gregory brown

                        Growing up on my father’s farm I used to play in an old barn that was once a very active depression-era schoolhouse. In the midst of all the dust and dry tobacco leaves, I would sometimes pretend I was one of the teachers who taught within those four historic walls. I imagined my classroom being filled with young boys and girls who believed that I was just about the best storyteller, actor and poet they’d ever seen. It didn’t matter to them that I was actually a slow reader in my own elementary class; always the last kid to finish his test papers and predictably the first student to sit down during Spelling Bees. In contrast, being a teacher automatically meant you were somebody important! That teaching fantasy (plus a secret desire to transform myself into a city mouse) provided ample motivation for me to make it through high school and to become the first college graduate in my family. But holding that first teaching certificate in my hands was not enough to make me feel invincible. In fact, I didn’t think I could handle the huge responsibilities I had learned the teaching profession really required. I quietly put that teaching diploma into a desk drawer, got a job in a tiny office at SEARS and tried to make sense of why I was afraid to make the journey back into the classroom.

            It wasn’t until about seven years later that I got the true “calling” to be an educator. I had returned to college in hopes of exploring some new possibilities. Suddenly, things fell into place. I began taking courses that dealt mostly with the teaching of younger kids, rather than the high school theater students I had trained with years before. I really clicked with this new age group! My professors could see my enthusiasm. Within a short time I had not only added an area to my previous teaching certification…I had also begun work on my Masters degree in education. This time around I felt confident, prepared and maybe a little bit invincible. When I was offered a teaching position in my hometown, I hesitated to accept. After all, I wanted to be a city mouse! Would that be stepping backward? I thought seriously about another teaching job I’d been offered that was further away. But, my heart told me to come back home…and I listened to it. This “late bloomer” had finally found a place to grow: practically in his own backyard.

            I’ve taught here now for over 20 years. Working for Wayne County Public Schools was the best personal and professional decision I’ve ever made. Central Office also made a very smart choice in directing my career. They placed me where I was most needed. I was plunked down in the middle of an inner city classroom full of bright-eyed, mostly minority students raised primarily in impoverished environments.  On those first days of school, I was probably perceived (by both students and parents) as being from the planet Mars! As the weeks went by, those inquisitive kids began to accept me, trust me, and ultimately depend on my guidance as their teacher. We found a surprising unity in our different backgrounds. My prior (and sometimes embarrassing) experiences of living on a farm without modern conveniences often connected directly with my students’ daily hardships of surviving in project housing. Also, my insecurity with my own reading abilities allowed me to be extra patient and innovative in helping the many students who mirrored that plight. Through the years, it has been so fulfilling to hear a previously unsuccessful child exclaim, “I can read now, Mr. Brown!” Or…to meet an excited parent on the street who can’t wait to tell me, “My son’s graduating from college this year. You were one of his favorite teachers.” It honestly doesn’t get any better than that.

            I have a very simple teaching philosophy: “A little positive self-esteem can go a very long way.” Find something, be it large or small, which allows each child to shine and feel important. That feeling will resonate and fuel success in every other subject that has to be tackled. Eventually, it will help them scale the mountains we all must climb as productive adults. And…there’s absolutely no shame in taking extra time to reach your goals. I’m living proof!

                                                                                                       Gregory Brown