Bryan Patton Talks Counseling and Community
A Tuesday afternoon is no doubt a busy time for any school employee—especially a counselor, who could be needed at any time—so I’m both surprised and honored that Bryan Patton was able to spare about half an hour to speak with me. He immediately strikes me as a focused individual, holding steady eye contact with me from behind his thick-rimmed glasses, and his voice is firm, commanding my attention without ever needing to be raised.
Bryan currently works as a counselor at Orange Middle School in Hillsborough, North Carolina. He is also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., which he takes great pride in judging by the paraphernalia he’s wearing: a purple and gold beanie, gray crewneck with accents in the same colors, and gold necklace sporting the organization’s letters.
In addition to these things, Bryan is also unique, as he’s the first counselor I’ve interviewed for Diversify the Narrative. With that information in mind, I can already tell our conversation is going to be an intriguing one.
Chapter I: Shifting Focus
Bryan’s first educator of color was a teaching assistant in his second grade class.
“She was like a mother,” he recalls fondly. “She was hard on us, or what was considered hard back then, but it was for the best. I still see her today—she actually works in the central office in the county I work in.”
He went on to have several other educators of color, all of whom had a strong impact on who he is as a person. “I built relationships with them, and I still see and talk to them today. They helped mold me in regards to education. My sophomore history teacher is actually the reason I’m a member of the fraternity I’m in now. He kind of opened my eyes to it, and helped mold me into the man I am today, and showed me ‘you can still have fun, but education comes first’.”
His experience goes to show the importance of having people who look like me and him in these spaces. It gives students of color someone to advocate and look out for them, because—as I point out—not everyone has their best interests in mind. On top of that, seeing them excel is a source of inspiration, a powerful reminder to students that they can do anything they set their minds to.
“You can hear about people doing X, Y, and Z, but once you see a person that looks like you doing something, it flips a switch in your head,” Bryan adds, nodding in agreement. “You think ‘maybe I can do this as well’...it’s a motivation.”
Despite these influential figures in his life and his current line of work, Bryan didn’t always aspire to be an educator in the traditional sense. His college years were spent studying sports management, and he received his master’s degree in Athletic Administration with the goal of becoming a high school athletic director. He began working as a special education teacher in 2016 to fulfill his teaching requirements for the position, serving as a math inclusion specialist who co-taught alongside the head math teacher.
“My experience was good,” he says in regard to his time as a special ed teacher. “I built a lot of relationships with students and was able to help some, of course. You’re not going to be able to help everybody, but those who wanted the help and put forth the effort, you know, we definitely built a good relationship. I was able to get some to put forth effort, even when they previously weren’t motivated…And I can say I’ve helped some kids graduate and get into college.”
While he enjoyed his time as a math inclusion specialist, over time, Bryan began to feel like he needed to be doing more. “While teaching Special Education, I noticed a need for students,” he states. “They needed more help, and I thought I could better reach them from outside of the classroom, which is why I pursued school counseling.”
With this new goal in mind, Bryan left special education just last year to follow this new calling. He is now in his first year as a counselor at Orange Middle School while finishing his degree in school and mental health counseling.
Chapter II: The High Road
Being a counselor has been quite rewarding for Bryan. He is now in a position where he can provide mental and emotional support to students, assist them with pursuing successful careers and bright futures, and better advocate for them and their needs, all things he couldn’t previously do to the same extent.
“It keeps me on my toes,” he says about his new job. “Each day is something new, but I’m enjoying it.”
Despite the joy Bryan finds in counseling, it hasn’t come without its hardships. When I ask him what challenges he believes teachers of color are facing in the current educational landscape, he’s willing to speak candidly and describe some of his own personal obstacles.
“As a Black male, a lot of the time they expect me to be a disciplinary, even in classes that I don’t work in,” he admits. “It’s always like, ‘go see [this student], but I can’t control other people’s classes.”
