you welcome in Way too smallYahoo Live Fatherhood and Motherhood A series of the joys and challenges of raising children.
When you think of Jesse Williams’ career, it’s his role as Dr. Jackson Avery instinct anatomy Or his Broadway debut as Darren Lemming take me out It may be our top priority. But one of the Chicago native’s most formative career moments happened not on screen or stage but inside a classroom.
After graduating from Temple University, Williams taught English and African-American history in the Philadelphia public school system, a decision inspired by the school’s “life-saving” influence on him as a child, which he described as “a turning point in my life.” Existence.”
“The role that school can play in giving you access to turn your life in a certain direction and to believe in yourself has always stuck with me,” Williams tells Yahoo Life.
And while high school classrooms in Philadelphia may be miles away from Broadway theater or Hollywood sets, Williams says there are many similarities between his past work as a teacher and his current role as an actor.
“You grab the attention of a group of people who don’t necessarily want to be there and you get them engaged with a story or a narrative or information and make it applicable to them,” says Williams.
This skill set also permeated his upbringing. The father-of-two, who shares 9-year-old Sadie and 7-year-old Maseo with ex-wife Arin Drake-Lee, says his years as a teacher taught him how to communicate information in an age-appropriate way.
“These are skills that are directly applicable to parenting, keeping people safe, informed, and giving them useful information while being able to communicate ideas that are applicable now or will be in the future,” says Williams.
However, he says there are times when he finds himself less strict in his approach to parenting than he expected.
“There are definitely things I expected I would be tougher and more explicit about that turn out to be a little looser,” he says, attributing a good deal of that to children’s innate ability to persuade.
“Toddlers know how to try to manipulate,” says Williams, adding that this is evidence of their independence.
“You realize that you are talking to, nurturing and creating a safe space for a whole individual. They are not just a sponge to be poured into. They have their own identity and preferences, learning styles and senses of self and awareness,” he says. Only murders in the building a star. Learning how to talk to his kids the way they do has been quite a learning curve, kind of like the “tough, constant classroom I’m in at all times.” There were “a lot of amazing bugs and bonuses” along the way.
And although his current day-to-day life seems very different from his time as a teacher, he is still involved in making sure that children have access to accurate educational information.
in March , Williams launched a home schooling program, An educational educational app focused on black culture and history. It is an educational tool that he says is needed now more than ever, explaining that traditional education based on history and trivia often excludes contributions from marginalized communities.
“We made a decision not to exclude black and brown people, the working class, women and LGBTQ members of our communities past and present,” says Williams.
Having two school-age children helps keep his “finger on the pulse” of the real concerns facing young people, enhancing his ability to find new ways of speaking. to them instead of in they.
“It is easy for us parents to preach to those who are younger than us. But what is involved? What is effective? What is not?” says Williams. “It’s constantly changing, so you have to stay current.”
And as his kids prepare for another year of school, Williams has partnered with Crest and Oral-B to help.Bridging the American smile gapThis back-to-school season, explaining that oral health is especially important for “toddlers and students.”
“The confidence in their appearance, their smile, and the quality of their teeth, it makes a huge impact,” says Williams. “This feeling of self-confidence has a direct impact on your mental (and) physical health, as well as your academic performance and social confidence.”