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Preston V, an African American male high school engineering teacher. It frames his career as an anomaly using graduation and representation statistics, then recounts his childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, shaped by socioeconomic differences and being labeled “difficult.” The piece connects early experiences to later research on discipline, referrals, and underrepresentation in advanced programs, arguing that black students benefit from visible role models to support learning.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-professional-educator-the-case-for-a-teacher-like-me/591565/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-professional-educator-the-case-for-a-teacher-like-me/591565.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"supergirl","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why does the author describe himself as an anomaly?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"He explains that statistics show very few black male STEM teachers and that representation is disproportionately low compared with the overall student population. He also cites gaps in graduation and degree completion rates for black males.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did the author’s childhood experiences shape his perspective?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"As a child, he felt different from classmates due to socioeconomic differences and struggled with classroom pace and directions. After being labeled “difficult child,” he later realized similar patterns affect other black males in schools.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What problem does the article connect to student referrals and suspensions?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It links negative labels such as being disruptive or hyperactive, along with limited access to honors or gifted opportunities, to a cycle of referrals and suspensions that harms self-esteem and impedes learning.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},591565,1793139319,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":39,"preview_page_count":4},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","ILLUSTRAT IONS BY VIKTOR KOEN  \nTHE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR  \nThe Case fora Teacher Like Me  \nProfessional educators—in the classroom, library, counseling center, or anywhere inbetween—share one overarching goal: ensuring all students receive the rich, well-rounded education they need to be productive, engaged  \ncitizens. In this regular feature, we explore the work of professional educators—their accomplishments and  \ntheir challenges—so that the lessons they have learned can benefit students across the country. After all, listening to the professionals who do this work every day is a blueprint for success.  \nBy Harry F. Preston V  \nI  \nt’s safe to say that as a black male teacher of high school engineering, I am considered an anomaly. If you dig through all of the statistics about black male teachers nationwide and compare them with the number of science, technology, engi-  \nneering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers of color, you will find very few teachers like me.  \nMy uniqueness is predicated on a few heartbreaking numbers. The 2012–2013 high school graduation rate for black males was  \nHarry F. Preston V teaches engineering and cochairs the career and technical education department at Edmondson-Westside High School in the Baltimore City Public Schools district. An alumnus of Teach for America, he is the head of the Baltimore City Project Lead the Way Engineering Design and Development Symposium, and he participated in the AFT’s Teacher Leaders Program. He is also the executive vicepresident of vocational education for the Baltimore Teachers Union.  \n59 percent, compared with 80 percent for white males.1 The college graduation rate for black males is also abysmal: of students entering college in 2008, only 35 percent of black males completed their degrees within six years, compared with 60 percent of white males.2 Given these statistics, it’s hardly surprising that only 2 percent of the entire teaching population is comprised of black males.3 And while 16 percent of public school students are black, of students who earned bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields in 2013–2014, just 4 percent were African American males.4  \nKeeping in mind all of the socioeconomic and other factors that contribute to these statistics, simple math suggests that a teacher like me has a very slim chance of existing. Andyet here Iam, a black male high schoolteacher of science in Baltimore City Public Schools.  \n* * *  \nI’ve had my share of twistsand turns in my educational trajectory. I was raised in Columbia, South Carolina, where I attended an  \n20 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | FALL 2016  \nelementary school led by a black male principal (another anomaly). He and I spent many a day together, so much so that I even had my own deskin his office. Let’s just say I was avery inquisitive and energetic child.  \nThe passing of years and shifting perspectives have certainly changed my understanding as to why I spent so much time in the principal’s office. I remember for the most part being a happy child but very different from my classmates and my teachers. I was one of the few black students at my school, and my family was not as affluent as the families of my peers. As a child, I could not grasp entirely how socioeconomic differences affected my relationships with my classmates;  \nhowever, I recall seeing the houses and cars of my classmates’parents, and I knew we were from different worlds.  \nIn class, I recall having difficulty understanding the need to follow certain directions or why I had to wait to do things. As an  \nenthusiastic student, I wanted to learn on my own terms and in my own ways. I wanted to move faster at times, but at other times I needed to move more slowly. I usually learned quickly, and my pace rarely matched that of my classmates. Once I felt I had mastered a subject or a concept, I had trouble staying patient until my peers caught up with me. But instead of being placed in a more challenging environment, I was often called a “difficult child.” E","cbCailTgdukhh3I3","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailTgdukhh3I3","pdf",276385,"English","# The Case for a Teacher Like Me\n## Why teacher representation is scarce\n## Personal background and school experiences\n## Labels, discipline, and learning impact\n## The role of educators as models","[{\"question\":\"Why does the author describe himself as an anomaly?\",\"answer\":\"He explains that statistics show very few black male STEM teachers and that representation is disproportionately low compared with the overall student population. He also cites gaps in graduation and degree completion rates for black males.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the author’s childhood experiences shape his perspective?\",\"answer\":\"As a child, he felt different from classmates due to socioeconomic differences and struggled with classroom pace and directions. After being labeled “difficult child,” he later realized similar patterns affect other black males in schools.\"},{\"question\":\"What problem does the article connect to student referrals and suspensions?\",\"answer\":\"It links negative labels such as being disruptive or hyperactive, along with limited access to honors or gifted opportunities, to a cycle of referrals and suspensions that harms self-esteem and impedes learning.\"}]","The Professional Educator - The Case for a Teacher Like Me | PDF",1792072736]