Many students find social studies lessons a bit boring. Not Caleb Brown.
Where some students may see a sequence of dates to memorize, he sees turning points that helped define the world we live in today. Where some might see a long list of presidents whose names and timelines blur together, he sees stories of courage and perseverance. Where some see bloody battles and impassioned speeches that no longer seem relevant, he sees an opportunity to understand what we’ve been through and where we’re going.
Brown loves, and has long loved, learning about history, civics, geography and government, in part because he had teachers who brought infectious energy and enthusiasm to those lessons. Eager to build a career out of his interest in social studies, he considered museum conservation, archival work, and the practice of law. But nothing seemed quite right until he considered teaching.
Brown thought that teaching offered him the opportunity to continue learning and talking about history and government every day, while passing on the passion that was imbued in him from an early age.
Brown graduated high school when the pandemic began and entered her freshman year at Clemson University as the virus raged on, shaping her experiences as a student and shaking up the career she had decided to pursue. Now, Brown is a senior at Clemson and next year he will graduate and begin teaching in his own class.
He recognizes the challenges this will entail (the field has changed a lot in just his four years of college, he notes), but he is undeterred. She feels that teaching is what she should do, that she is well positioned to be a role model for his students, even as she recognizes that she has as much to learn from them as they do from him.
In our Future Teachers series, we meet people in teacher preparation programs who are about to enter the classroom, aware of the descent of the teaching profession and still unchanged. This month we feature Caleb Brown.
The following interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Name: Caleb Brown
Age: twenty
Colleague: Clemson University
Study area: History, secondary education.
It aims to teach: social Sciences
Native city: Rock Hill, South Carolina
EdSurge: What is one of your earliest memories of a teacher?
Caleb Brown: My third grade teacher, Mrs. Wright, definitely had a big impact on my life. I just remember that she cared a lot about her students, she spent a lot of time with students who maybe didn’t understand concepts as quickly as others and she was always there.
Later, when I was in middle and high school and wondering what I wanted to do in my career, I thought about teaching, and Mrs. Wright came to mind as an example of how to do education right. She led with great skill in the classroom.
When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher? Was there a specific moment or story?
In high school I participated in Cadet Teachersa program that allows high school students to explore the field of education as a possible career, in part by having them attend local elementary and secondary schools and serving and observing in the field.
Through that program, I discovered that I really enjoyed the craft of teaching, the art of teaching. I went to an elementary school and learned that I didn’t want to be an elementary school teacher. But I enjoyed teaching. I was always interested in history. I enjoyed my American history class (Advanced Placement) and had always enjoyed my social studies classes. So I felt that teaching was a great way to combine my passions: talking and learning about history, helping people and being part of their journey. So it was during Teacher Cadets that I really started to consider teacher education programs at university.
I imagine you must have already had some interest in teaching if you participated in Teacher Cadets. Alright?
Definitely. That goes back to those good memories we were talking about earlier, with my third grade teacher and my first years of elementary school.
But there were also many times when I realized how interested I was in history and social studies and wondered what I could do with it. Maybe you could work in a museum or library. Many people suggested that I go into teaching. So it was one of those things where I was really curious and just wanted to explore that career path. My high school offered Teacher Cadets and I thought it was something I could at least learn from. So it was an initial curiosity that turned into a desire to learn more.
So you checked out the program and your curiosity blossomed. Did you ever reconsider?
Well, I always thought about entering other fields related to history. I thought about possibly going to law school. Then I followed a lawyer and I wasn’t very excited about that job. It just wasn’t my passion and I wanted to do something I was passionate about. Being around students, being around young students, is definitely something that I discovered I am passionate about. I also explored the possibility of working in curatorship or in some type of museum, but I always came back to teaching.
Why do you want to be a teacher?
Social studies often gets a bad reputation. This may be true for other subjects as well, but social studies often comes down to memorizing facts and dates. But for me, social studies has always been about so much more. It’s really learning about stories and origins; It is learning about our present by looking through the lens of the past and understanding much more about where we are now.
I think that by bringing that energy into the classroom (even if social studies is not someone’s passion) students can at least come to respect and recognize it. That has always been my “why”.
Also, I want to be there as a role model. Of course, we can talk about pedagogy and state standards, but teaching is a people profession. So learning to love people, be a part of the community, and be a part of something bigger than myself is also my “why.” And I think teaching offers that like no other profession.
Was your own experience at school largely positive or largely negative? And how does that influence your decision to teach?
I have always been in public schools and I have had ups and downs. In general it has been positive.
Going into high school, I had the opportunity to specialize a little more, taking AP courses in history: American history, European history, human geography, AP government. That’s when I really got to experience a deeper level of social studies content. I had great teachers who were passionate about topics ranging from the United States Constitution to how the government works, and their passion often ignited mine because I could see that they were just as excited talking about it as I was learning about it.
What gives you hope about your future career?
It is a dynamic field. They have been difficult years, simply with the pandemic and the increasingly politicized profession. But what gives me hope are those moments in the classroom when you feel that ‘eureka!’ moment or that ‘aha’ moment with a particular child. In those moments, you understand that you are more than just politics, more than the chaos you often see on the news.
As a teacher, you are dealing with individual lives and destinies. You are working with real people and their journeys. And truly, that gives me hope. Even if I can play a small role in that person’s training, whether it be related to social studies or perhaps something less direct, it gives me hope and lets me know that I am in the right profession.
My hope is always in the students and their possibilities.
What gives you pause or worries about becoming a teacher?
In a way it relates to the same thing that gives me hope. A lot of times you look at the headlines, you see how political schools are simply by the nature of our education system, and you see the different agendas that are pushed in schools. Sometimes this can have adverse effects on children.
I also have other concerns, such as pandemic burnout and increased use of technology. You have artificial intelligence on the scene. It is a dynamic and constantly changing field. That makes me think because I am in a teacher training program preparing to dedicate myself to teaching at a time when so many things are changing. I was a freshman in college in the fall of 2020. I came to Clemson University and the teacher education program during COVID-19. I will be leaving in 2024. Even in those four years, as I prepare to enter the field, a lot of things have changed.
I don’t think change is necessarily a bad thing. Change can also be hopeful. But when you look at the headlines and the state of our world and our education system, it gives me pause.
I also worry about the children. I have worked in schools where children do not have all their basic needs met. It’s hard to teach someone about the importance of the American Civil War when they’re hungry. Many things make me reflect as an incoming teacher, but I move on.
Why does the field need you right now?
We need teachers who are willing to admit that they may not always be right about everything; teachers who are willing to be challenged and learn from others; and teachers who practice critical thinking and active listening. You would think these traits would be critical for educators, but they are often missing.
I think what I bring to the table is that I am someone who is willing to learn, someone who is willing to be a forever student. Even as an educator, the learning process never stops. I can learn from students as much as they can learn from me.
