‘I Hate School’ Class Reaches Out To Young Men Of Color In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — “I Hate School” has now become a phrase of empowerment at St. Benedict’s Preparatory in Newark.

Recently, the school launched it’s “I Hate School” program, a four-week, elective course designed to give young men of color the language to critically examine their education, reflect on their experiences and hopefully, inspire them to take a bigger role in their future education.

One of the ways the program does this is through its curriculum, administrators say. The “I Hate School” course material includes writings from James Baldwin, W.E.B. Debois, bell hooks and other writers who center the stories of people of color who have been traditionally underserved in education spaces.

For teacher Mark Comesañas – a St. Benedict’s alumnus and the executive director of My Brother’s Keeper Newark (MBKN) – it’s a chance to return to his alma mater and make a difference. And although it’s his first time at the helm of a classroom in nearly 10 years, it feels like divine intervention, he said.

“I was blessed to know early in my life that teaching was my calling,” Comesañas said. “This is what I was born to do, to sow knowledge into young people, specifically men of color who look like me and came from the city like me.”

“I’m at the right place at the right time,” he added.

According to Comesañas, education is one of the only sectors where the students have the least say in the quality of service they are provided.

“If we’re going to positively impact outcomes for boys and young men of color, we must see them as assets in solving their own problems, rather than the problems to be solved,” he urged. “And this means them taking their place as teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators in our schools.”

It’s also hoped that the program can also inspire some future educators. According to a release from MBKN, an initiative of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN):

“Teachers of color make up only 20 percent of the education workforce, and it’s even less for male teachers of color. Teachers of color also experience a turnover rate nearly 50 percent higher than their white counterparts. So while the country continues to grow more and more diverse, the teaching landscape is not changing in lock-step.”

“We know that students of color experience fewer unexcused absences, curbed chronic absenteeism and less suspensions – just by having a teacher of color in the classroom,” said Robert Clark, CEO of NOYN.

“We’re proud to see this partnership with St. Benedict’s Preparatory address one of the root causes of student disconnection by encouraging more boys of color to become the educators and administrators of tomorrow,” Clark added.

And educators like Comesañas will be a key part of making it all work.

“We’re proud to have Mark back home at St. Benedict’s,” headmaster Edwin Leahy said. “I’m looking forward to having him work with us here at school and while he is in his role with My Brother’s Keeper Newark.”

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