Brent Allison

For Dr. Brent Allison, the question of "how do we teach" isn't nearly as important as "why do we teach." And that question drives his desire to propel students into their chosen professions full of good morale and the fortitude to positively impact their field.

A professor of education on UNG's Oconee Campus, Allison's field of study is social foundations of education.

"For me, I can be a sociologist who happens to do work that's related to education, broadly defined, and put stuff out there that makes former public school teachers go, 'Wow, wait, what? Can we even do that?' That’s fun," Allison says.

According to the Metlife Survey of the American Teacher, only 44 percent of teachers report that they are very satisfied with their jobs. Twenty-nine percent say they are very or fairly likely to leave teaching entirely in the next five years.

"Teacher morale is the lowest it's been in 25 years," Allison says. "My students cannot have perfect judgment of whether teaching is the right field for them, but I hope that I can give them pretty good judgment based on what they get out of my classes. If they do enter the profession, I want them to know that they have an obligation — to themselves and their students — to both reflect on what it could mean to be a professional in the present moment, and to organize and fight to make that professionalism a reality."