Dr. Brent Johnson, Assistant Director, National Superintendents Roundtable

Dr. Brent Johnson 

Setting the Tone to Aspire Higher

Dr. Brent Johnson may not be a household name just yet, but  give him time.  Even with his newly earned Ph.D. and expertise on the subject of “Comparing Achievement between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools within the Largest Eight Urban School Districts (The Big in Ohio,” he does not publicize his achievements.

With eight years of classroom teaching, four years of school counseling, two-years of teaching in an adult GED program, four years as a university instructor, coordinator of the graduate school educational leadership conference at Miami University, and The Assistant Director of the National Superintendents Roundtable, Dr. Johnson is not “waiting for superman.” He wears his own cape and has set the tone to aspire higher.

TOC: DR. JOHNSON, please tell us about the National Superintendents Roundtable and your role within the organization. How did you become interested in this particular organization?

Dr. Johnson: The Roundtable is a learning organization for school leaders. It is committed to the difficult and complex work of school improvement, including paying attention to very difficult subjects such as race, class, and leadership of complex organizations.

As the Assistant Director of the Roundtable, I had multiple roles. From assisting Mr. Jim Harvey, the Director of the Roundtable, with logistics as well as participating in the various conversations and think tanks involving both technical and fundamental issues that challenge the goal of a quality public education for all young people. To the credit of Mr. Harvey, the superintendents, the university professors, and other partners involved in the Roundtable, the difficult conversations in which we engaged operated democratically.

Dr. Nelda Cambron-McCabe introduced me to the Roundtable. During formal and informal conversations, I would pose critical questions and project ideas about the integration of educational theory and practice, re-imagining public educational

spheres, and humanizing public education for all students regardless of race, class, economic background, religious affiliation, gender, or sexual orientation. Our discussions often included how organizations could learn to be more responsive to all members of society.  The result of our conversations led to an invitation to attend the National Superintendents Roundtable in New York City in 2008. After attending my second meeting, I was asked by Mr. Jim Harvey to join the staff as Assistant Director. I cannot thank Dr. Cambron-McCabe and Mr. Jim Harvey enough for constantly advocating for high quality public education for all.

TOC: In this Fall Issue of TOC is a segment encouraging teachers to join professional teaching organizations. Tell us how your role in this professional organization as Assistant Director has helped in your professional development.

Dr. Johnson: My role as Assistant Director has given me the opportunity to engage in critical dialogue with a diverse group of leaders. Such conversations and other educational activities continually cause me to re-examine my own theoretical orientations and practices. Also, I am introduced to new information and ideas that encourage me to read and research.

TOC: TOC includes a great deal of content specific to the promotion of professional development and leadership. What advice would you offer a new teacher who aspires to advance up the career ladder? When should the planning phase start and what initial steps should be taken?

Dr. Johnson: To new teachers who aspire to advance up the career ladder, I would advise them to answer for themselves the following questions:

What does it mean to be educated?

Why do I want to teach? 

What is the current role of a teacher in our society?

What should the role of a teacher be in society?

A new teacher should begin to construct his or her own mission statement. Once that statement is constructed, he or she should look for opportunities that are in alignment with it.

The technical training of teaching will change (the how). However, a good teacher has a consistent reason for teaching (the why).

TOC: We often hear, “We need more Black male teachers, and more teachers reflecting that of the student body.” How important is it for teachers to have a background similar to that of their students?

Dr. Johnson: It is important to have more Black male teachers. However our students require all teachers sincerely attempt to understand the lived experiences of students, especially students who are marginalized. W.E.B. DuBois clearly articulated the idea of Double Consciousness. Dr. Mo Baptiste of Ithaca College has developed a more recent work extending the idea of recognizing marginalized voices. Teachers, regardless of their ethnicity, need to be proficient in multiple “curriculums” and be able to integrate these “curriculums” at all times. Teachers who are aware of and embrace the realities of difference and privilege will be better prepared to teach diverse populations. We do need more Black male teachers if they understand and teach through a critical pedagogical lens. Black male teachers who simply believe that being in the classroom is enough and do not adjust the current curriculum in any way could do more harm than good.

TOC: As it relates to the students, describe some of the advantages you have as a male in education? Have you ever experienced any disadvantages of being a male in your role?

Dr. Johnson: The advantage of being male in a school setting is that it challenges the paradigm of what a teacher is or looks like. The disadvantage of being male in a school setting is that there is an assumption that we are all “Joe Clark” types. In actually, our skill sets are varied and our ideas about education, diverse. However, we, (Black male teachers) as well as the rest of society, all share in the responsibility of developing global citizens that recognize the humanity within themselves and others. I suggest that your readers research the idea of Critical Black Masculinities being developed by Adrian “Adisa” Price.

TOC: Over the years, we’ve spoken with a number of administrators of different ethnicities and we have heard directly or indirectly how they believe they have done their part by hiring multicultural candidates, therefore successfully contributing to their school’s diversity representation. In your years of experience, as a teacher or an administrator, have you participated in conversations or meetings where that philosophy was expressed? If so, how did you handle the situation?  If not, how would you advise a new teacher to respond?

Dr. Johnson: A more experienced teacher may asked an administrator what they mean by the term, “multicultural?” Are they looking for a teacher who is diverse in his or her thinking or simply his or her appearance?  A new teacher should not be placed in such an awkward position in the first place (unless that teacher and administrator has built that type of relationship). However, if a new teacher is asked to respond, they could present the data showing the percentage of educators of color (or Black male teachers specifically) in the school building. Allow the data to speak for themselves.

TOC: Dr. Johnson, this segment will also include Superintendents who are raising the status of the teaching profession, with the spotlight focusing on those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and a commitment to Diversity Recruitment Initiatives. Would you say your organization has taken an active role in increasing awareness of diversity matters?

Dr. Johnson: I would say it has. The National Superintendents Roundtable has had the pleasure of working with Dr. Ray Terrell who has assisted many districts as well as other organizations on the importance of understanding and using culturally relevant pedagogy and curriculum. Also, Critical Race and Feminist theories are often invoked in an attempt to understand how these issues affect policy on multiple levels. Members of the Roundtable are aware of how race, class, and gender affect learning organizations in general and the educational landscape specifically.

TOC: We thank you for your time and for sharing your insight with our readers.

Part 1 of story, Superintendents: Raising the Status of the Teaching Profession