The Claudia Brown

This summer makes 23 years since I taught my first college class.

I was 19 the first time I considered becoming a college professor.

Teaching was the family profession.

My mother had been a fourth grade teacher for several years before becoming a children’s librarian. My father taught English, Latin, and music. My older sister was a special education teacher.

But teaching was not for me.

I knew how hard teachers worked, the monotony of endless grading, and the challenge of disruptive students.

But when I was 19, I took a class on British literature with a female professor in her early 30’s. She had short dark hair and stylish outfits; her posture and poise both intimidated and inspired.

As she traded jokes with the students in my class I thought, “Maybe it would be fun to be a college professor?”

But before I could mull on it for any longer, a voice deep within whispered:

“I’m not smart enough.”

Two years later, I found myself teaching GED classes at Harford Community College. It was such a rewarding experience helping students prep for the test! I was only 21 years old when a call from a student paved the way for what would come next.

“Claudia, I’m calling to thank you! I just passed the GED! I’m in my 60’s and this has been a dream my whole life!”

The student was quick to learn and had been a pleasure to teach. And yet for so many years, she held herself back not believing she could achieve.

Inspired by her success, my new plan took root: I would pursue my teaching certification and Master’s Degree and gain experience teaching middle school and high school before moving on to the college level.

I was discouraged every step of the way!

“Your enthusiasm will be lost on college students,” said a middle-school colleague.

“I get so many applications from adjunct professors seeking full-time work,” warned my high school English department chair.

“Wait until you have a nice nest egg saved up,” suggested a well-meaning family member.

—-

I was 25 when I taught my first college class.

It was an accelerated evening section of Speech Fundamentals that met three times a week. Many of the students were older than me, and I feared that they might question my age and ability.

When a student called me “Dr. Brown,” I nervously corrected her. Far from having my doctorate, I had just begun pursuit of my Master’s Degree!

I incorporated many of the coaching methods I had used while teaching figure skating into the class, emphasizing the power of the mind and positive self-talk and instilling a sense of community and camaraderie with the students.

The class flew by and I waited breathlessly to receive my first batch of student evaluations. When I saw that I received an overall average rating of 3.9/4 from the class, I could barely believe my eyes! One evaluation after the next shared positive feedback — and I was hooked.

I look forward to teaching another speech class this fall. It remains a favorite class to teach because of its ability to inspire students to use their voice and believe in themselves.

It feels like another lifetime ago when my teenage self doubted my ability to teach at the college level, but that nagging voice of doubt continues to make surprising sneak appearances.

In those moments, I remember the positive self-talk strategies I teach my students — and the voice is silenced.

My mother always said that “the best way to learn something is to teach it!”