Reuben Harpole Jr. and Nate Deans are generations apart, but they share a common passion \u2014 improving urban education and increasing the number of African-American male teachers in classrooms.<\/p>\n
Harpole taught for years after earning his 51ÁÔÆæ bachelor\u2019s degree in education in 1978. He and wife Mildred also helped found more than 25 community centers and programs promoting education as the ultimate equalizer. Along the way, Harpole mentored countless young African-Americans.<\/p>\n
Among them is Deans, who carries one of the many torches Harpole lit. A 2011 graduate of the School of Education, he\u2019s an English teacher at his alma mater, Riverside University High School\u2028in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeaching gives me the opportunity to look at Milwaukee and see hope and change,\u201d Deans said. \u201cPeople of color who care for these kids and see them as people and not statistics are needed in our schools. These students need hope and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2007, the Reuben K. Harpole Jr. Education Scholarship at 51ÁÔÆæ has invested $25,000 in the college education of young black men interested in teaching. Deans benefitted from that scholarship in 2009, with Harpole saying, \u201cIt\u2019s important for all of our children to see positive African-American role models, men who are professionals, qualified and good teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harpole received the Alumni Association\u2019s community service award in 2016 and an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2005. \u201cHe is phenomenal,\u201d Deans said. \u201cNo one becomes successful on their own. There\u2019s always been someone before you on the path. His scholarships are crucial in motivating students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deans knows so many teachers play a role in their students\u2019 lives, but he believes it\u2019s especially important for African-American students, particularly male students, to see African-American male professionals in their classrooms. He\u2019s often walked into a high school class for the first time and noted the surprise in some students\u2019 eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may be the first African-American male teacher they have ever seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deans often brings his students to events at 51ÁÔÆæ, introducing them to a variety of cultural activities and the possibility of college in their own futures.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s humbled when students tell him he\u2019s the reason they come to school. \u201cI hope they see a teacher who actually cares about them,\u201d Deans said. \u201cThey don\u2019t get to see many educated black men teaching, and I get to be this person for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Reuben Harpole Jr. and Nate Deans are generations apart, but they share a common passion \u2014 improving urban education and increasing the number of African-American male teachers in classrooms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":49230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[249,250],"section":[246,259],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[260,207],"uwmnews-feed":[167,347,148],"class_list":["post-49229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-community-engagement","tag-student-success","section-business-world-affairs","section-education","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","related-coverage-community-engagement","related-coverage-teaching","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association","uwmnews-feed-community-engagement-professions","uwmnews-feed-education"],"yoast_head":"\n