‘More of a plus than a minus’

In Pearland, Texas at 7:46 a.m., a plumber makes his way to work. At the same time in Manhattan, NY, a plane flies into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, followed by another 17 minutes later. It’s Sept. 11, 2001. For Wayne Houle, it’s a wake-up call.

“I just thought, ‘I need to do more than fix leaking pipes,’” Houle said.

The AP World History Modern and ESL World History teacher recalls 9/11 as the event that shifted his career, although he acknowledges that was the case for others like him.

“It sort of made a lot of us kind of quit staring at our own belly buttons, you know, and start thinking, ‘Wait a minute, maybe I should be trying to help society somehow’ and I didn’t know how yet,” Houle said.

Prior to his epiphany, Houle worked as a plumber alongside his father for 17 years. Working with his dad granted Houle knowledge and kindness, and a deep love for philosophy and history.

“Working with him was great, because, you know, I didn’t just learn plumbing and stuff like that,” Houle said. “I learned how to think.”

When Houle was around 7 or 8, his father and best friend would sit him down after he did something wrong and persistently ask him: “Why?” This taught him the Socratic Method among other lessons. Houle carries these teachings with him, in and out of the classroom.

“I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I think pretty hard,” Houle said. “And I think my dad fostered that in me— the ability to sort of dispassionately at times, think a process through.”

Houle said he doesn’t need an empire to be satisfied. He just needs to teach. He teaches history, not only because of his great love for it, but because it affords a backdrop where critical thinking can occur.

“Because when I die, really what I want on my tombstone are two things, right?” Houle said. “’He was reasonably nice’. That would be awesome. And, ‘He was more of a plus than a minus’, like, if I get that, I’m okay with it.”

Being a teacher allows him to help kids in any way he can. Even if that means extending his work until after the school day ends or waking up at 5 a.m. every Saturday and updating the weekly “Read Me” assignments for his AP students.

“I think it at least gives me a chance to be unselfish, to say, ‘Okay, my time isn’t mine.It’s theirs,’ and I think anything that forces me into thinking about other people is a good thing,” Houle said.

Houle’s door is always open before school, after school and during Cardinal Hour. Room 2709 is a safe space for his students.

“Everyone gets to say what they feel about a certain topic,” AP World History student sophomore Blen Abebe said. “It’s nice to hear all the different opinions and ideas.”

Other students like sophomore Saanvi Sadana said that while other teachers make their lectures monotonous and flat without knowing it, Houle’s class is always “interactive” and fun.

“He has a bold personality, but he’s a really great person to talk to and he just makes you feel welcome,” Sadana said.

Ryan Rexford, sophomore and AP World History student, said that Houle brings a subject to life, and is willing to take his time to help students.

The face of a student as their eyes light up is what makes education worth it to Houle. The highlight of his day is when a student creates a connection from one piece of history to another. In other words: when a student’s ability to critically think shows.

“You see the chills on my arm? I have it just thinking about that, when a kid or even an adult, when I do it, when anybody does it, when somebody sees sort of truth,” Houle said. “Those are the moments that make it all worth it. The whole class can just stop as far as I’m concerned, and we could just sit there, because that’s where it’s at.”

Houle cherishes the “Aha!” moments in his classroom, the lightbulb that goes off in a student’s mind when he’s teaching assures him that he is making a difference, no matter how big or small.

“So, that’s how it happened,” Houle said. “I wanted to save the world, as corny as that sounds— so, I’m trying.”