Phillip Elias Howard’s life has been defined by an insatiable desire to learn and a steadfast commitment to justice. Raised in Uniontown, Pa., a town shaped by coal mining, coke production, and union struggles, Howard grew up with a deep awareness of the systemic forces that shape communities. These influences, coupled with the dedication of his parents—both educators in their own ways—instilled in him a profound respect for education and the power it holds to transform lives.
Uniontown, like many industrial towns in Pennsylvania, bore the scars of deindustrialization. The town and its surrounding “patch” company towns were integral to supplying the Mon Valley and Pittsburgh-area steel mills with the coal and coke essential for steel production. Uniontown’s sole steel mill closed in the 1880s, but coal and coke industries remained dominant for decades, shaping the local economy and culture. The decline brought high rates of unemployment, government assistance, and rising crime.
“It wasn’t just the loss of work,” he says. “It was the loss of identity, stability, and opportunity.”
Despite these challenges, Uniontown was also a town of resilience, where stories of labor strikes and the fight for fair working conditions were passed down through generations. His father, a rural school teacher and a local president of the National Education Association, often worked late preparing for negotiations or traveling to the state capital in Harrisburg to advocate on behalf of his colleagues.
“I remember my dad pouring everything into his work as a union leader,” Howard recalls. “Seeing the sacrifices he made to fight for his colleagues and their families gave me a real sense of how collective action can improve lives.”
These early observations stayed with Howard, shaping his values and later influencing his teaching and doctoral research. His father’s stories of labor organizing, combined with the visible effects of deindustrialization, sparked an enduring interest in class politics and the broader systems that impact communities like Uniontown.
Howard’s mother, who earned her PhD in critical literacy from the University of Pittsburgh, also profoundly shaped his worldview. Her dissertation, based on the work of Paulo Freire, explored how literacy can empower marginalized individuals to surmount systemic challenges and limitations. As a child, Howard often accompanied her to the library, watching her type drafts of her dissertation on a clunky IBM computer.
After she earned her degree, Howard vividly recalls his mother traveling to rural, mountainous parts of Fayette County to teach adults who had never had access to a proper education.
“My mom worked with adults throughout the county who were poor, underprivileged or marginalized, and were never given a proper education or opportunity to read and write,” he says. “Just the idea of writing a letter to a loved one or a birthday card to a loved one, a daughter or son—that’s something that’s transformative, right? Filling out a job application, interpreting a bus schedule, sketching out a grocery list – these are things that we take for granted, as privileged people, that her students weren’t able to do because they were denied.”
Growing up in this environment of advocacy and resilience, Howard developed a deep appreciation for his cultural roots. As the descendent of Slovak coal miners and coke drawers and the son of an Arab-American mother and a father with both Arab and Slovak ancestry, he inherited a unique perspective that often left him feeling “a little bit different.” His Slovak ancestors were blacklisted after participating in a failed union strike in the 1920s, a story passed down by his grandmother and father that left a lasting impression. At the same time, his Arab-American relatives shared their own narratives of immigration and identity, highlighting the challenges of assimilation and the erasure of their stories in mainstream history.
“Being from two non-traditional backgrounds gave me a unique perspective,” Howard explains. “I didn’t always see my family’s history reflected in the textbooks or the stories we were told in school. That fueled my curiosity and my commitment to uncovering and teaching the histories of people whose voices have been ignored.”
Howard’s commitment to education lead him to a degree in social studies education from California University of Pennsylvania. He graduated in 2006 and soon after enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned his master’s degree in education in 2008. Armed with these credentials, Howard hoped to secure a permanent teaching position in Pennsylvania.
However, the job market was unforgiving. Howard found himself working as a substitute teacher, a role he described as both humbling and financially challenging.
“I was substituting for $70 a day,” he recalls, “with no benefits, no insurance, and no opportunity to move into a full-time position.”
