History of Teachers and Teaching
Chapters that reference this topic include:
Chapter 6: "Harlem Schools and the New York City Teachers Union" by Clarence Taylor
Chapter 10: "'Harlem Sophistication': Community-based Paraprofessional Educators in Central Harlem and East Harlem" by Nick Juravich
Chapter 13: "Teaching Harlem: Black Teachers and the Changing Educational Landscape of Twenty-First Century Central Harlem" by Bethany L. Rogers and Terrenda C. White
Wadleigh Junior High School Oral Histories and Yearbooks
These oral histories describe students’ experiences at a segregated school in Harlem in the 1960s and beyond, and they contain both similarities and differences from the discussion of Harlem schooling in the book. Many of them center on strong relationships with teachers. School yearbooks from the 1930s-1980s contain students’ creative writing and art, as well as photographs of students and staff. For more on Wadleigh High School and Junior High School see exhibits from the Harlem Education History Project.
Alice Citron was a teacher and a leader of the Teachers Union in New York City. As a member of the Harlem Teachers Committee, she saw the union’s role as a movement for radical social change. This oral history held at New York University’s Tamiment Library discusses the Harlem Committee and other aspects of her activism and teaching career in Harlem.
Charles Cogen was a teacher and a leader of the Teachers Guild in New York City. Cogen and the Teachers Guild were focused on the union’s role to push for better working conditions, and did not build alliances with Black parents and civic organizations. In the 1960s, Cogen became president of the United Federation of Teachers and later the American Federation of Teachers. This oral history is held at New York University’s Tamiment Library.
Teachers Union Editorial Cartoons (1948-1962)
These cartoons by Teachers Union member Bernard Kassoy were published in the union’s New York Teacher News. They reference many of the issues addressed by the union, including school overcrowding, inadequate pay, teacher overwork, and the Board of Education’s anticommunism.
“Community in the Classroom: Parent-Teacher Teams in Harlem”
Select “Community in the Classroom” from the Harlem Education History Project exhibit page. This digital exhibit by chapter 10 author Nick Juravich explores the Parent-Teacher Team paraprofessional program through oral histories and digitized materials. The exhibit includes clips from the oral histories of Laura Pires-Hester, Hope Leichter, and Mary Dowery, three women who created and ran paraprofessional programs.
The Women’s Talent Corps Proposal (1965) and WNBC Video (4:06-8:57) (1968)
The Women’s Talent Corps was a job-training institute for women started by Audrey Cohen and funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity. Members of the corps led a successful campaign for the Board of Education to hire paraprofessionals in schools, and they became the first 75 paraprofessional educators hired. This proposal for the program outlines Audrey Cohen’s vision, including a partnership with schools. The video, of a feature on the Women’s Talent Corps, includes footage following a paraprofessional at her school and at home.
“Organizing Paraprofessionals” (1977) and Discussion Questions
In 1969, paraprofessional educators in New York City voted to join the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), despite having crossed picket lines to teach during the UFT’s strike in 1968. They hoped their affiliation would help to professionalize their jobs and bring more Black and Latinx leadership to the union, though there was tension in the power differential between teachers and paraprofessionals. This pamphlet from the American Federation of Teachers (with which UFT is affiliated) describes the AFT’s philosophy on organizing paraprofessionals and how they fit into the structure of the union. See the “related document” section at the bottom for a set of discussion questions.
Oral Histories [link coming soon] of Louise Burwell and Doris Brunson
Select Louise Burwell’s and Doris Brunson’s oral histories from the Harlem Education History Project. These oral histories describe two experiences of Black women teachers in Harlem. Doris Brunson taught from the late 1950s through the early 1990s. Louise Burwell taught from 1989 to 2008.
“School Indicators for New York City Charter Schools 2013-2014 School Year” (2015)
This report from the New York City Independent Budget Office describes the status of charter schools in New York City in 2013-2014. A chart on page 4 visualizes the overall growth of charters between 2009 and 2013. As noted on page 6, Harlem’s district five has the highest percent of charter school attendance in the city, with almost 37% of students attending charter schools.
Success Academy School Report Card (2016)
New York State’s school data includes teacher turnover rates and the percentage of teachers with different types of certifications. This 2016 data from Success Academy Charter School in Central Harlem illustrates the trends described in chapter 13. Like many charter schools, Success Academy has high turnover rates and a higher percentage of teachers with limited teaching experience and without traditional teaching certifications.