Who is Kwame Sarfo-Mensah? Kwame is a man of Ghanian roots. A teacher advocating and bringing awareness to the racial disparity in education. He is a middle school teacher at the Joseph Lee School in Boston, MA by day and karaoke singer by night! KLJ Way had the opportunity to sit down with Kwame to learn who he is as an educator, a husband, father, and a writer, and just how he manages to work for change in the education system and balance his other obligations. Keep reading to learn about the great work that Kwame is doing in Boston education systems!
Who is Kwame?
Kwame is a father, he’s a husband, professionally he is a teacher as well, with 13 years in the classroom, all middle school level (6th-8thgrade). My family comes from Ghana, West Africa and immigrated to this country in the late 60s for a better life. Thy went to college here and raised a whole family. Now all my siblings are old, and we are raising our own family.
What drove you to choose teaching as your profession?
Well, it did not start off that way. When I was in high school, I was just like most other teens. I wanted to be a professional athlete. I thought I could be a major league baseball player or a basketball player. I played varsity football in high school, and I was okay, but by the time I got to my senior year I knew that would retire, and I had to rethink my career options. I opted to go to college, and I pursued a bachelor’s degree in math at Temple University in Philadelphia. During my time in undergrad I was always working with children, whether it was in a tutoring capacity, summer camp counselor, or a mentor, and it was during that time during I started to develop a love for children. By the time I finished my undergrad, I decided to pursue teaching. I went to AmeriCorps, and joined an organization called Education Works, based in Philadelphia and New Jersey. During that time I started to realize that every time I go to a classroom I saw a white teacher, but yet 90% of the students in that school were either African American or Latino. I thought to myself, “well, I know if I was in front of the classroom, I could do a much better job of teaching, than this teacher over here.” I started to put the pieces together and see there was a huge disparity. Thinking of the representation of black males in education, compared to their white counterparts or other races, that is when I decided I wanted to pursue it for real.
What is the most gratifying part of being a teacher?
It is the kids and being able to have a direct impact on the younger generation. It is being able to impart your knowledge and your wisdom of life to children who are still trying to figure things out. It is being in the position where you come into the classroom and all eyes are on you, all the kids are looking up to you to provide that guidance, wisdom, and understanding. It is having the ability to change the trajectory of their lives.
Outside of teaching, what other things with S.T.E.M. do you try to incorporate in your life, and the lives of the kids’ you mentor?
Being that I am a math person, I like to do a lot of things that are math related. For instance, I am into logic games, and one thing I like to do with students is play 24. We play that all the time in class. I also try to engage them in different things like crypta-rhythmic puzzles. It is a hidden message in the midst of an equation, and they have to decipher the meaning of the equation in order to discover the message. It is something that really gets the kids hyped up. In terms of just S.T.E.M., I did teach science, I was not a great science teacher, but I was able to get students to see the relation between science and math.
What challenges have you faced being a person of color trying to grow within your field?
For one, when people see me for the first time, teaching isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. The first thing is, getting people to see that I am a teacher with credentials. I have two college degrees; I went through the same programs as you did. A lot of it is, me having to legitimize my credentials to folks, so that they take me seriously. That has always been a challenge, when you are a person of color in this profession. Something else I notice is, unfortunately, when you are a man of color, specifically a black man, you are looked at more as a disciplinary before viewed as a master of your content area. I am a math person, I know all my standards, and I know about Pedagogy and curriculum development and all those concepts important for teaching, but when I am looked at for the first time, they wonder, “Am I able to manage these kids? Am I able to manage these black boys and black girls,” so they don’t have to do it. I am viewed as the police, the whisperer. Unfortunately, my ability to manage behaviors trumps my ability to deliver content in a way that reaches diverse learners.
Have you seen with your student population that inherit mindset of looking at you as a disciplinary more than an actual teacher?
I think they see me as a teacher, as someone who is relatable. They see me as somebody who they can vibe with, talk about anything with, and can be open and transparent. They are able to express themselves, because they cannot do it in other spaces. It speaks more to the fact that we share the same experiences just being people of color in American society. I grew up in a two-parent household, both parents were college educated, but we weren’t silver spoon, we were blue collar. The students I teach are coming from poverished situations where they may not be getting a meal every day, they might be living in a group home opposed to their own house, or they might have parents who have gone through the prison system. They go through these many situations that we hear about too often, and I did not have to go through that. That is something I had to learn at the beginning, and through time I have learned to be empathetic and not use their hardships as an excuse to not achieve excellence in the classroom. I still have to set high standards at all times.
