Lessons From A Judge

Many teachers leave the classroom to seek new careers, including Duval County Judge Pauline Drake.
Many people were inspired to pursue a career in education by their teachers, including Drake.
And there are teachers who call on what they learned when they take on a new career, also including Drake.
“I think my experience as a teacher helps me communicate with people, listen to people and understand their backgrounds,” she said.
Born in a small town in Alabama near Auburn, her family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when she was
2 years old after her father was laid off at a textile mill. That’s where Drake learned about different cultures and diversity.
Her father found a job as a building superintendent. “We were the only black family in an entirely Jewish building,” she said.
While attending third grade at a school within walking distance of her home, Drake met her first inspirational and unforgettable teacher — Ida B. Troolis.
“She came to my class and asked the teacher if she could take two students to sit in her class,” Drake said. “She told us, ‘you are smarter than this, you’re going to read more and you’re going to do more math because next year, you’re going to the top fourth-grade class.’”
The attention and motivation worked. Drake went to the top fourth-grade class, followed by the top classes in fifth and sixth grades.
She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in elementary education at Tuskegee University, and then a master’s in special education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
While at UAB, Drake was director of a day center and taught a class of 20 students who were so severely challenged they couldn’t attend public schools.
It was there she realized that disabled students were at a disadvantage when it came to the legal system, and that led her to a change in career and state of residence.
“I said someone needs to do something about the rights of individuals. That’s what propelled me into law school,” Drake said.
After graduating from law school at the University of Florida, Drake was an assistant state attorney, regional legal adviser for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and in private practice, specializing in representing juveniles.
Appointed to the bench in 1998 and re-elected since, every day she draws on her experience with young people in the classroom and the courtroom.
“It’s funny that working with young people has helped me on the bench,” Drake said.
Being inspired by her teachers led Drake back to the classroom on a regular basis and she visits elementary schools in underserved neighborhoods.
“I will always remember that there were people who were supportive of me to say I could do better,” she said. “I tell the students it doesn’t matter where you are, who you are or where you came from – you can read, you can learn and you have something to contribute to society.”
Drake’s lessons include civics. She gives students a copy of the U.S. Constitution and makes sure the students understand that the rule of law is for everyone.
“No matter what we do in life, it’s going to revolve around the legal system and how people view themselves in the legal system. Is it there for the elite, or does it go back to the Constitution and is it truly for ‘We the People?’
“If we can get that message out, then we are about building this country and making it responsive to its citizens,” she said. “The greatest message is your life. Show people you care about them. What better way than being a judge?”