“I am R’Mickel Robinson. To you I’m a teacher, to my family I’m number three, and a voice.” That’s how seminar teacher Mr. Robinson introduces himself. Robinson is a new teacher who came to this school in February of the 2024-2025 school year. Before he came here he was a teacher in a different school district, but after the school he worked at shut down at the end of the school year there was nowhere for him to go. “My previous school had to shut down, leaving me heartbroken,” Robinson said.
When asked why he didn’t join the school until February instead of the beginning of the year, Robinson said, “I had a previous experience with a different KIPP school that I didn’t enjoy, so I was hesitant to apply for KIPP.” However, it seems that he enjoys his experience at this school, because something is keeping him here. “You all,” he said. “I like the ability to share stories, and to teach students but also learn from them.”
Robinson looks forward to his future at KAC. When asked where he sees himself in two years, Robinson said, “I see myself still here, helping the class of 2028 graduate, and being in part time law school.”
“I would also like to be in the process of buying a house and possibly fostering,” he continued. Life is filled with surprises, and some of Robinson’s experiences at KAC have changed him. “I didn’t know that I would join robotics as a coach, coaching is something I wanted to do but never came across the opportunity. … So getting to coach robotics I thought was really cool, especially since I didn’t really know much about it as it was new to me, and I never thought that there would be an exchange in resource building.”
Last year, Robinson was the junior seminar counselor. “What Ms.Ramos does,” Robinsn explained. “However, this year I’m now hybrid. I work with Juniors and Seniors, and I coach Robotics.”
Learning to coach Robotics has been a challenge for him. “As I mentioned,” he said, “I didn’t really know anything about Robotics, but I learned the ability to motivate and plan. As a coach I advocate and motivate, I don’t play the instrument but I set the tempo.”
If he didn’t coach Robotics, Robinson said, “If I coached something instead of Robotics it would be cheer because I feel like I have a lot of energy. But I’m also going to be the adviser of speech and debate next year.”
A deeper view:
There will always be memories in one’s life that they hold onto, but they aren’t always the ones you want to keep. So I asked Robinson, what memories does he think he’ll take with him from KAC. “I wish that I could take all of the memories with me,” Robinson said, “I’m kind of a collector, so memories that I take with me can be found in my classrooms through items. Something I started in my old school was collecting rubber duckies, so I had a collection of them around the classroom to motivate us to do the hard work. So after I left my old school I was surrounded by all these rubber duckies and the memories.”
Robinson explained, “I’m not good at goodbyes.”
When asked why he became a teacher, Robinson said, “When I finished my grad I wanted to apply to law school but couldn’t afford it, then I was offered a scholarship to teachers’ school and I was a professor assistant.”
Since he came to this school last year you might be wondering Why wasn’t he in last year’s yearbook? The answer to that question is that he wasn’t there during school photos. He even said, “I don’t dodge photo moments, I don’t dodge the camera.”
So rest assured that he’ll be in this year’s yearbook.
A teacher’s view of Mr. Robinson:
Robinson’s colleague, Ms. Cumberbatch, had a lot to say about him. “I’ve known Mr. Robinson for six years,” she began. “When I first met him, I thought he was lively and charismatic, with a lot of passion for what he does. He’s always had a personality that makes his presence known and brings energy into a room.”
Though, she said, once you get to meet a person the more you start to truly know about them. “Over the years, I’ve gotten to see that there’s a lot more depth behind that charisma and energy. I’ve seen how deeply he cares about the people around him, especially his students, and how intentional he is about continuing to grow and become better at what he does.”
Some people may work better alone, but from what I’ve seen that’s not the case with Mr. Robinson. “I’ve worked with Mr. Robinson for four of the six years I’ve known him, and it has always been a joy and a pleasure to work alongside him,” Cumberbatch agreed. “He brings energy and humor to the workplace, but he’s also someone I know I can count on and collaborate with.”
“We are definitely friends. Our relationship extends beyond work, and we’re involved in each other’s lives outside of our roles as colleagues. I think the fact that we’ve been able to work together over the years and still genuinely enjoy one another outside of work says a lot about our friendship.”
The last thing I asked her is what she thinks makes Mr. Robinson a good teacher. “One of the things that makes Mr. Robinson a good teacher is his passion and his ability to build relationships with students,” she replied. “He genuinely cares about them as people, not just as students in his classroom. He brings his personality into his teaching, which helps students connect with him, while also pushing them to grow and be successful.”
A student’s view
The first time I met Mr. Robinson was actually in my Sophomore year when we were choosing our junior classes. He came to me to help, and I remember when I first saw him I thought, “This has gotta be a new teacher” because I hadn’t seen him before. When I reminded him of that day he said, “I do remember you from sitting there and putting your classes together, and I thought to myself I’m going to remember that name, then actually in that moment I remember saying, Oh, I want him in my cohort next year, for Junior seminar.”
When I started my junior year and I saw that I had Mr.Robinson, I didn’t recognize the name, since even though I met him the year prior I never learned his name. However, as soon as I saw him I recognized him, and I remember thinking “Oh, so this is what he teaches.”
I’ll admit that at first I didn’t really know what to think of him, because he’s kind of a wild card. He’s the type of teacher that you can goof around with, but at first glance you can’t really tell if he’s in a good mood or not, so you don’t always know if he’s up for laughs or in serious mode. At first I didn’t really make contact with him and I’d keep to myself, which I actually do with every teacher I don’t know, but over time I’ve communicated with him more and I’ve learned that he’s a fun person to talk to if you get to know him. Teacher-wise he’s good at his job. He teaches us what we need to know and makes sure we understand all while trying to get to know his students as people. Person-wise he’s definitely got a unique personality, and he’s the type of teacher that can be a mentor but also a friend.
Senior year I don’t have him as my teacher. However, even though I don’t have him as my teacher he hangs around since he and Ms. Cumberbatch share a classroom, so I can always still ask him questions or just talk if need be.
Robinson emphasized that his students matter. He said, “I value the connections I’ve made at this school, and I hope I give to them as much as they give to me.”
