You’ve all made this mistake before. Either you’ve overheard someone commit this crime in the halls, or you’ve been the perpetrator of the deed yourself. Either way, despite numerous corrections and fruitless attempts to remember his new title, everyone at some point over the course of the school year has called him “Mr. Daughtrey.” However, maybe we all struggle remembering Dr. Daughtrey’s fresh prefix because none of us really know what he is a doctor of. But fear not! After reading this article, you should walk away with a slightly better understanding of the life and persona of our beloved Dean of Students, and maybe you’ll even remember to call him by his new name in the future.
First and foremost, what exactly does Dr. Daughtrey hold a doctorate in? Last week I received the opportunity to speak with him, and he informed me that technically he is now a doctor of education policy and leadership. In other words, for three years Dr. Daughtrey intensely studied common educational paradigms and public policy surrounding all levels of schooling. With 21 other educators from around the country, including college professors, primary school principals, other secondary school faculty, and even employees from publishing companies, Dr. Daughtrey concentrated on in-depth analysis of a wide range of education issues. These topics included acquiring state funding, addressing the test score gap between students of different races and socioeconomic statuses, analyzing the history of nationwide educational reforms, and properly organizing educational changes on both a small and a large scale. With the completion of his doctorate, Dr. Daughtrey now has a much broader understanding of the challenges modern educators face.
So how exactly did Dr. Daughtrey complete this intense program while simultaneously being our Dean of Students? The answer is quite astonishing. For three years, he sacrificed every other weekend in order to attain his doctorate degree. On any given Friday, he would leave school right after lunch, hop on a direct flight to Nashville, and attend his doctorate classes at Vanderbilt University. Classes and discussions about education with his fellow doctorate candidates consumed Friday evening and all day Saturday. Then, on Sunday morning, he would fly right back to Cleveland. Two weeks later, the cycle would occur all over again.
Biweekly trips to Nashville weren’t the only commitments of his doctorate program. Between classes, Dr. Daughtrey had to complete loads of tedious homework, just like us students. His weekly assignments included analyzing case studies of historical attempted education reforms, creating appropriate school district budgets, and developing methods of admissions evaluation for different types of schools. In order to receive his doctorate, Dr. Daughtrey also completed a comprehensive exam, where he was forced to memorize education statistics, understand various methods of education reform, and write several essays. His doctoral coursework culminated with a final project, where Dr. Daughtrey along with a team of other candidates acted as a consultant for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), a nationwide coalition of private schools. In this project, the candidates analyzed the tuitions of independent schools by travelling the country to meet with private school educators, by sifting through historical data on tuition submitted to the NAIS, and by applying their knowledge from earlier in the course to reach a conclusion. After many weeks of research, Dr. Daughtrey presented his findings to members of the NAIS.
Upon hearing about the complicated coursework and arduous process of receiving his doctorate, I asked Dr. Daughtrey the most pressing question of our discussion: “How does your doctorate affect your position at US? Does it grant you any special powers or abilities?” His response: “None at all!” He then explained to me that his decision to pursue a doctorate was rooted in a desire for greater knowledge in his field, not to acquire a fancy title. Receiving a doctorate allowed him to become a more well-rounded educator and meet a wide range of people with varying specialties who share the common goal of improving American education. He also explained to me that, while some teachers have doctorates in their individual subjects, none have a doctorate in education policy and leadership like he does.
So what should you take away from this article? As students, we all believe that we are the hardest working people in the school, managing mounds of homework, numerous extracurricular activities, and time-consuming sports. But teachers and administrators are working just as hard as us, even if we don’t see it. Perhaps Dr. Daughtrey’s story can teach us all a lesson about the importance of empathy. Let’s all be a little less hard on our teachers; often times, they are working even harder than us. Dr. Daughtrey certainly adopted the rigorous, hectic life of a student for the past three years. And most of us would have never known that.
I concluded the discussion by asking Dr. Daughtrey, on a scale of one to ten, how much it hurts his feelings when students still call him “Mr. Daughtrey,” and he replied with a forceful, “zero!” So don’t put too much pressure on yourself to remember the Doc’s new title. Just remember to recognize the work he put in to earn it.