It was fall 2014 and the final morning bell at San Marcos Middle School (SMMS) had sounded, sending about 30 seventh-graders scrambling to their seats. Suddenly, the room fell silent and all eyes were on the teacher.
That first day Elliott Powell stepped in front of a class to teach, there was only one word to describe how it felt: daunting.
“Once you close that door, you’re the show,” he says with a laugh. “You’ve got these kids for 50 minutes, and you’ve got to engage them.”
That’s not exactly what you’d expect to hear from someone who once commanded U.S. Navy ships and was the first African American director of the Situation Room in the White House, where presidents and senior-level staff meet to confer.
But Powell says he felt prepared for the challenge of teaching because he received his credential from
California State University San Marcos.
“CSU San Marcos made me an effective teacher so I could reach kids where they are,” he explains. “How am I going to reach that child from Vietnam who’s just beginning to understand English? Or the one with a processing disorder? That wasn’t in my skill set coming out of the Navy.
“I could get their attention, but what was I going to do with it?”
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On the Shoulders of Giants
Powell had always dreamed of working in education, but his first calling was the military. He received his commission as an officer in the United States Navy after graduating from college. He commanded a minesweeper during Operation Desert Storm and eventually went on to command four ships during his naval career.
But his appointment as director of the Situation Room, where he stood alongside President Clinton and President George W. Bush, was the highlight of Powell’s military career. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be somewhere like that,” says the father of two. “There were a lot of people who paved the way for me.
“To say I stood on the shoulders of giants is by no means an exaggeration.”