Dr. Tagami Earned His Doctorate After Years Of Work

Recently, John F. Kennedy High School’s English department has had an exciting staff development. Michail Tagami, a longtime English teacher, is now Dr. Tagami.

According to Dr. Tagami, he has put in years of hard work for not one, but two doctorate degrees: “My doctorate program was a dual program, so I actually got a doctorate of education and doctorate of philosophy…it took me five years instead of the normal three or four.”

Dr. Tagami continued, “It's always been a dream of mine to have the title ‘doctor,’ and since I was not able to do that with medical school, graduate school seemed to be the more applicable way to get that title.”

Even though obtaining a doctorate through graduate school was more feasible, Dr. Tagami’s journey to earn his degrees was still not simple.

“You have a series of courses in your field…all those courses are meant to provide subject matter, competency, and start research on your dissertation,” said Dr. Tagami. “Then you have a series of courses for your research, and the courses are laid out in steps so that you do research, then you do a study, then you do a review, a literary review of the research, and the study. We do a tie to the study and the research, and then you do your dissertation, which is, could be, for a doctorate of education, is three chapters, but for the doctor of philosophy is five.”

Considering the difficulty of just obtaining a doctorate, fellow teachers and students appreciate Dr. Tagami’s balancing of this arduous process while also teaching classes.

“It’s the highest achievement you can achieve, and he has achieved two, not one…he is a kind and a generous man, and I’m glad to have him as a friend and colleague,” said Cynthia Anderson, English teacher. “He is in two percent of the US population that has a doctoral degree, and he is a man to look toward.”

Danielle Thomas, biology teacher, also shared a similar perspective on the occasion: “It is well-deserved, and people don’t get it to see how much he worked, but he put in a lot of effort and dedication into getting it.”

Jack Waller (11), a student of Dr. Tagami’s AP English Language and Composition class, said, “I think Dr. Tagami's achievement is truly inspiring. It takes a lot of effort and dedication to obtain a doctorate degree while still effectively teaching college level classes.”

Even though it is a momentous occasion for himself, Dr. Tagami ultimately hopes the Kennedy community takes two lessons from his experience: “The first message is that when you come into my classroom, I want the student to be confident that they have an educated, seasoned professional to guide them, and second, you can do anything at any age.”

Photo from Michail Tagami | Dr. Tagami recently earned his doctorate through years of hard work.