Today’s Student Is Tomorrow’s Leader

By David Cummings

Abstract

This article is intended as a deconstruction of my (the author’s) perspective as a career-changer from comedian and actor to teacher that will deepen teachers’ understanding of education beyond the classroom and after the school day. At the time of this article’s writing, in my third school year teaching with the New York City Department of Education, it is my opinion that it is growing more and more urgent that we, as educators, do all we can to help shape today’s students into responsible leaders to serve tomorrow’s communities. During the short period of time we have with our students, we can model the behaviors we wish to see in our communities—not just for us but for future generations.

Keywords: pedagogy, praxis, teacher identity, empathy, education as activism