B rian Butler, ’07, ’13, always loved science and the weather. When he was young, Butler recalls looking out the window just waiting for the first snowflakes to fall. If there was a storm, he was glued to the window, watching the lightning strike. Later, as a meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma, he was a storm chaser.

“If you love weather, there's no other place on earth that displays the incredible power of nature like a thunderstorm in Oklahoma,” he said. “I think that solidified my passion in weather and science.”

Now, Butler’s experienced the best of both worlds. He became a meteorologist with the United States Air Force then decided to pursue a career in teaching science. So, he researched the different ways to do that in Georgia. He visited Georgia College to discuss the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program with Dr. Cynthia Alby, director of GC Journeys.

“I was impressed with the discussion we had about Georgia College’s approach to education,” Butler said. “And the MAT degree just seemed like a good fit for me.”

That day, Butler came to Georgia College only intending to get questions answered, but left feeling the program was right for him. So, he began to pursue the MAT program with a science emphasis.

The late Dr. Martha Jones, assistant professor of Foundations and Secondary Education, also made quite an impression on Butler.

“She brought that practical piece of knowledge to the curriculum,” he said. “And it really helped me when I began teaching in 2007 to have had that experience of seeing how what I learned was actually applied. She brought all of it to life.”

Another one of his favorite professors was Dr. Melanie DeVore, professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. Butler had her for two courses.

“She was excellent at making biology very interesting,” he said. “She’s a plant specialist. I found that rather fascinating, especially since I’m a gardener. And I kept thinking, ‘I just learned something new.’ She was fantastic.”

After teaching science for four years and becoming a finalist for the 2016 Georgia Teacher of the Year, he started thinking about pursuing an education specialist degree. 

“At that point in my career, I was a little more accomplished as a classroom teacher,” Butler said.  

Dr. Marcie Peck, program coordinator of Teacher Leadership at Georgia College became his guide through the education specialist program for his cohort.

“It really helped me see my role in education beyond the classroom, how it fits into the bigger picture and relating it to how this is my way to make an impact on society as a whole versus just the children in my classroom,” he said.

Butler found the cohort model worked well for him, since he exceled in collaboration.

“The concept that really stands out about my master’s and specialist degrees is the cohort model, where we worked together,” he said. “It was extremely useful for my development as an educator to see other people's perspectives and work with those who had a different view on things. It really helped me see the world in a broader sense.”

Butler achieved a 4.0 in both his MAT and specialist in education degrees because he could relate to the topics.

“I viewed college as a job, where I only get out of this what I put into it,” he said. “I also think the way Georgia College was structured played a role in that most of the courses directly related to my job, so I could see how the coursework benefited me.”

When Butler taught, he had children from all different backgrounds with different experiences.

“I learned not to approach teaching with just my point of view,” Butler said. “Those experiences I had at Georgia College helped me to stop and think, ‘Okay, what is the point of view that this child has? Let me understand it from a different perspective to better relate to that child.’”  

Today, as the school improvement specialist for science for Bibb County Schools, Butler works with school leaders and teachers to guide them and improve science instruction and learning across the district in kindergarten through 12th grade. He also visits classrooms, meets with content coordinators of other subjects and the Teaching and Learning Department to address overarching issues.

The highlight of his job is getting involved to help solve problems in the classroom.

“My absolute favorite thing to do is to go into the classroom and work directly with teachers on whatever they're having an issue with. I just love to help them figure out how to best address a specific topic or how to incorporate a lab activity,” he said. “I see the kids with their innate curiosity want to understand the world around them and learn science. This reframes why I do what I do.”

One of his biggest challenges was transitioning out of the classroom to work with adult learners in the district.

“In working with adults, understanding things from different perspectives has become even more important,” Butler said. “I remember in our education specialist program at Georgia College, we collaborated on assuming everyone is approaching a problem with good intentions. And the reason they have a different perspective is because they've had different experiences. That’s really helped me in my profession.” 

As a result, Butler reevaluates his own bias and considers that other people have had different experiences, which gives them a different point of view. 

“This thought process has been instrumental in helping me work with adult learners,” he said. 

“I really feel we can make progress in our society by ensuring we have scientifically literate citizenry and to have a collective voice of science educators who work with children every day, to improve their scientific knowledge and literacy.”

At Georgia College, Butler was encouraged by Jones to join state and national professional organizations to extend his instructional reach.

“That’s why I became involved with the National Science Teaching Association, where I serve as a district director representing science teachers of Alabama, Florida and Georgia,” he said. “This is my third year in this position.”

He also served for 10 years, as well as president, on the Georgia Science Teachers Association.

“One of the biggest things of any professional organization is to help members see the power of collective organization,” he said. “I think, regardless of your political affiliations, everyone would agree that science and good critical thought is something that the world could probably use a bit more of.”