It is the year 1963. A twelve-year-old boy sits in a pew at the back of an all-black church in Birmingham, Alabama, scribbling out math problems to pass the time as the service stretches on. Suddenly something the guest speaker says catches his attention:
“If we can get the children to participate in this peaceful demonstration here in Birmingham, we can show America that even children know the difference between right and wrong and that children really do want to get the best possible education.”
Straightening up, the boy excitedly tells his parents that he has to do it—he wants to be a part of the march that week. His parents emphatically tell him, “Absolutely not!” But after a long night spent talking, thinking, and praying, they agree to let their young son do this important thing.
Later that week, the boy sits in jail, an expected result of his participation in the peaceful Civil Rights march known as the Children’s Crusade. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—who had been the guest speaker at that Birmingham church on Sunday—tells the young boy and the other children in the jail, “What you children do this day will have an impact on children who have not been born.”
That boy—Freeman Hrabowski—never forgot those words. Now more than fifty years later, he is the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and is witnessing firsthand the continued impact of that day so long ago.
UMBC, which was founded the very same year of the Children’s Crusade, now leads the country in producing African-Americans who go on to complete Ph.D.’s in science and engineering as well as M.D./Ph.D.’s. This is a rarity across the nation—and not just among minority groups. Nationwide, only 20% of blacks and Hispanics, 32% of whites, and 42% of Asian Americans who begin with a college major in science or engineering will actually graduate with a degree in that field.
So what is UMBC doing differently? They are fostering a love for learning.
Hrabowski loved to learn as a child, and was willing to risk his life and his future to make an important statement about the need for better education for people of color. One important lesson he took from his experience during the Children’s Crusade was that “children can be empowered to take ownership of their education. They can be taught to be passionate about wanting to learn and to love the idea of asking questions.”
UMBC fosters this passion in their students and helps them succeed—specifically in the sciences—by focusing on four things:
- Maintaining high expectations. “It takes an understanding that it is hard work that makes the difference. I don’t care how smart you are or how smart you think you are—smart simply means you’re ready to learn.”
- Building community among the students. “It’s one thing to earn an ‘A’ yourself, it’s another thing to help someone else do well. To feel that sense of responsibility makes all the difference in the world.”
- Using researchers to produce researchers. “Whether you’re talking about artists producing artists or you’re talking about people getting into the social sciences, whatever the discipline—and especially in science and engineering… you need scientists to pull the students into the work.”
- Being attentive and connecting with the students. “…observing every student to understand who [is] really involved and who [is] not.”
By redesigning many of their courses to better support this model, UMBC is achieving incredible results. Hrabowski explains, “Many students… don’t want to just sit there and listen to somebody talk. They need to be engaged.”
This is a true and highly inspiring story of passionate educators fostering a love for learning! Hrabowski and his colleagues are dramatically changing lives and improving the world.
How abut you? In your personal, professional, and organizational life, are you reaching your potential and achieving greater success by living, teaching, and modeling an intense passion for learning?
To watch Freeman Hrabowski’s excellent TED talk on this topic, please click here.
