Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what hobbies/sports you do.

A: “My name is Tony Brown. I’m a teacher consultant for Ann Arbor public schools and I have been involved with multiple sports. Right now I am a strength and conditioning coach where I train athletes for multiple sports, now being the head coach for cross country, head coach for basketball, and track and field. My hobby is to work out. I am a black belt in karate, so that’s something I like to do as well. And I enjoy being with my family.”

Q: What do you teach and why?

A: “I am a teacher consultant where I help program for students who sometimes might need extra help with work. My passion for that came from my track coach in high school who basically was doing the same job that I’m doing now. I help students with IEP s and give extra help when they need it.”

Q: Have you always been interested in teaching?

A: “Ah, actually, I started school in my college years. My first year was pre med. I wanted to be a doctor actually. But I needed some additional support when it came to chemistry. Those times in that class in particular and  I had to make a decision that I would change my major to education. That was my plan B just so happened to be something that I was good at. And 20 years now, in the profession and teaching something I found that I knew how to do but my ultimate goal was to become a doctor.”

Q: What/who inspired you to become a teacher?

A: “My track coach in high school was the same kind of teacher as I am. And so when I wanted to become a doctor, and it didn’t work out, my plan B was to be a teacher because he was a teacher as well. And then it was my inspiration to pursue it when I found I was good at it. You know I enjoy it on a regular basis.”

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: “Free time… It depends. I like to take naps on the regular.  I like working out and spending time with my kids. My kids run track and I coach my son’s basketball team. Spending time with my family and my friends is one of the things I like to do the most.”

Q: What is one motto you will always live by?

A: “Making sure that I don’t quit anything. My father taught me to make sure that whatever I start, I had to finish. I live on that to give my all and do the very best that I can. As long as I work as hard as I can, I can be… you know that I can accept the outcome. As long as I gave it my 100%.”

Q: What is your favorite teaching moment?

A: “My favorite teacher moment really…it can vary daily and I can get some kids who struggled in different areas and I can get them to understand and they can say, “Aha, I got it!”. Those kinds of moments are priceless because you know when you can build somebody’s confidence and help them and they are able to receive it and you can see them go from not understanding well, but then understanding. It’s something that I value.”

Q: What were some challenges you faced transitioning back to in person learning? 

A: “Just being able to motivate kids. They were used to, picking up some bad habits. They didn’t have to work as hard coming back face to face to get them into the workload change and trying to get them to understand the significance of, you know, the impact of the change and just being able to get them in a place where we can get to build a stamina, get them to focus better. Just overall the exhaustion of learning. Teaching right now, after being off for that extended time, is kind of the biggest challenge to get folks back into the groove of school.”