Coming Home

Today’s Daily Deac was authored by Adam Dovico (’04), Clinical Professor in the Education Department.

——————–

Life can come full circle in funny ways. In 2000, I entered Wake Forest an eager, but nervous transplant from New Jersey. In 2004, I graduated Wake Forest with an elementary education degree and opted to stay below the Mason-Dixon Line (mainly to avoid snow). Today I sit in Tribble Hall as a clinical professor in the Department of Education. It is great being back home at Wake Forest, but my return to Winston-Salem could not have happened without my experiences as a Demon Deacon.

After graduating, I taught fifth grade for many years in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, NC, before having the chance to teach at the renowned Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. Through that opportunity, I was able to work in schools around the world, traveling to places I only saw on maps. But it was my experiences at Wake Forest, including studying abroad, interacting with classmates from around the globe, and taking in the values of a liberal arts education, which prepared me to acclimate to the various locations I visited during my travels.

The Department of Education prepared me not only to be a teacher but also to be a leader, an innovator, and an active participant in school reform and social justice efforts. Now on the other side of the classroom, I look to share these many experiences with Wake Forest undergraduates.

Wake Forest students who take classes and/or complete majors and minors in the Department of Education pursue many pathways, including careers in fields such as K-12 teaching, global education, school administration, curriculum development, instructional technology, higher education, athletic coaching, resource publishing, social work, public relations, and educational policy, psychology, research, and law.

If your child is interested in areas such as teaching, literacy, technology, research, policy, leadership, or social justice, there are a number of courses offered by the Department of Education that will contribute valuable knowledge to their Wake Forest experience. Here are some examples of courses students might explore:

EDU 201: Educational Policy & Practice

EDU 201L: Education Field Lab: Observing Diverse Schools

EDU 304: Social Justice Issues in Education

EDU 311: Learning & Cognitive Science

EDU 395: Teaching Diverse Learners