“I often tell people that Professor Britt saved my
life,” said Kirven Tillis, Barbers Hill DAEP principal and former
student of John Britt. “When I enrolled at Lee College, I was at a
serious low point in my life. As I prepared to register in the old gym,
all of the tables with advisors had long lines except for the table
where Professor Britt was sitting.”
Britt saw what Tillis did not – a future leader – and his vision became a reality.
“He never mentioned my lowly GPA,” Tillis said. “He told me that I had
good test scores and I would be a good candidate for the Honors
Program. Very reluctantly I enrolled. I don't believe that was a chance
meeting. I think that God allowed that meeting take place so that I
could get confidence to become the educator/leader that I was destined
to become.”
Throughout his teaching career, Britt, Lee
College honors coordinator and history professor, has instilled a love
for history and learning in the hearts of his students. Many have left
the college to pursue their own teaching careers or attend institutions
of higher learning.
Britt’s own love for learning blossomed in
the classrooms of Lee High School history teacher W. W. Braun and Lee
College teachers Joe Gilliand and Clarence Schultz.
“Historians
... tell stories,” he said. “They are stories that tell us about how we
have come to be where we are. On the first day of class, I tell my
students that they are all here because of what their ancestors did. I
try to make it meaningful. In 90 percent of cases or more, this is
going to be the last history class these students take. If I don’t
convince them that this is relevant to their lives and don’t somehow
awaken a desire in them to learn more, what have I accomplished?”
Even
prison walls could not prevent this impartation, nor could they prevent
Britt from traveling back in time with his students. He related the
story of a particularly memorable student at the Eastham unit, Sonny
Evans.
“He was a great big dude,” Britt said. “He took every
history class I taught two or three times. One day he said ‘Britt, why
don’t you teach a world history class up here?’ I told him there was no
demand for the class and that it wasn’t part of the core curriculum.
“A
couple of weeks later, the dean called me in his office and asked me if
I’d like to teach a world history class at Eastham. I told him there
wasn’t a demand for it, and he said there were already 35 people signed
up. Sonny had gone to the cell blocks and told the inmates they were
going to take world history. I liked Sonny. He and I got along.”
During
his fifty-year teaching career, Britt said technology has brought the
most significant change to the classroom – and he loves it. It has
become yet another tool he uses to draw students in.
“When I
first started teaching, an overhead slide projector was considered a
major technological breakthrough,” he said. “Today, virtually all of
our classes here are ‘smart’ classrooms. We have computers with
projectors and we tie them into the Internet. I showed students a
YouTube clip of the World War II era singers The Andrews Sisters
singing ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,’ and the students just
loved it.”
Although the classroom has changed, Britt emphasized that students have not.
“I
don’t see any difference in students today than I did when I started
teaching,” he said. “I’ve had some great students this semester, and
I’ve had some poor students this semester. That’s the way it’s always
been.”
Time has not diminished Britt’s enthusiasm for his
profession, nor does the Lee College senior faculty member have plans
to retire.
“I’m still having fun,” he said. “I can’t wait to get
up here and walk into a classroom. I have never in my life dreaded
walking into a class. I just really enjoy working with students,
getting to know them and trying to help them.”
This unwavering
attitude made an impression on Roberta Wright, former Lee College
executive director of institutional advancement, who worked beside
Britt for 25 years.
“Every single ... year I would ask how his
class was this semester, and he would reply, ‘This is the best class I
have ever had,’” she said. “To have taught that long and remain as
enthusiastic about students as he was when he began teaching is an
amazing quality. The thousands of students that he has taught to love
and honor history are proof of his dedication and excellence.”
Former Lee College President Martha Ellis praised Britt for his contributions to the classroom and the community.
“John is the ultimate college professor,” said Martha Ellis, former Lee
College president. “He is a scholar teacher and provides selfless
service to Lee College and the community. John sets high expectations
for his students while instilling confidence and skills that will
foster their successes inside and outside the classroom. He inspires
inquiry and research intertwined with the application of knowledge to
address the issues faced in daily lives.
“No doubt society,
technology and the classroom have undergone changes over the years. Mr.
Britt has integrated these changes while maintaining the essence of
good teaching; dedication to students being successful and the love of
learning. He continues to be a beacon of hope for students, the
college, and the community.”
