The brother featured
in this pic is one of Philadelphia’s newest public school teachers,
representing a class of teachers who make up less than 2% (~4% in Philly) of
the nation’s public school educators, a Black man. His name? Eric Butler. His
journey? Well, let’s go…
Hailing from Southwest Philly, Mr.
Butler graduated from the city’s public schools. As with many 18-year-olds, he
was unsure of the direction his life would take in college. His love of sports
led him to declare himself a kinesiology major at Penn State in his sophomore year.
As a student, he had the opportunity to work with Penn State’s famed basketball
and football programs. This clarified his future a bit. With that, he pictured himself
working in physical therapy, setting for himself a new goal, going for that
DPT, that Doctor of Physical Therapy.
The
more he spoke of his goals, the more people got excited about the money he’d
make. Reflecting on this, he recalled no one ever asking, “Oh you gone be happy doing that? You must love that! No one ever
said that to me!” Now, brewing within himself was a growing discontent. Sure,
he’d make money, but would he be happy? Satisfied? The more he spoke, the more he
found the destination unappealing, even with the potential financial
benefits. Still, onward he pushed, graduating with his Bachelor of Science in
Kinesiology and landing a job in the physical therapy world.
So how did this journey lead him to
become one of Philly’s newest biology teachers? Good question. Follow me. 3 words…
People
Prayer
Positions
A couple of
years ago, he and I were chatting. He had 4 things to share. One, one of his
patients kept encouraging him to “Do what you love!” Was it random or could she
sense that this wasn’t it? *shrugs* Two,
one of his coaches shared with him how he made a U-turn from law school to the gymnasium
as a physical education teacher and coach. He also shared with him a box of
items, each with a story related to particular students down through the years.
Three, this “Unk” person kept urging him to consider teaching, saying “We need
you in the classroom!” Four, “Unk, I decided to become a teacher!”
Link those accounts
with him working as a camp counselor with the YMCA for a few summers and loving
it! Connect those experiences with the head of the Sunday School department at our
church nudging him into teaching Sunday School. Pile onto that the fact that he
felt the Lord leading him to restart our church’s Children’s Church ministry. Whew! So, the people in
his life, his being prayerful, and the positions he’s held, together led him to
commit to becoming one of Philly’s newest Black male educators.
Which brings us
back to the picture. There he sits at Cabrini in his education class for his
Master’s in Education. His name? Eric Butler. His position? Biology teacher.
His journey? Not. Over. Yet.
The End Beginning.
