Name: Anne Overton
Hometown: Mill Valley, CA
Program: MAT (English)
Education: Barnard College ‘23 (BA Psychology)
What drew you to the MAT Program?
I was drawn to Brown’s MAT program because, in my search for grad programs in education, Brown is singular in that it has a genuine commitment to the students and schools in Providence. A lot of other programs tout the value of justice, but this program felt to me to be the most thoughtful and action-oriented when it comes to the students in the area.
How did your undergraduate and work experiences before this program inspire you to go into teaching and pursue an MAT degree?
I’ve almost always worked with kids in some capacity, and I thought for a while that I might become a therapist or study adolescent psychology. After graduating from Barnard, though, I started working with an after school program. It was there that I came to understand that I wanted to actually be in the classroom with young people, not only because of what education can do for liberation, but also because I found it fascinating and joyful to engage intellectually with students and push their thinking. The more I’ve learned about education, the more I’ve fallen in love with it, which I didn’t think was possible.
What has been a highlight of your experience in the MAT program so far?
Playing Bananagrams with my colleagues in the department Flex Space, which is to say: the community. As we begin to enter this field together, my cohort has forged such a strong network of support and joy, especially in the face of terrifying, tragic, and frankly disheartening policies and events. We take the time to engage with these things intellectually in the classrooms that we share (and our professors do a great job of fostering these discussions), but we also create space for one another to process and fight these things personally.
What are you most excited to teach?
The witty response here is that I am most excited to teach MY STUDENTS! But the very specific answer is that I am excited to teach Socratic Seminars. I think they get at all of the things that make English education so crucial: they push students to question, analyze, synthesize, and communicate about a text. When you pair this with individual written reflections afterwards, you hit on each language domain (awesome), and you get to steward a culture of analytical thinkers who know how to navigate critical dialogue with one another. Plus, it’s one of the more student-centered activities.
What would you tell someone considering a master's at Brown?
If you are looking for a rigorous graduate program with a strong community, and you want to learn and think deeply about what quality instruction looks like, Brown could be a great fit for you. If, like me, you’re not coming from Brown (or even from Rhode Island), I would tell you to take your time to get to know the city and the state, and the histories and realities that Rhode Island carries. It’s easy to get trapped in the Brown bubble, but it’s imperative that you venture outside of it. And there is joy in that! Which brings me to my last piece: seek joy.
What personal or professional resources have been most valuable at Brown?
The education that I am receiving from the professors in this department is incredible. I knew that I would be receiving a quality teacher preparation program, but I don’t think I understood exactly how brilliant and inspiring my professors would be. It’s especially powerful when the people teaching you how to be a good teacher are really. Good. Teachers. They care so much about what they do; they care about their students; they care about the students of the early-career teachers that they are teaching. They have been both personal and professional resources, and I feel grateful and honored and humble to be able to learn from them.