Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Gratitude
January 5, 2024
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
When August rolled around, T.J. Elliott ’21 headed back to his old high school.
He thanked his chorus teacher for helping him foster a love for singing, and the confidence to do it publicly. He thanked his biology teacher for making the subject so interesting that the lessons still stick. He thanked his chemistry teacher for inspiring his passion for science.
Elliott now walks those familiar halls as their colleague.
His path back to East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte offers a powerful example of the influence teachers can have in a kid’s life. His thank-you list spans from elementary, middle and high school to Davidson College. It includes coaches who helped him grow as a football player and person.
“I remember my fifth-grade teacher, Miss Clark, who cared a lot about us and always pushed us to be better than what was set for us,” he says. “She made us believe that with hard work and effort, we could go as far as we wanted to go.”
Many kids don’t have what he had growing up—supportive, involved parents who knew his teachers and principal. Teachers can change lives.
“I model my teaching after my teachers, by striving to be kind and patient with my students. I want them to know they are in a safe space and that they can always come to me, whether they don’t understand something in class or if there’s a problem at home or even if they’re having relationship drama,” he says. “I am here, and I care.”
At Davidson, Elliott was a Bonner Scholar, sociology major and linebacker for the men’s football team. He spent his first two years after college working with Teach for America at a Title 1 high school in Charlotte. He now teaches biology and IB biology at East Mecklenburg and is an assistant football coach.
“Education is truly the difference maker for a lot of students,” he says. “I’m a teacher in a public school because I believe in free access to a high-quality education for every student. Opportunities should be accessible to every child.”
“Education is truly the difference maker for a lot of students,” Elliott says. “I’m a teacher in a public school because I believe in free access to a high-quality education for every student. Opportunities should be accessible to every child.”
He envisions furthering his own education and someday going into public policy, where he’d work toward greater equity in schools. For now, he says he’s where he needs to be.
“I want to cultivate classrooms of students who love learning, who are inquisitive and aspire to grow, to learn more about themselves and the world. That’s what education is supposed to be.
“I know I don’t get paid that much, and when people wonder why I’m a teacher I ask them: You want your kids to learn, don’t you?”
Return to And Education for All: These public-school educators teach, lead, counsel, nurture, care.
This article was originally published in the Fall/Winter 2023 print issue of the Davidson Journal Magazine; for more, please see the Davidson Journal section of our website.