During this time, Howard sought ways to continue his professional development. He completed a graduate certification in working class studies at Youngstown State University, where he explored the history of labor movements and the socioeconomic impact of deindustrialization on communities like his hometown. The program was a natural extension of his lifelong interest in class politics and collective action.
“Studying working-class history helped me connect my own family’s story to broader systemic forces,” Howard says. “It gave me a framework to better understand the challenges facing communities like Uniontown.”
Howard’s experiences as a substitute teacher, combined with his academic pursuits, deepened his resolve to make a difference through education. Still, the lack of stability in his teaching career pushed him to make a difficult decision.
“After a while, I realized I couldn’t keep substituting forever,” he says. “I needed to find something more stable.”
Howard made the difficult decision to leave teaching and enter the oil and gas industry. For three years, he worked in a physically demanding role as a shop hand performing tasks that were a stark departure from his academic pursuits.
“It was honest work, and I was working hard making hoses, but I couldn’t help asking myself, ‘Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing?’” he remembers.
Offered a managerial position that promised career growth, Howard turned it down.
“I thought long and hard about it,” he says. “It was a good opportunity financially, but I realized I wanted to do something meaningful. That’s when I decided, ‘I should go back into education.’ I thought I could affect people in a more positive way, being in the classroom and then eventually being a graduate student.”
Howard’s decision to return to education led him to West Virginia, where teaching opportunities proved more accessible. He began his renewed career in Grant County Schools, where he quickly rediscovered his passion for working with students and the impact he could have in the classroom. The experience reaffirmed his belief in education as a powerful tool for change and set the stage for the next chapter of his career.
In 2017, Howard joined the faculty at Wheeling Park High School, teaching dual-enrollment courses that bridged high school and college-level learning. The role allowed him to combine his love for history with his commitment to social justice. “I wanted to show students the power of history, especially history from the ground up,” he says. “It’s about showing them that change comes from collective action and movements from below.”
As Howard settled into his role at Wheeling Park, his drive to continue learning and growing as an educator persisted. He enrolled in the PhD program in Educational Theory and Practice at West Virginia University, where his research focuses on teacher activism and its impact on schools and communities. The program stood out to him because of its critical approach to education and its emphasis on connecting research with real-world impact.
“I wanted a program that didn’t just focus on the surface-level aspects of education, like test scores or classroom management,” Howard says. “WVU’s program challenges you to look at the bigger picture—to understand the socioeconomic and cultural forces shaping education and how we, as educators, can make a difference.”
Howard’s doctoral work reflects his lifelong interest in labor and justice. He is exploring how teacher activism, such as the 2018 teachers’ strike, shapes teacher consciousness and influences their roles within schools and communities. For Howard, this work is deeply personal, connecting back to the lessons he learned from his father’s union advocacy and the larger systemic changes he observed growing up.
“Education is inherently political,” Howard says. “It’s not just about test scores—it’s about tackling systemic issues like inequality, unemployment, addiction, homelessness, food insecurity, inadequate health care, and others. I want to understand how teachers can be agents of change, not just in their classrooms, but in their communities.”
His teaching philosophy mirrors these values. In his classroom, Howard emphasizes grassroots movements and collective action, framing history from the bottom up.
“We talk about political leaders and generals, but I want my students to see the power of ordinary people—workers, women, minorities, immigrants, and those fighting for an equal, humane world,” he explains.
Howard’s passion for learning extends beyond the classroom. These experiences, along with his mother’s work in literacy and his father’s union advocacy, have shaped his vision of education as a transformative force.
Now nearing the completion of his doctoral degree, Howard remains focused on using education to empower others.
“It’s not about the title or the degree,” he says. “It’s about creating a more democratic and just system where education can truly be a force for good.”
Howard is quick to express gratitude for the opportunities he has found in West Virginia.
“This state and this university gave me the chance to teach, to grow, and to pursue my dreams, he says. “I’ll always feel a deep connection to West Virginia for the doors it opened and the community it gave me.”