D. Thomas

Hello, my name is Mr. Thomas.  I teach United States History here at William W. Niles Middle School 118.   I am a part of a very select group of professionals in the United States. Only two percent of teachers in the United States is African-American and only a fraction of those work in middle or junior high schools like M.S. 118. My own teachers taught me that the greatest service one can have is to help each generation to achieve more than the previous one, and this is another reason why I teach.  I wanted to pursue a profession where I could not only impact a life, but I wanted to impact generations, and education has provided me with this opportunity. 

I truly love informing students about how history impacts their lives on a daily basis and how learning history can transform your life. My teaching philosophy is pretty simple “It’s Common Sense”. If you just take a moment before making a decision, it all comes down to “It’s Common Sense”. 

I am proud alumni of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia which is the only Historically Black College and University dedicated to educating African-American men.  Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays a former president of Morehouse College stated “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach. Not failure, but low aim is sin.”