A History of Teaching With Brian King

Veteran teachers have been dealt a wild hand over the past year and a half, having to adapt to new things along the way. This week, I talked to Brian King, a North Carolina educator who has been doing this for more than half of his life.

What do you teach, where do you teach, and how long have you been teaching? 

I teach American History and AP US History at Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina. This is my 24th year.

What is your ‘why’?

This is what I’ve always wanted to do. I teach because I like being a positive influence on students’ lives and I love history. I hope to make students love history as well. I think a lot of students don’t like history or find it boring and I try to change that.

What is your favorite thing to teach, and why? 

I really enjoy teaching the Civil War - the things leading up to the Civil War and the Civil War itself. Although the Civil War happened a long time ago, a lot of the things that are important today can be traced back to the Civil War. Whether it’s the lasting impact of slavery, or how after the Civil War, leaders did not successfully deal with the issues that former slaves faced, leading to the Civil Rights Movement later in the 50s and 60s. I also think this topic leads to a good debate about what freedom means.

Do you have any advice for other teachers?

I think the best advice that I always got is to really make sure that you know your content. Everything else will come later, just know your content. The kids will know whether or not you know what you’re talking about so you just need to be prepared. I also think it's important in your first year of teaching to focus on teaching. I was a soccer and basketball coach, and I was told not to coach my first year of teaching so that I could really focus on my classroom instead of getting distracted by extracurriculars. One of the best things that I ever did was wait to start coaching until after my first year.

What do you think makes a classroom successful? How do you encourage students to do their best work?

What makes a classroom successful is to try and make it as fun as you can, and to also make sure the work that you give your students is meaningful and not just busywork. The students need to know that what you’re assigning is important and valid; you are giving them work to help them learn what they need to know.

How did you adapt to teaching virtually this past year?

Before virtual education, I didn’t use Canvas or other online tools very much. Teaching virtually has kind of forced me to get more familiar with technology and now that we are back in school physically, I still use the technology because I’ve enjoyed incorporating it into teaching.