Don't Wake the Sleeping Giant

So today during my 'infamous' New Teacher Induction class, the facilitator, who happens to be an African American educator with over 30 years of teaching experience, made the following statement: If public teachers in Philadelphia were subjected to merit based pay, many of the African American male teachers would not make the cut. This statement was made in response to a beginning teacher who asked why the demographic of the teachers in Philadelphia do not accurately represent the population of the students in which they teach (65% of Philadelphia public school students are African American). According to her, many of the African American male teachers that she has personally encountered during her years in education have not had high expectations for their students and have been content with having a secure job. Needless to say, I am angered by her statements and will continue to strive to prove her wrong.