High School Student Hispanic + White Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: Although the Rio Grande Valley has a population of 1.5 Million people, the world I grew up in was pretty small. From ages 6 to 11, the one thing I had in common with my teachers was my gender. Having strong female role models during some of the most formative years of my life has shaped who I am today. They understood the stigma surrounding “bossy girls” before I even knew what connotation the word “bossy” held. They nurtured my leadership and drive instead of shutting down my “bossiness”. I never saw this as anything of importance until I got to middle school where the first male teacher I ever had pointed to me as I was planning our group's next step and said, “Well, you’re quite the bossy one. Aren’t you?” I could tell by his voice that it was not a compliment. My whole life, my leadership had always been accepted if not encouraged, but this man who did not understand why young girls should be encouraged in this way, discouraged my initiative and drive for the rest of the year. Throughout my early school years, I was exposed to a lot of diversity. If my teachers were not Hispanic, they were Colombian or Irish or even African American. This allowed me to grow up in a world that was accepting of differences and taught me how to deal with people who didn't always look like me. Although this was a great skill to develop, it could never match what I learned when I finally had a teacher that looked like me. In my first year of High School, I really struggled finding my “Latinx Identity”. I wanted to embrace my culture but I didn't speak Spanish and along with the fact that I looked white, it made it hard to feel like I could really check that Hispanic box. Sophomore year was when I finally had a teacher who was like me--dark haired, had a lighter complexion, and didn't speak Spanish, but still EMBRACED a Latin Identity. For so long, I felt rejected by a world I didn't even know and this gave me hope of one day belonging. She taught me that when we exist in two worlds, we must find a way to make our own and even when you feel like you do not belong entirely to one culture, it is still yours to claim. Growing up around teachers who shared my race, identity and gender made me not only feel represented in the world, but it made me feel understood and as a young girl, that was all I could ask for. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: One of my favorite quotes from Gloria Anzaldúa says, “The US Mexican Border es una herida abierta where the third world grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country - a border culture.” This border culture is a mix of English and Spanish. It is Mexican ancestry with the American mainstream. It is existing in two different worlds, but never belonging to either. It wasn't until my freshman year that I had the first teacher who introduced to a new concept : Pride of Place. This man, Mr.Ozuna, walked into our class on the first day of school and said “I went to Yale for college and a lot of people ask me, ‘if you went to Yale, why would you come back and teach at Memorial High School?’ The question I ask you is why don’t you all deserve to have a teacher that was educated at Yale?”. This was a very defining moment in my life. I realized that the problem in our community wasnt that we didn't want opportunities, but that we felt we didn't deserve them. This mentorship was based on more than the fact that he looked like me with his dark hair and hispanic features (which I shared with most of my teachers all my life), but that he understood our “border culture” and taught me how I could use my voice to help people understand our community better. When you look up the Rio Grande Valley, 9 times out of 10 you will find some negative stereotype or false narrative perpetuated by people who do not know our community like we do. We, as a community, are constantly underestimated and misunderstood which is a hard concept to grasp for a young girl growing up here. Growing up, I constantly had to listen to people say things like “there’s no opportunities here” or, “I can’t wait to leave the Valley”. For the first 14 years of my life, I had never been exposed to any teacher or anyone who really loved this place. Being so young, it was hard living in a world that taught me to not be proud of where I come from. Simply having this culture in common made me not only want more for my community, but made me feel like we deserve more. It allowed me to break out of the stigma that I couldn't be successful here and start making my own success. For me, having things in common with my teachers is important because I no longer feel like I am alone. And once you feel like you have a community of people supporting you, you are unstoppable. Sydney is the founder of @thergvmatters. Her #successwithoutborders interview series (podcast coming soon!) encourages youth involvement in her community and aims to inspires people to be proud of their Rio Grande Valley roots. Join in her activism and connect with her on Twitter @sydramon. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong
