Edward Eadon

I was a weather forecaster and a space environmentalist in the U.S. Air Force. I saw a billboard that said “TEACH” and that got me thinking. I had always viewed teaching as a noble profession and wanted to do something good, to give back to society in a meaningful way.

I completed the EnCorps program, which helps those leaving technical career fields become STEM teachers. While I had had experience as an administrator in a K-12 school after I had retired from the Air Force, EnCorps was instrumental in introducing me to teaching at the high school level. They helped ensure I had everything necessary to be hired and then arranged an interview session with several principals.

I was hired full time to be part of a cadre of 13 teachers to start a new Architecture Construction and Engineering academy in Watts, South Los Angeles, an area of poverty, drugs and gangs. The old high school at this location had a reputation as one of the most difficult teaching environments in the United States. I found it to be the most difficult task I had undertaken in my life.

Students who go on to college and return to visit tell me they have chosen to study physics. That tells me I have made a difference. Only four teachers were mentioned by name during the valedictorian speeches, including myself.

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EnCorps envisions a world where:

All children will learn to become problem solvers, innovators and creators

STEM professionals are regularly and actively engaged in public education

Students see the real-world application of math and science and how it is essential to their future

Under-represented populations will have a strong presence in STEM professions

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One of my advanced placement physics students – a young African-American woman – came to me after some significant setbacks in the class (low scores). She had decided not to pursue a technical major in college–she thought it was going to be too hard and she would not succeed. I spoke with her about the challenges I had encountered, and how colleges have resources she can access to help her over the rough spots.  I told her the U.S. needed her as an engineer and that she would be assured of success with that career path. At a recent event, she came up to me beaming and said “Mr. Eadon, I’m an engineer!”

I have since retired from the public school system and am now teaching part-time in a private school. As a teacher I am creating a legacy every day that will live long after I die. I started teaching at age 60 and at first believed that it was too demanding for older workers. After I got to the flat part of the learning curve (i.e., awarded my teaching credential), I changed my mind. The students were interested in my life and I was interested in theirs, and I found ways to inspire and motivate them.

The creative energies and problem solving skills of an older worker’s younger days don’t go away. Other societies in the world value their older citizens more than we do. We know we have something that’s hard to quantify and is quite valuable: wisdom.