Questions segment

The speaker, Mr. Cummins, shares his journey into education, initially wanting to be a writer but eventually pursuing teaching. He discusses the evolution of his teaching perspective from focusing on skills to connecting with students psychologically and socially. Proud moments include students thanking him for help, showing the impact of his teaching. Challenges like COVID and adapting to technology have shaped his teaching methods. He finds hope in students' adaptability and values, inspiring him to continue teaching. Advice for future educators is to focus on educating the future rather than reliving past high school experiences. Students' willingness to experiment with communication forms gives hope for the future of education. The next question segment is brought to you by BDTV, the best in broadcasting. All right, Mr. Cummins. So what originally brought you into the field of education, and what did your journey as a profession look like? So when I was in college, I wanted to be a writer, and I took a number of creative writing classes and inventory classes, and I focused solely on poetry, short fiction, fiction. My father said, that's great, but you can't write and live on the beach and be homeless, so you need to do something else. So then he said, why don't you get an education degree? He was a teacher, as was my mother, and although I had rebelled against it, I said, okay, that's not hard to do. I can get that degree and still do what I want to do, which was effectively write for advertising or maybe even write for movies. But once I did my student teaching in Rochester, I realized that it was both fun and rewarding, and a little different than the kind of rewards I would probably receive elsewhere. So my fiancée at the time said, well, give it a shot. Why don't you do your teaching thing now, get it out of your system, so that we can go and maybe move out to California. And lo and behold, I've been teaching since 1996, so clearly I like it. No kidding. So yeah, so since you've been teaching since the 1990s, so how would you say your perspective on teaching and education has changed since you first began your career? So when I first began teaching, I felt that most of my teaching was geared towards skills. And so I had learned how to teach certain skills in English language arts, and I focused on those skills, from the rudimentary skills like grammar to literary analysis to Shakespeare. And my schooling was mainly about that. However, as I've evolved, I've realized that it's less about the skill, which is actually pretty easy, and more about how to connect with the student to teach that skill and have them learn that skill. So it's become a lot more psychological and social. That's fascinating. So besides having me as a student, what successes have you experienced in your career that you are most proud of? I am proud of many things, but I think two things come to mind immediately. I'm most proud when a student remembers me, comes up to me, and thanks me for something, or recalls a memory from class or football or the stage. A really great example, and it really warmed my heart, was when I was eating breakfast at a diner early in the morning one day, and I caught a former student who sat, had a few sips of coffee with me, recalled the old days, and then left. And I continued eating, reading the paper, and when I went to pay, he had paid for me. In fact, he paid for me and then wrote a note on the receipt for the waitress to give to me, and it was a thank you for helping him pass the graduation requirement that he needed. And that really warmed my heart. I'm getting chills. That's super incredible and super powerful. So now, as common in English, to play a devil's advocate, what challenges have you faced in the field of education, and how have those challenges actually shaped you as an educator? I think that some of the challenges stem from many things. Of course, more recently, COVID, even as far back as, unfortunately, 9-11, these challenges shook society socially as well as emotionally. So having to overcome those is difficult in the classroom, but one of the ways we have overcome them is with one of the very things that is also a challenge, and that would be technology. So I had to learn technology on the run, because when I was first teaching, there was one computer in the school in which I worked, and that's it. Wow. And we still made copies using what's called a mimeograph, so it was challenging. On the flip side, learning this technology enabled us to overcome the obstacles of COVID. And then, as I learned more technology, I became more aware that the technology could be used as an educational tool to lure, to teach, and to train kids. So that's why I began to think of different classes, such as the film academy that we run or the broadcasting class that we use. So those challenges became the rewards that I actually have now. Yeah, no, absolutely. It's kind of like Mark said earlier. He says, the obstacle in the way is the way. And it's one thing I've learned that, like, life keeps moving, and life keeps changing, and you always have to be able to adapt and keep moving forward. So, what keeps you coming back to education year after year? It sounds cliche, but it's the students and hope for the future. I think that we are constantly evolving and changing, and society is at a turning point, and it's always at a turning point. And when I see what young people can bring to the table, and when I see the young people's values are really solid, then that gives me hope for the future. I feel like if ever I felt that I was unable to teach students critical reasoning skills because it was just going to fall on deaf ears, that would be the time to hang it up. But every single year when I come back, they bring to me such new, fresh, invigorating, exciting ideas in literary debate, in social debate, in rhetorical analysis, that I feel invigorated. Oh, absolutely. And so, what advice would you give to future teachers who are considering entering the field of education? Don't go into education because you loved high school. Go into education because you love the idea of educating the future. I had a great high school experience, and when I first started teaching, there were some similarities. Now, it's nothing like my high school years. And so, if I were to say that I went into teaching because I loved high school, it doesn't resemble it. I realize now that I went into teaching because I love the idea of the continuation of knowledge and skill, and the continuation of working with young people to help them build their future, which is fun. Absolutely. Now, that's really special. And reflecting on my time in high school, I know, obviously, you had a huge impact on my life, Coach Lombardo as well. Yeah, I mean, you just learn so much at this young age, and I think, personally, it's really cool to be able to get back to that and really see the growth and progression of students, whether it's immediately in a class or down the line in the future. Now, I know you alluded to this a little bit earlier, talking about kind of different trains of thoughts and literary debates that go on and fresh perspectives from students. So, what gives you hope for the future of education, or could you expand on that point a little bit? Well, I think it's that students are really willing to experiment with, in my case, language. They're willing to experiment with different forms of communication. In New York right now, we have, of course, the cell phone ban in school, which has gone very well because it's enabled the students to open up new channels of communication. And so, we rely on different programs, different apps on the computers we use here, and to realize how adaptable young people are. In fact, I would argue that they're way more adaptable than older people. And so, that gives me a lot of hope because I feel like they're going to be able to create their future, despite the mistakes and the obstacles that previous generations have put in front of them. Yeah, no, absolutely. That's fascinating. And that wraps up this question segment presented by BDTV, the best in broadcasting. I don't know what to say. That's great. Oh, no.