Adolph At IASB's 77th Annual Convention

Opening General Session

Doing What’s Best for Students—Walking the Talk

Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8 a.m.

Brown’s journey from humble beginnings to master teacher, one of the nation’s youngest tenured university professors, and motivational speaker was not an easy one. Growing up in poverty, with a single parent mother and four siblings, Brown experienced the transformational power of public education through the Head Start program. He went on to overcome childhood adversity and was the first in his family to graduate high school.

Brown believes that doing what’s best for students means recognizing that when students enter the school building, they bring different backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. What’s best for one student may not work for another, and doing what’s best is rarely a single, narrow-minded approach or philosophy.

So, how can we move beyond the core curriculum, to providing students with a rich array of opportunities and varying methods of self-expression, and ultimately setting them on the path to successful adulthood? Brown will share how to create communities where all students are supported and safe, by first building connections based on empathy and understanding.

His inspirational message, along with his research and extensive classroom experience, will inspire your governance team to put aside your differences and unify as one with a common focus on doing what’s best for ALL students. School board members and other education leaders will leave this general session knowing how to ask the right questions to ensure every student is given an opportunity to succeed.

 

Full Biography

Meet Adolph

Adolph 'Doc' Brown, III works with schools and corporations around the world to implement best practices that support peak performance and educational excellence. His honest, humorous and helpful keynotes and workshops have been commonly described as "delightfully different." He has more than 30 years of experience working with issues of mental wellness, social justice, equity, education and diversity. Brown’s solid content and multiple takeaways, insightful humor and parables are appreciated and recognized by business leaders, teachers, administrators, students and parents all over the world. From extremely humble beginnings, he was the first in his family of five to graduate high school and go on to become a critically acclaimed clinical psychologist, university professor & dean, teacher educator, businessman, investor, research scientist and recovering middle school special education teacher. Brown considers his greatest accomplishments to be the joyfully married husband of Marla, father of 8 kind-hearted children and grandpa of Aiden.