Teacher takes students ‘around the world’ with his unique teaching style

The unassuming Humanities, Philosophy, World Religions and World History teacher Patrick Hughes offers more than the traditional classroom experience.

Born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Hughes developed his passion for music and performance at an early age as the lead singer of a regionally-known high school rock band called the “The Missing Links.” He gave up his band to earn a major in both history and drama.

Hughes journeyed to the “Big Apple” where he performed in Broadway musical productions, operas, and folk and pop music groups. Later unemployed, he ran into his former college roommate who had just returned from Guam.

“At (the age of) 23, my college roommate invited me out to Guam, a beautiful Micronesian Island, kind of like a poor man’s Hawaii. There I started my teaching career and met my wife-to-be,” Hughes said. “She was also a teacher, a graduate of Coral Gables High, and we decided to use teaching as a way to see the world.”

Their next stop was Teheran American High School in Iran where they rented a flat above the Abusaidi’s, an Iranian family that they befriended.

“We got to know Iran before the fundamentalists did their horrible transformation,” Hughes said. “We lived through the Revolution of 1978 to 1979 and were part of history, a scary part of history.”

During the last couple of weeks, Hughes has helped his students understand what is currently happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Israel and other Middle Eastern countries. He explains how these changes can profoundly affect the lives of people in Miami.

“Mr. Hughes always encourages independent thinking. He’ll tell us about what’s going on and then ask us how we feel about it,” senior Mauricio Morales said. “Many students probably wouldn’t ever be exposed to current historical events like the Egypt riots if it weren’t for him pushing kids to educate themselves.”

Hughes says that Palmetto satisfies his appetite for interested students, parents and a well-run, diverse school. However, he is worried about the emphasis on teachers being judged and paid based on an end-of-year standardized test.

“Teachers will be tempted to spend the year teaching exclusively to the test. Individuality and creativity may pass by the wayside,” Hughes said. “Teaching is an art and this trend will drive creative teachers out of the profession.”

As a teacher, Hughes feels strongly about “doing,” not “memorizing.” His Humanities class must present an artistic project each semester. They have listened to original music, viewed creative videos and participated in “off the wall” presentations such as the entire class making candy sushi or being led in a ballet lesson.

“If the day’s lesson heads down a path that deviates from my plan and is significant, then down that path we go,” Hughes said. “Learning is more to me than studying material for a test to be forgotten a week later. Learning is interactive.”