You Don’t Have to be Rich to be Brilliant
Calvin Freeman, principal of Thomasville High School, shares his thoughts on inventing necessary classes and creating opportunities for all students to show their brilliance, even if it’s not the popular opinion.
You can find and listen to the episode here.
Meet Our Guest
Calvin Freeman is currently serving as principal of Thomasville High School. He started his career in education as a history teacher in Durham, and has served as principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. ERG got to know him years ago while coaching at a school where he was an administrator, and we love that he models lifelong learning for his staff and his students.
Related Resources
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
A few things you’ll hear in this episode:
- What does the statement “you don’t have to be rich to be brilliant” mean?
- How do you get kids authentically engaged and invested in their learning?
- Why is it important to nurture curiosity and relationships in learning?
- What can educators do to lessen the opportunity gap?
He is a wonderful man that made a great impact on my life at Durham School of The Arts. I know his as Coach Freeman.
Cngratulations on your professional accomplishments Mr. Calvin! You are an exceptional role model for youth & adults. We feel privileged to know you. Joe zurad
It was my honor to be hired by Mr. Freeman as the media coordinator for Hairston Middle School just a few days after he moved from Durham to Greensboro. I was with him the three years at Hairston and still remain while he moved on to the fortunate folks at Thomasville High School.
Mr. Freeman was magnificent leader, a champion for students and a leader who was never wavering in his belief that each student that came through the front door of the school had excellence in their makeup – we simply needed to find a way to give them some way to express it. He nurtured our young people, most of whom fit the stereotypical “poor, urban, minority and disadvantaged students.” He saw potential in every one of the 700+ faces and found a way to speak to them each morning, building a relationship and showing each one of them love and respect. Not only did he do this, but he expected staff to follow. To do so, PLC’s had us discussing it, reading noted books about it, while all the time he modeled the way. He “walked the walk and talked the talk.”
My love and respect for him and his leadership style truly run deep. His actions forced me take stock in my beliefs about disadvantaged your people and recognize that each had worth. He is a hero and I greatly enjoyed hearing his voice and stories in this episode of the Erg blog.