A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner City
Teacher Salome Thomas-EL first learned he had been promoted and transferred to another school in November of 1997. He had been a teacher at Roberts Vaux Middle School in Philadelphia’s inner city since 1989. The promotion came not only because he had helped to improve morale and discipline at his school, but also he had taught children to play chess and they went on to win local and national competitions. Besides a $20,000 raise, he would have authority to make changes and greater opportunities to influence a larger number of students. He turned down the promotion.“I can’t leave my students,” he said. “What happens if they come in on Monday and I’m not here? They’ll say, ‘He left because of the money, and I don’t want them to think that way. I’m the only male role model many of these kids have. I want them to know at least one black male who is committed to stay.”
Inspiring and warmly human, Salome Thomas-EL is a true hero. His book, "I Choose to Stay”, is moving and full of hope, and proves beyond a doubt that a commitment to teaching in the public schools can result in excellence and success for those children most of society has abandoned. When he visited Vaux Middle School in 1999, Arnold Schwarzenegger was so impressed by Thomas-EL, he “came bahkkk” again in 2000 and his foundation gave the school a $20,000 grant.
“Salome Thomas-EL believed in those kids; he believed that if he stayed he could break that cycle. He chose to stay and he made a difference. He has touched many people in his lifetime, and his work and efforts will affect many more in the generations to come! For all of that, I thank him.”
“An intensely moving story of loyalty and courage and a deeply personal tribute to the great potential of our inner-city kids, so frequently dismissed and denigrated by American society. The redemptive power of a teacher’s love shines through these pages with prophetic grace. I am grateful to the author for the lesson of essential decency he teaches us”