My parents raised me on the belief that ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ And so, when it came to my first teaching experience, I worked with students in foster care, group homes and residential treatment centers. These kids were no different from me and made the same mistakes I did when I was their age. I was just lucky and had more opportunities. This experience inspired me to become a teacher and want to provide opportunities for all kids— whether they had advantages, disadvantages, good luck, or bad luck.
When I became the 2018-2019 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year, I started doing more work with my local union, TABCO, and Baltimore County Public Schools. One of my biggest charges was to highlight the inequity in science, engineering, STEM, coding, and robotics. Some of these programs are not part of everyday instruction. They’re just extracurricular programs. I didn’t grow up with robotics. I was more of a sports kid, and I know LeBron James didn't start playing basketball at age 15. He started when he was four. We need to get our kids to start coding, engineering, building, and creating when they're young, especially black and brown students.
As a teacher, I’ve had my share of rewarding experiences. The most rewarding experience was when two former third grade students, who stayed in my robotics club until fifth grade, won the Maryland VEX IQ Robotics State Championship. They got to travel to the International World Tournament in Louisville, KY. It was their first plane ride and stay in a hotel. We met kids from Georgia, Spain, Korea, Morocco—all over the world. It was a powerful experience, and it showed that if you give kids the chance to be creative, they can surprise themselves, surprise you, and they can compete globally.
Another passion of mine is connecting with families. In a previous role, I worked at an elementary magnet school and developed hands-on, STEM-family learning nights. Families would come after school and build with their kids. For me, it was important for kids to see not only black males in the classroom but to watch their parents build and connect with others in what I call the productive struggle.
As a black male teacher, I want all students to see me —and other black male teachers—as an intelligent, loving, caring and supportive role model. I want to make sure students from pre-K to 3rd grade to 8th grade to 12th grade have a variety of teachers that they can go to and ask a question about a lesson or a club, or even something personal. Black male teachers are not in schools to be the sole disciplinarians of black and brown students. We are in classrooms to guide and support the creativity and passion of all students.
