MIDLAND, Texas — Most of the time, you can find Brenton Cross at Room 217B of the Allison Fine Arts Building at Midland College teaching an Introduction to Philosophy class.
Other times, he'll be in his office talking with students or prepping his next course.
For Cross, teaching isn't just something he does for a salary. It's about the students in class. It's about developing their minds and preparing them for the next stage of life.
“There is a critical component of life change, and the education process is transformative," Cross said. "So a student in the classroom getting great content, it’s not only a tool in which they can get great jobs or their vocation, but it’s also a part of character development and who they are and who they can become.”
Cross primarily teaches philosophy and humanities with the occasional English class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
A fifteen-year teaching veteran, Cross has been with Midland College since 2019 but got his start at the high school level.
No matter if what age or education level he's teaching to, Cross always enjoys seeing his students use his theories and lessons outside of the classroom.
“What I really enjoy is seeing students apply concepts in the real world, and what I talk about, that they get it and they get to see the relevance of that in their personal lives and in society in general," Cross said. "That’s the beauty of the educational process for me. Yeah, I like when they get it, but I like when they apply it even more.”
Teaching is an empowering job. In Cross' case, his job gives him a chance to change any one of his student's live in a positive manner.
“I see the power of teaching and of education to empower and to transform an individual’s life, to see it become what that person hopes to achieve in their future endeavors,” Cross said.
Empowering and transformative, especially in the month of February during Black History Month. This is a time when Cross can explain the month's importance to the country through the works of civil rights leaders, philosophers and humanitarians.
"It’s the perfect, I would say exchange. That moment in which you say, ladies and gentleman, here are philosophers and they have influenced change… I’m talking about Black History Month but I’m also talking about philosophers and their way of thinking and that’s when philosophy becomes reality," Cross said.