men have expressed strong interest in and commitment to becoming a part of the teaching profession. The first two RMT protégées to complete their programs of study graduated in May 2010.
A number of North Carolina schools have seen declines in student test scores and increases in dropout and suspension rates. Many of these conditions are most prevalent among minority males. While RMT’s major focus is to reverse the all-time low number of male teachers in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 (P-12) schools, program initiatives also include discussion about issues related to the education of black male students in P-12 schools in general.
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Christopher Graham, a junior Physical Education major and RMT president for the second consecutive term, discusses his involvement in RMT and the organization’s role in his development as a preservice teacher: Henry Adams once said that ‘a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’ That is exactly what a program at Winston-Salem State University is doing. The School of Education and Human Performance has developed a program called Real Men Teach to help address the shortage of male teachers in the classroom. In its fourth year, the program continues to impact WSSU and the greater Winston-Salem community. The RMT program provides leadership training, male mentoring, limited financial support, social development, and personal enhancement, all of which speak to the total preparation of male teacher leaders.
RMT emphasizes the academic success of its protégés because the quality of the teacher helps determine the success of his students. RMT encourages and supports protégés in the acquisition of knowledge and skills required of highly effective teachers. This is achieved in part through their participation in workshops, scholarly forums, and professional conferences. Workshops focus on professionalism, image, communication skills, etiquette, interviewing skills, and other topics designed to address their specific needs and interests. During the E D U C E R E
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