5 Questions for Sam Washington Jr.

I had a lot of ideas. I knew I was going to do something in the sciences. I really thought I was going to be a doctor. But in everything I was involved with, it really involved educating.

In my senior year of college when it was time to graduate, I needed a job immediately. I still was toying with the idea of going into the medical field. I have a B.A. in sociology and a B.S. in biology.

At the time, Teach for America was recruiting people to teach in underrepresented cities and I was placed in Houston, TX.

In college, I was teaching undergraduates, but when I first started teaching middle school, that was a challenge.

So being a Black male educator, I am in a minority in education. I’m a science educator, so I find myself in areas where I’m the minority most places I go. … When I was growing up, I didn’t have that many Black male teachers. And so now that I’m in the field, whether I’m at a national conference, a local conference or most things that I do, I don’t see me a lot.

That’s one of the things that drives me because I feel that I’m needed. Not only am I beneficial to students of color, especially young Black males, but I feel that I’m a benefit to all students.

In my classroom I try to recognize everyone. It’s not just Black History Month, it’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month. I cover the whole gamut. My students come from many different cultures, and they have different names that may be difficult for some people to pronounce.

Sometimes they say, ‘Just call me Jim.’ I want to know how to say their name correctly because … it’s important to recognize who we are as a people.

Adaptability. When we talk about natural selection, it occurs over a period of time where organisms are pretty much adapting to their environment. And so, I’m thinking about this as a superpower.

So if I need to fly, or if it’s really cold I’m growing fur, or if, you know, if it’s really hot I’m diving in the water, you know, all of a sudden I have gills.

Just the ability to adapt to your environment … to be more in tune with the environment and the things that are going on with you at the time.

I feel incredibly honored and humbled. Sometimes, as a teacher, the impact of our work can go under the radar until years after a student has graduated. I’ve had former students come back after 20 years to thank me for how much I did to prepare them for life after high school. To be honored in real-time makes it come alive.

Learn more about Sam Washington Jr. at nysut.cc/science.