Henrico's Top Teachers – Roderick Miller

To Roderick Miller, teaching English to middle schoolers is just part of the bigger picture of educating the whole child – not to mention preparing the next generation for an ever-evolving world.

As an African-American male, Miller said, “I believe that working with youth is my way of contributing to an inclusive society.”

As students have become “increasingly disinterested” in traditional education methods, they have also become increasingly aware and more vocal about concerns of relevancy. “Without a doubt,” Miller said, “my biggest challenges are working to create lessons that incorporate the holistic education of our young learners in a climate that consists of high-stakes testing, student apathy, and the advent of social media.”

Daily activities must not only engage students and provide learning opportunities, he said, but also allow them “the freedom to express themselves in meaningful ways, [and] drive the conversation towards some form of enlightenment.”

An admirer who wrote to nominate Miller said he accomplishes these goals and makes learning concepts both fun and relevant by holding rap battles in class as a lesson on similes and metaphors, and organizing poetry cyphers as lessons on comparative adjectives.

Miller also has hosted a male intervention camp, and boys who participated saw significant improvements in test scores related to English.

His nominator noted that not only was Miller chosen as this year’s John Rolfe “Teacher of the Year,” but he has also earned the award at the city’s Martin Luther Middle School.

“Mr. Miller is beloved among his students for his love of community and his desire to see them become the best version of themselves,” wrote his admirer. “Former students drop off thank-you notes and updates on how they’re doing in high school and college.”

Building lasting relationships like these are among his most rewarding moments as an educator, Miller admits. He cites a student he was fortunate to teach early in his career, and has now mentored for more than 16 years.

“He has become part of my family, and I am pleased to say, a successful, productive member in his community.”

Miller remains greatly concerned, however, by the way society “undervalues, under-appreciates, and stigmatizes modern-day public schooling.” Teachers, he said, must “stand in the face of ridicule, danger, criticism, stereotyping, and disrespect, and provide support, mentoring, tutoring, and nurturing . . . undeterred by [barriers] each and every day.”

He calls this daily endeavor “a beautiful struggle” – one he believes that society should invest in and celebrate, rather than “denigrating and demeaning” public education.

Pointing to a favorite quote from Ivan Welton Fitzwater – “‘The future of the world is in my classroom today’” – Miller adds that he derives motivation from thinking of education as a vehicle for the “liberation of young learners.”

If only, he muses, the community as a whole could view it that way.