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After more than a decade as a college professor, Chris Cosans decided it was time for a change. He didn't want to get out of teaching, but he did want to reach a new audience.

"I was interested in going into public education," he said. "There's a lot more need for public school teachers than there is in [university] education."

So this summer, Cosans — formerly a philosophy professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne — came to Prince George's County to become a public school teacher. He now teaches eighth grade special education science at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Beltsville.

"I've enjoyed it a great deal," said Cosans, who lives in Greenbelt and relocated partly because he has family in the area. "I really like having a chance to work with students at this critical time in their education."

Cosans — who has a doctoral degree from the University of Chicago — taught for more than 10 years at several schools, including the University of Chicago, George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Virginia Tech. He has also written a book, "Owen's Ape and Darwin's Bulldog: Beyond Darwinism and Creationism," which was published in February and compares the evolution theories of 19th century scientists Charles Darwin and Richard Owen.

Cosans came to King Middle through the county's Teaching Fellows program, which allows professionals in other fields to become teachers. Participants receive training during a five-week summer program before being assigned to a school for the fall.

The program was founded three years ago and has produced about 175 current county teachers. Robin Wiltison, principal at King Middle, said Cosans has been a welcome addition to her staff.

"There's a lot of passion there to [switch careers]," she said. "It's exciting, and it's a good opportunity for him and the school system."

Cosans said he first visited the school during the summer and was immediately impressed, particularly by the fact that it had a Latin language club and dozens of college posters decorating the school's hallways to emphasize the importance of a college education.

Along with his teaching duties, he also coaches the school's debate team. Team member Walter Little, 12, said Cosans has challenged students to find weaknesses in the arguments of renowned philosophers like 13th century ethicist St. Thomas Aquinas.

"He's a great debate coach," said Little, a seventh-grader from Laurel. "The things that he does have taught me to speak more eloquently."

Many of his college students were already well versed in complex material, and Cosans said teaching middle school has given him a chance to reach developing students and thinkers when they need it most.

"Middle school really is the transition going from being children to adults," Cosans said. "We're able to lay a foundation that will play out for the rest of their lives, and I find that very rewarding."

E-mail David Hill at dhill@gazette.net.