Honor • Duty • Respect - The Citadel

Sometimes you have to travel far awayfrom home to find out where you really want to go in life.Todd Shealy, who graduated in May with a master’s degreein secondary education, found his passion in, of all places,Uzbekistan. As a Peace Corps volunteer, Shealy spentthree years teaching impoverished children English; forthem, mastering the language was the ticket to a betterlife. When it was time to return to the United States,Shealy boarded the plane with a passport and a desire tocontinue his life as an educator. Back on American soil, hepromptly enrolled at The Citadel Graduate College.The program requires an extensive one-year internship ina school anywhere in the United States. This time, Shealydid not travel quite as far. In fact, he just hopped over thebridge to James Island Charter High School.In a matter of days, the regular instructor left and Shealy wasteaching on his own. He began his tutorial with a favoriteclassic, The Heart of Darkness. Enthused and empowered,Shealy traveled deep into the literary jungle of JosephConrad’s tale of European colonization in the Congo. It didnot take long for him to notice that some of his studentswere stuck in the weeds, scratching their heads and returningblank stares. Shealy realized he had delved into too muchdetail for a high school English class and quickly restructuredhis syllabus to reflect the learning capacity of his students.Recognizing the capabilities and limits of his pupils, Shealywas able to shed light on the previously thorny concepts.Shealy knows that’s what happens in a classroom—sometimes, teachers learn too.Teaching is one thing. Managing a classroom of teenagersis another. Shealy’s experience enabled him to adaptquickly to the needs of his students. When they failedto complete assignments or keep quiet during readingtime, Shealy altered the way he communicated in orderto connect with the students. He was amazed to findthat simply verbalizing an obvious concept (such as, youshould-read-during-reading-time)works.“Instead of assuming that they knew they were supposedto be good during this part or be quiet at this part of thelesson, I had to tell them,” Shealy said. And to his surprise,“they actually did it when I asked.”Many of Shealy’s students were seniors with plans to goto college. Thanks to Shealy’s encouragement, one ofthem cut his hair and is wearing a gray duty uniform thisfall. Shealy finds fulfillment knowing that he has been apart of a young person’s development. When asked aboutwhat he cherishes most from this past year, Shealy saidconcisely, “Thank-you cards.” One of his favorites reads,“You know your stuff.”And The Citadel agrees. During commencement activitiesin May, Shealy was awarded the Charles E. Hirshey Awardfor excellence in graduate teaching educationThe Citadel 2011 21