The College of Education hosted its annual banquent Wednesday and its guest speaker was Henry Brown.
Brown is a teacher at Hallandale Adult Community Center in Broward County and is the 2002 Florida Teacher of the Year. He is also one of seven persons nominated for the National Teacher of the Year award.
Brown said his belief as a teacher is “I believe I can fly” as it relates to his students’ rationale. All the while singing and dedicating the song to those in attendance.
The theme for this year’s banquet was “Teaching the American Dream”. In his address, Brown urged pre-service teachers to nurture their students’ dreams. Brown also stated that as a teacher, the impression that one leaves on a child, could be the turning point in their life.
“He (Brown) was very moving and motivational,” said Brittney Jones, 21, a junior elementary education student from Tallahassee and president of FFEA. “He expressed the ideals of the African-American dream and it had an overwhelming impact on everyone.”
In his speech, Brown reminisced of his 7th grade teacher who rekindled his light and he attributes that teacher for all that he is today.
“For me, seeing a young black man first hand, with such a passion and commitment to his people, gave me the reassurance I needed before going into the profession ,” stated Nider Marcelin, 23, a business education student from Miami.
Further more the banquet went on to showcase the different student organizations within the College of Education, as well as faculty members, who were given student-voted superlatives.
Kajsa Henry, 22, an English education student from Monticello stated, ” The overall theme of the banquet was one of celebration of the benefits of becoming excellent teachers and Mr. Brown served as a model for this endeavor.”