Tribute to Brooke Workman, PhD

A few days ago I received the sad news that one of my favorite high school teachers, Brooke Workman, had passed away.  Dr. Workman taught American lit. and humanities courses as well as trimester seminars that focused on the writings of a single author (my year it was Hemingway).  From the title of his classes (something like “American Lit from 1915-1930: Revolution in Form and Content”) to the structure of his seminars (we graded each other’s papers and had free range for the final project), Dr. Workman consistently raised the bar for what a high school course should be.

When he wasn’t leading us through a great work of fiction or regaling us with stories from his teaching stints around the world, he was encouraging all of us to be creative and independent thinkers.  I can’t recall the specific assignment, but I still remember working into the night with my friend Andy to make an oversized anthology of cyperpunk poetry out of cardboard and duct tape, with the innards of an Atari 2600 bolted to the cover.  Dr. Workman expected a lot from us and, more often than not, I think he got it.  (I guess whether or not he wanted a hybrid video game console/coffee table book is another question.)

Why am I writing about this here?  You may have noticed that it was Dr. Workman and not Mr. Workman.  Dr. Workman was one of at least two teachers at my school who had earned their PhDs.  Back in high school this meant nothing more than being careful when addressing them.  Now, as I work on my own PhD, I see the situation differently.

Teaching at a high school after getting a PhD seems odd, and I bet many people would automatically equate it with failure.  Indeed it is odd from the perspective that says going to grad school and getting a degree is only the next rung on a career ladder that includes the first job, book manuscript, and ultimately tenure (see my previous post on becoming a full professor).  This is, after all, why most people seek a PhD in the first place.

Make no mistake, climbing this particular career ladder, or the corresponding one in your field, could be the best way to realize your potential.  But perhaps just as likely, climbing the ladder can be an unconscious choice made when the risk of pursuing other options seems too great.  In other words, fear can hold you back from doing what you really want to do (but more on that in a future post).

I don’t know the circumstances that led Dr. Workman to teach at Iowa City West High for over 25 years, and it would be unfair to make him into a mascot for mindful living or “being true to yourself.”  But reflecting on his career from where I stand today, I think it would take more courage and self-awareness to do what he did than to continue down the worn path, PhD in hand, to a job at some college or university.

I’m grateful that Dr. Workman put his PhD to use exactly where he did.  So many of us are better for it, and I only hope that he had as much fun in the classroom as we did.