Dinkins is just one of the first “stars” of Call Me MISTER®, an innovative program based in Clemson’s Eugene T. Moore School of Education and collaborating with other schools throughout the state. The program’s goal is to increase the number of African American male teachers in S.C. public elementary classrooms through recruiting, training, certifying and securing positions.

The first cohort of the program, Dinkins graduated from Claflin University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He’s now a fifth-grade teacher at Welcome Elementary School in Greenville. This second-year MISTER is getting quite the buzz around the state and around the country for his teaching style — rapping with original lyrics and music that he writes. And the kids love it.

“I like to make students happy to be in class,” he says. “I’ve had parents tell me, ‘You don’t know how much my child loves your class.’”

With the February 2007 release of his CD, Motivational Education Vol. I, Dinkins is able to spread the educational wealth to a broader audience. Produced through the Call Me MISTER program, the CD contains 12 tracks on various classroom lessons including the “American Revolution,” “Three Branches of Government,” “Great Depression” and more. Another CD single, "It’s the NBA" (for the school’s No Bullies Allowed character-education program), is in the works.

Dinkins has been an impressive ambassador for the program. He’s been featured locally and nationally including a February 2007 segment of ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson. He’ll also appear in the September 2007 edition of Weekly Reader.

Becoming a part of the Call Me MISTER program was not a quick decision. After his acceptance to Claflin University as an education major, he got a call from Roy Jones (now project director) inviting him to join the program. He also came to Clemson and met Jeff Davis (then field director of the program) and became convinced that it was the right direction for his academic career.

“It’s so much easier when you have a group of guys doing the same thing,” Dinkins says. “We went to workshops; we talked to other teachers; we had so many resources available. The program enriches an undergraduate’s experience in teaching.”

When Dinkins was growing up and attending school near South Carolina’s I-95 corridor, he never dreamed that he would one day be a positive influence in a child’s life in the same way that great teachers influenced him.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do growing up; I thought maybe I would design video games or become an automotive engineer,” Dinkins remembers. “But in 11th grade, I had an art teacher who praised a drawing I had done. He made me feel good about myself. I thought that I’d like to make kids feel good in the same way.”

Dinkins has continued with that philosophy while Call Me MISTER has provided opportunities for growth and now a chance to work with other aspiring teachers.

“If you’re serious about education,” says Dinkins, “there’s nothing better than Call Me MISTER.”

Call Me MISTER®

Since the program’s inception in 2000, 20 MISTERS have graduated and are in the classroom. Another 150 are enrolled at Clemson or collaborating schools, and plans are under way for replication programs in other states.

Call Me MISTER, based at Clemson, combines resources and education programs at Clemson with teacher-education programs at Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College and S.C. State University.

Students can also begin at two-year partner technical colleges — Greenville, Midlands, Orangeburg-Calhoun, Tri-County and Trident — before transferring to the bachelor’s degree programs. Limited enrollment is also available in Clemson’s middle-school Master of Art in Teaching program. In fall 2007, the College of Charleston and Longwood University in Farmville, Va., will begin programs.

For more on the program, go online at www.callmemister.clemson.edu. For more on Motivational Education Vol. I, go to www.motivationaleducation.net.