Even though he lives in Broward County, social studies teacher Mr. David Hampton doesn’t mind driving down to Miami Senior High to teach his students.

He wanted to work at Miami High because of the opportunity and the rich history. “Important people have walked here before, and that means a lot to me as someone with a passion for history,” he said.

Teaching

Mr. Hampton, who started teaching here 2014, said, “I knew I wanted to be a teacher as early as high school. As a student, I always enjoyed learning and achieved high levels of success. I wanted to enter the field of education as a teacher so that I could inspire a passion for learning in others and help students overcome adversity and succeed.”

He says history was always his favorite subject in school. “I loved to discuss history with anyone that would listen. I believe history is the greatest story ever told: it is the story of us, of humans. History helps us understand the world today and helps us avoid repeating the mistakes of our ancestors,” he said.

He describes his students as very social. He used to teach freshmen but currently teaches United States history to juniors. He said, “Freshmen arrive at Miami High rather unprepared for the demands of high school. They often lack the maturity and responsibility needed to succeed in this rigorous environment.”

In 10 years he sees himself with a master’s degree in educational leadership and as a school administrator.

HHS

Mr. Hampton wanted to be the Historical Honor Society advisor for three reasons: he loves history, he’d be helping out students, and he’s giving back to the community.

“I’m proud of the dedication of my members,” he said. “Historical Honor Society (HHS) is a small club with currently 19 members and requires a lot of hard work from them to keep everything flowing. Our members have worked as a team all year to organize fundraisers and to complete community service projects both around the school and within the community.”

The club is always looking for new members. A typical HHS meeting is held once a month, where members discuss history and ways to get community service hours. HHS works to organize the historical archives of Miami High. Members who participate in the Archive Project receive community hours. HHS also participates in many community service activities around the school and within the community.

Earlier Years

Mr. Hampton was born on November 7th, 1989, in Hollywood, Florida. He has lived here in South Florida for most of his life. His mother is Brazilian and his dad is from Tennessee. As a young child he went to two different elementary schools: Silver Ridge Elementary and Fox Trail Elementary.

For middle school, he went to Indian Ridge and then to Western High School where he said he wore a long mane up until his senior year. He graduated in 2008.

A 2012 graduate of the University of Florida, Mr. Hampton majored in History and Classics. College was a lot of fun for him. The best part was watching football; he was even there when the Gators won the National Championship in 2008.

He has been working since he was 13 when he started his own lawn care company with a friend in his neighborhood, having only 4 customers at the time. He also flagged traffic for a construction company while he was at UF. After he graduated, he worked for a pest control company.

Life Outside of School

Hanging out with his friends, watching football, or being a nerd and binge watching Star Wars again are how he likes to spend his free time. Fantasy is Mr. Hampton’s favorite genre in anything. He watches things from all ages from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones.

This summer he plans on going to Washington D.C, watching a bunch of movies, going to the beach, and mostly relaxing. Last summer he went to Kansas City where he visited the WWI museum. He also went to New Orleans, which he said was a wonderful experience. He says New Orleans was actually similar to Key West and there’s a whole lot of soul food.