You have written a book called, “Shaping the Teacher Identity,” can you tell us more about that? “Shaping the Teacher Identity,” is a book I wrote particularly for early career educators (1st-2ndyear). When I wrote it last year, I was on paternity leave. My son was maybe a month or two old, and I needed something to do since I was out of the classroom for 3 months, learning how to be dad. Between changing diapers, putting him down for cat naps, and making bottles, I filled my time with writing. I wrote it out of frustration with the injustice of the education system as it pertains to students of color, particularly, black and brown boys. I thought back to when I started teaching and how I did not have the mentorship, the support, and proper guidance to be successful during those early years of teaching. A lot of things that I learned, I had to figure it out by myself. I then wondered if my teaching program prepared me well enough to go into the classroom. The answer is, “no.” My experience came from being in the classroom, being a tutor, being in after school programs and summer camps. Due to my experiences in my undergrad, it allowed me to be a good classroom manager. By the time I got to graduate school, I just had to learn the technical aspects of teaching, like how to construct a classroom plan, how to write objectives, differentiate instruction, how to set goals for you students based on learning styles. “Shaping the Teacher Identity,” is able to be purchased on Amazon, Trident Book Store & Cafe, and Frugal Bookstore.
You are a contributor to the STEM educators’ Collaborative Book Project, can you tell us more about that?
This is very recent. It is a project that was created by Dr. Markita Blades, based in Atlanta. She is an award-winning STEM educator. She taught science for many years before transitioning into educational consulting. The project consists of STEM educators coming together to share their best practices, such as lessons or projects they have done in the past that are partially responsive to urban populations. We are going to start writing for the project in about a week!
With your many facets of life of being a teacher, husband, father, mentor, etc., how do you handle those many realms and keep yourself grounded?
It is definitely not easy. I think for me, I strive to achieve balance in all facets of life. Whether it’s a father, teacher, husband, a family man, I try to make myself available and present in all parts of my life. That is easier said than done, especially when you are writing a book and trying to build an audience, and trying to help other people improve their practice, sometimes it takes time away from your loved ones. A perfect example, I was just at the COSEBC Conference, in Detroit attending workshops and promoting my book and consulting services, and that is something I did all weekend. It was time away from my family, and I know that it can be a strain, but I try my best to balance that out. It is a work in progress for me.
What advice would you give students beginning their college journey in S.T.E.M.?
If you have not thought about it already, get an idea of what it is you want to do exactly in S.T.E.M., since S.T.E.M. is so broad. Using myself as an example, I went in as a math major, and because of its interdisciplinary nature you have to connect math with something. I did not kow whether I wanted to go into finance, engineering, or another math related career. I did not have that figured out. I went 5 years in undergrad just doing math and having no idea where I was going to take it, so when I saw that there were people in my school going into PhD programs in math and just solving theorems. I knew that is NOT what I wanted to do. I know I liked math, but not to that degree! I had to figure out what I was going to pair the math with. That is where education came in.
What would you say would help the disparity of people of color in S.T.E.M., in terms of getting more people involved?
I think the first thing is exposure. EXPOSURE. EXPOSURE. EXPOSURE! Just like with black male teachers. A student cannot aspire to be a teacher if they have not seen one in their own lives. Many of us may have gone through our whole K – 12 career without seeing a black teacher, that is common place. If they are seeing teachers early on in their education careers, whether it be early childhood, elementary, middle school, high school, there is a greater chance they will consider teaching as an option. Going into S.T.E.M., they need to be exposed to different S.T.E.M. careers early on, so they can see themselves in this space and it will help even more if they see people like them in those spaces so then they can aspire to be like them. Just like how they aspire to be like the entertainers, and the athletes, the same thing should happen with the S.T.E.M. field. There is a lot of people doing the work, but we just do not know about them. It is all about EXPOSURE.
Want to connect with Kwame Sarfo-Mensah?
IG: kwam_the_identity_shaper
FB: identitytalk4educators
Twitter: identity shaper
June 1st, 2019
Books and Breakfast at Transformative Cultural Center (Dudley)
Kwame will be reading excerpts of his book to local children and families, so be sure to stop by to pick yourself up a copy and even get it signed.
June 8th, 2019
Edupreneurs of Color Symposium
This symposium seeks to bring together black and Latinx educators and community members in the Greater Boston area who own small businesses and are engaged in projects that are making a positive impact outside of the classroom. Kwame will be speaking at this event, and it will be a great opportunity to network with other educators, small businesses, and influencers in the Boston area. Click HERE to RSVP.