Bowie State University News May 12, 2016 Graduating Bowie State Student Takes Passion for Education to D.C. Classroom Charles Franklin IV to join the 2016 Teach for America Corps How do you integrate the arts into the teaching profession? That's a question that theater major Charles H. Franklin IV will explore as he joins Teach for America<https://www.teachforamerica.org/> after graduating from Bowie State University this month. "I feel like teaching is an art in itself," said Franklin, who has been a substitute teacher for years at his high school, the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. "Growing up, I always wanted to be an educator. I really look at myself as a humanitarian because I care about the equality of every single person on the planet." He will be one of about 650 Bowie State students to graduate on Monday, May 23 at 10 a.m. at the Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland. Two other Bowie State graduates, Javan Carter ('15) and Yetisha Mackey ('04), will also join Teach for America this summer. Franklin starts training for his two-year assignment in June and begins teaching a special education class in the fall at a school in Washington, D.C., where he grew up. He feels like he found the perfect complement to his "mission as an artist to give back to the community" because of Teach for America's mission to improve educational equity. Because he saw his Bowie State professors balance teaching with their professional theater work, he plans to continue being active in the local arts community - he's already worked in several professional theaters, including the Kennedy Center and the Mosaic Theater Company. Through Teach for America, he will earn a master's degree in special education because of a partnership with Johns Hopkins University. He plans later to pursue a master's degree in theater from Yale University. Teaching special education students is the right fit, he says, because when he was in elementary school, he was in a special education class. At that time, he saw himself as a "student leader" who helped his peers who struggled with reading. "When the teachers were focused on another student, I was the one who was helping out the other students," he said. Even after he transitioned out of special education, he continued to tutor those students after school. As a Bowie State freshman, Franklin learned firsthand how to use the arts to as an educational tool. He started the campus theater ensemble, RISE, to raise awareness about social issues, like racism and discrimination. The group developed short performances and even staged flash mobs on campus in "bringing an artistic voice" to those issues. Franklin plans to bring the arts to the students where he's placed with Teach for America. "I'm not planning to lose my artistic side when I start to teach next semester. Having that artistic background will definitely help benefit these students. I plan on even starting an extracurricular program in theater." ### SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-592-4820 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/ 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 150 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.