December 13, 2024
By MEALAND RAGLAND-HUDGINS
Rutherford County Schools
Dwayne Douglas often found himself volunteering at schools in various ways after finishing his workday in the information technology industry.
About 15 years ago, that changed.
“Since I was volunteering to do those things, I decided to make a career change to get paid for what I enjoyed doing for free,” said Douglas.
He began his time with Rutherford County Schools as an educational assistant, then worked one-on-one with students that needed behavior support.
Today at Rockvale Middle School, Douglas teaches writing, where currently serves as sponsor of the school’s Drama Club and assists with the school’s Theatre Program. During his time at Blackman, Oakland and Smyrna Middle schools, he’s served as a department head, Professional Learning Community leader, curriculum lead, sponsored several other clubs and coached multiple sports.
Douglas first became a published author more than 20 years ago, but now gears his writing to young children and their families.
“This allows me to educate in a way in which I have a larger audience than what I can reach in a classroom,” he said.
Douglas recently took time to talk about his books and how the writing process has helped him become a better educator.
How did you decide the classroom was the place for you?
Douglas: I’d always been working with youth and education has always been something that I've been wanting to do. I love to educate and I love teaching. I like to motivate, inspire and educate.
What is the focus of your books?
Douglas: I am currently working on an alphabetical series called ‘The ABCs of Learning.’ Each book covers a specific topic, and it is used to educate, entertain, inspire, and motivate. I currently have two published books. The most recent book is The ABCs of Learning About Careers.
What was the most difficult part of the publishing process?
Douglas: Getting started. I wrote several things and I kind of knew what I wanted to do with it, but not knowing how to do certain things or do them right since I was starting from the ground up.
Were there any takeaways from that process that changed the way you teach or plan your lessons?
Douglas: Everything can always be improved. I can write something and feel like ‘It’s great, I love it.’ If I put it down and then come back a couple days later or a week later, I will see something else that I still like but may want to change it or do it differently. It’s kind of the same thing when you're teaching, you’re planning the lessons and you say ‘This is great, it should work.’ If you sit on it too long, you’ll start changing things second guessing yourself.
I get to the point where even though I want things to be perfect, I realize it's not always going to be perfect. So once I feel like I have a good plan, I kind of just go for it. Once I teach a lesson, I'll know what needs to change.
What’s next for you as an author?
Douglas: I plan to release several other books, but I am currently taking a short break to do some author events to promote my current books. My books are currently available through Amazon and various online retailers. You can find out more at www.dwaynedouglasbooks.com.