THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602170308
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Charlise Lyles
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
``The Plan.''
It's all mapped out in Natisha Glanton's head.
First, the Norfolk State University junior will graduate with a bachelor's degree in English literature and a minor in secondary education.
Next, she will obtain a master's degree, maybe at Michigan State University. Then teach middle or high school for a while.
Then she's going to earn a Ph.D., that's doctor of philosophy - not Piled High and Deep in research.
Her final stop: a college classroom as a professor.
Of Shakespeare, perhaps.
Glanton is among a precious few African-American college students who want to pursue a career in teaching. From grade school to university, there just aren't enough black teachers to go around.
The nation's teaching force consists of about 88 percent whites and only about 8 percent blacks, 3 percent Hispanics, 1 percent Native Americans, 0.9 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders.
Yet 29 percent of the children in public schools are minorities. That leaves a serious void of leaders and role models of color.
``I remember hardly ever seeing a black teacher,'' said Glanton, who attended Western Branch High School in Chesapeake.
``It made me feel inferior, as if somehow black people weren't smart enough to teach.''
That's one reason, she's going to be interviewed on Feb. 26 when the Andover Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers comes to NSU and Hampton University. (Feb. 27, William and Mary, and Feb. 28 and 29, University of Virginia.)
Kelly Wise, a teacher at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., founded the institute in 1990. That's was when he realized just how bad the problem was.
The National Research Council reports that only 4.1 percent of the doctorates earned in 1994 went to blacks - that's 1,092 out of 27,105 granted.
To put a dent in those trends, the Andover institute:
Identifies college juniors who express interest in an advanced degree in humanities or social science.
Conducts a four-week summer program to prepare students for graduate-level work.
Registers students in graduate programs at a consortium of colleges and universities committed to financial assistance.
Recently, U.Va. joined other top-ranking schools such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton and Stanford.
Other agencies are also looking for a few good minority teachers. Last week, Greg Roberts and Dennis Cooper of National Learning Bridge came to town. Bridge focuses on linking public school students with independent schools for summer classes. But it also serves as a training ground for teachers.
They'll dispatch students to major cities, including New Orleans, San Francisco, even Hong Kong. And right here at home, at Norfolk Academy.
African Americans were once forbidden from almost every career, except teaching.
Doors of opportunity have opened to more career satisfaction and more money.
That's wonderful.
But teaching - to instill pride, develop minds and nurture the next generation - remains as admirable a profession as ever. So, teach, child, teach. by CNB