Monica Brown

Monica Brown’s fourth graders have questions about Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” cartoon. Why a snake? What do the initials mean? Why are the pieces separated? At Oakshire Elementary School, Brown uses those questions to help students investigate sources rather than simply accept an explanation.

Brown teaches English Language Arts, social studies, and civics. A National Board Certified Teacher, she moved from health care administration into education after tutoring students and seeing the need for literacy instruction. Reading, writing, and civic learning go together in her classroom, where students weigh evidence and consider different perspectives.

They take that work into the community through Kids Who Care Like King service-learning projects. Students investigate a local need, decide how to respond, and carry out a project with help from family and community members. They’ve volunteered at animal shelters, collected food and clothing, and sent care packages to military personnel. At a January school program, they share what they did and what they learned.

“I want them to understand that they have a voice and they have a responsibility to use their voice,” Brown says. She hopes they remember how to question information, listen to someone who disagrees, and serve without expecting anything in return.