Robert Chisholm with Terrence Roberts

I am now the Senior Program Director for History and Social Studies in BPS. But prior to this, I’ve had several teaching experiences which inform how I see my current role. I started out as a fourth grade teacher in Roxbury, Massachusetts,  and then lived. worked, and volunteered for four months at an orphanage in Nicaragua. I also taught for a short time in a public high school in Chicago. In BPS, I was a teacher at Monument HS in South Boston and an administrator at English High School. These experiences have convinced me that there is no more significant or democratic endeavor than the mission of public schooling  in America’s cities.

The work of this civics course is particularly important as it aims to provide students with a specific set of skills and knowledge which they can put to use immediately as active participants in our democracy. This may sound dramatic, but I included this photo of me with Terrence Roberts from the Little Rock Nine. I think his example underscores the importance of the work you have chosen. I miss teaching terribly, so I have resolved that if I am not in front of kids teaching every day, I’d better support those who do.