This might not seem like a big deal at first, until you ask yourself why Bryan specifically is asked to correct students who aren’t his own when his co-workers aren’t. I can’t help but wonder if the answer has something to do with racial stereotypes. African American men have historically been depicted as domineering and aggressive figures, and these stereotypes live on today in microaggressions like the kinds Bryan describes, where he is expected to be a disciplinary figure in classes he isn’t responsible for as they have their own teachers.
This isn’t the only obstacle Bryan has faced in this position, however. “Unfortunately, sometimes people are shocked I’m as educated as I am,” he also says, and despite how frustrating I know this must be for him, his even tone doesn’t waver in the slightest. “...Sometimes you might get a parent that, because of the color of your skin, they might not think you know what you’re talking about. When, in fact, you do. It happens, but I try not to let it affect me. I correct them whenever it does.”
These struggles aren’t just limited to Bryan. Teachers of color face microaggressions and poor treatment like this every day in the field of education, which is why it’s crucial that they are supported. In such trying circumstances, it can be easy for one to lose their cool, but Bryan addresses the tribulations he’s encountered with patience and calm dignity. It’s not a bad approach—after all, sometimes the best thing you can do is take the high road.
Chapter III: Classroom Versus Community
Bryan’s dedication to helping students excel extends beyond Orange Middle School’s campus.
He is currently the Second Vice Basileus of the Beta Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., which is based in Durham, North Carolina and participates in community activities for the betterment of students. In the past, the chapter has hosted literacy and history education programs and volunteered to read to elementary schoolers, and at the time of our interview, they are planning to host a quiz bowl centered around African American history in honor of Black History Month.
“We try to be as visible in the community as we can,” Bryan says about his fraternity.
His comment is incredible to hear. When it comes to the subject of racial disparities in education, we often place a great deal of importance on state and nation-wide efforts to correct it. While this is absolutely crucial in the battle to achieve equity, it’s easy to forget how important community and local-level endeavors can be as well. To see that Bryan understands this and is actively working to help the youth in his community is amazing, to say the very least.
Epilogue
As we near the end of the interview, I ask Bryan if he has received any advice over the years that helped him in his career.
“...I’ve been told to leave your work at work, because it can get stressful,” he says. “Some of the things my students and I talk about can really weigh on a person when you think about it. On top of that, as a counselor, people think we’re problem solvers all the time, but that’s not necessarily the case. Sometimes we’re just there for a student to vent to. I’m naturally a problem-solver, so people would come to me for help often, and it could get overwhelming. I’ve learned that you don’t have to solve everybody’s problem, and you’re not going to—but sometimes just being a listening ear can go a long way as well.”
His answer is both insightful and a segway into a larger conversation. In the push for increased focus on mental and emotional health in schools for students, the wellbeing of teachers is rarely brought up. Self-care for educators—knowing when you can handle an issue and when it needs to be taken to someone’s parents, balancing addressing the needs of your students with addressing your own, giving yourself grace as you handle whatever is thrown your way—is something I have seen little focus on, which is unfortunate given how critical it is. When I tell Bryan this, he nods, acknowledging how it hasn’t been talked about much in the spaces he has been in.
When I ask Bryan for any advice he would give an aspiring teacher of color, his response is simple but nonetheless effective: “Don’t let anything stop you, and keep your eyes on the prize. If education or teaching is something that you love, give it your all. You spend more time with students as an educator than their parents probably do on a daily basis, so to be an educator you have to love to be an educator. It’s not a job you can do if you’re not all in.”
It’s the perfect ending to our conversation, emphasizing how truly passionate Bryan is about his job. May his journey and the work he does be a testament to the importance of educators of color, and what one is capable of when they truly love what they do.
CREED would like to thank Bryan for taking the time to speak with us! Stay tuned for more stories from educators of color like Bryan from across North Carolina.
Are you an educator of color interested in having your story told? See HERE for more information about Diversify the Narrative!
Want to get connected with fellow educators of color throughout North Carolina? Join the #TeachinginColor Community today! We are a professional learning network of educators dedicated to building community, supporting, and advocating for policy changes in the best interest of educators of color and the students they serve. Join HERE.
