Q & A: Cambridge Rindge & Latin Teacher Kevin Dua is Top of the Class

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Cambridge Rindge and Latin history teacher Kevin Dua's love for education goes back decades. Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, Dua recalls that his first meaningful "lesson" came in 7th grade.

"I recited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in seventh grade for an assembly," Dua said this week in an interview. "I recall prepping for weeks for this: attire, tone, diction, mannerisms; I wanted to perfectly demonstrate how such a delivery could be powerful to impact others. And it worked—standing ovation and all. I’ll chalk this up as my first lesson because it allowed me to creatively influenced others to learn."

Dua has come a long way since then. He graduated from T.C. Williams High School (featured in its own 2000 Disney’s film, “Remember the Titans”), then graduating from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

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Dua started teaching at Somerville High School six years ago, switching over to Cambridge Rindge and Latin last year.

In June he earned the Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year award from Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. More recently, Dua was named one of 10 finalists for the national award from the Institute, whih will be announced in October.

The winner will receive a $10,000 prize at a ceremony on Nov. 8.

This week, Dua answered a few questions about his teaching methodology, what he loves about history, and why teaching critical thinking to students is so important in modern society.

Tell us about how you first got into teaching and why.

I think the first “lesson” I gave was when I recited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in seventh grade for an assembly. I recall prepping for weeks for this: attire, tone, diction, mannerisms; I wanted to perfectly demonstrate how such a delivery could be powerful to impact others. And it worked—standing ovation and all. I’ll chalk this up as my first lesson because it allowed me to creatively influenced others to learn.

Tell us about starting at Cambridge Rindge and how your teaching style has progressed from the time you began there.

It has been four weeks since working at Cambridge Rindge (after spending five years at Somerville High School), and more or less, my teaching style has been consistent. It’s a style that centers on letting students become the focus, challenging them to critically analyze via perspectives, with the hope of empathizing to be better.

Tell us what it was like winning the Mass. History Teacher of the year award from Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and now being up for the national prize?

The recognition is still a humbling honor, and the potential to win the national would be an extraordinary blessing. I had one student last week mentioned that—were I to win the national winner—they could tell folks that, before they graduated high school, they were fortunate in having their first black male teacher, who also happened to be the nation’s first black history teacher of the year.

What do you love about history?

History, in its truest form, lends itself to explain our existence; it gives us references on questions and answers to, perhaps, everything. In regards to American history, we have such a deep, complicated narrative that many are unaware, have forgotten, and/or choose to not delve into. From Native Americans’ agencies, colonialism, white supremacy, revolutions and democratic government, slavery, social identity rights movements, innovation, to wars—we are such a young nation that still has much to grow, and learn.

Why teaching critical thinking so important today?

There is no one narrative. This is such a refrain in history, but it remains just as true. And to remotely suggest that there is one form of patriotism, Americanism, protesting, leadership, immigrant—by default, voids any other existence that has not been mentioned. It is challenging to incorporate everything; however, the effort for students to explore this, formulates questions and solutions, and births their own mindset: that’s empowering a human to freely be a human.

Current events have become a depended outlet for me to bridge the past and present, so students can see the relevance of it all. From conservative mediums as Fox News and Breitbart, to liberal-leaning CNN or MSNBC, I try to gauge across the spectrum to present as many directions as possible for my students within lessons.

Courtesy Photos provided by Kevin Dua