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University Student White Heterosexual Female Will be the first in her family to graduate from college Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? On the surface, I’ve been lucky. I have the privilege of being white and identifying as heterosexual. I am also a woman, and so in an educational setting, I have had the privilege of connecting with most of my teachers who have also been white and female. I can also connect with my teachers because I know we both appreciate a good education. I’ve always enjoyed working hard and putting forth my best effort. I struggle, fail, but then succeed. To me, school has been everything. Throughout high school and continuing into university life, I have dedicated myself to my school work and what I felt being a “good” student meant. I was in the top 5% of my high school graduating class, and I have been on the Dean’s List every quarter at the University of Washington. For me, these accomplishments weren’t just about a title, but instead were my gateway to a promising future. In the same way that I have prioritized my education, I believe that a lot of teachers have done the same, as they have chosen school as their career, which is a huge aspect of their lives. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? I grew up as a low income student raised by a single mom in a predominantly high income community of two-parent households. Any information on low-income assistance was something that my mother and I had to find for ourselves. This was true when it came to AP testing fees for my high school classes. I was in a lot of AP classes and wanted to take the tests as I knew this may help me obtain college credits in the future, but every test cost $90. $90?! That was too much for my single mother to afford, especially with multiple AP tests every year. My mom looked into it and found out there was a low-income option that would make the tests affordable for my family. This was great until I found out this information was not provided by my teachers. In class, I went up to my AP Government teacher very quietly and asked if I could have a low-income form for the AP test. He didn’t give the response I was expecting. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He looked at me confused as if he was questioning if what I had just asked him was real. He said, “Oh? You need the form for low-income support on the test?” His voice was louder than I had wanted. I could tell from the eyes of my classmates that a lot of them had heard him. The embarrassment set in. “Yes.” “Oh, umm okay well...I actually don’t have those because I don’t normally have to hand them out. You’ll have to go to the office.” As if I wasn’t already feeling alone in asking for this form, he just confirmed that I was indeed alone. Apparently, I was one of the only students he had ever encountered that needed the form. I went to the office and asked for the form. The lady at the front desk laughed at me. Yes, laughed. She then pointed at a basket filled with papers and said nothing. Then the Athletic Director (who had nothing to do with the situation) felt the need to pipe in. He suspiciously asked me how I would possibly need the form for low-income students if I was able to participate in cheerleading. Not that it was any of his business, but I explained that I actually was very fortunate to have a family member that had offered to help me continue in this extremely expensive sport. He didn’t respond and walked away with a smug grin on his face. On that day “connection” was the last thing I felt with the adults I had encountered. I felt alone, embarrassed, and ashamed for something I couldn’t control. No student should ever have to feel that way, which is exactly why having things in common with our teachers is so important. The role of connection between our students and educators is one that we must place more value on. For students, connection is what makes us feel safe, accepted, and validated. It’s what developing humans need. If even one of those adults had been empathetic that day, I wouldn’t have had to feel ashamed for growing up with a single mom in a low-income household. I would’ve felt accepted for who I was and everything I had been through to get to where I was that day. In our education system, it’s not only important that teachers connect with their students, but that all adults in our education system better support kids who are going through life experiences they themselves might not have experienced. We are thrilled to share that Hailey is ROLL CALL's 2020-21 intern! She is in her final undergraduate year at the University of Washington, and she is also a tutor with the Riverways Education Partnership (formerly The Pipeline Project) serving rural and tribal K-12 students. Connect with her on Instagram @haileybrumley. Photo (c) 2020 Jen Kistner University Student Korean-American First Generation American Female LGBTQ Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: Often, I don't have that much in common with my teachers, unfortunately. I respect all of the teachers who have been in my life, and I've been lucky enough to have been in the care of several who were exceptional, but I'd be hard-pressed to name a teacher I could be grouped with in a game of Guess Who without tipping the whole board. What I share with my teachers is typically what I share with my city: we're WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic). In short, traits that don't really do much, on their own, to expand students' horizons or kindle a real desire to sacrifice the wealth we take for granted to spark change in the world that levels the playing field. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, when--as exceptions to the rule--I find that I share identities with my teacher, I am often also blessed with a mentor who can help me navigate my identities as they did at my age. Teachers have such a unique, pivotal role in the lives of so many students. Students turn to their teachers for help on so many things, especially as they're stumbling through elementary, middle, and high school and learning to suppress their "unfavorable" identities and express others. This is the period of life where kids come back home upset that their packed lunches are "too Asian", that their way of dressing or acting is somehow "gay" and therefore offensive, or that their economic standing is something to be ashamed of. Since they seek to discipline us and guide us, our teachers are in effect 6-hour+ daily stand-ins for our parents. And like parents, love them or hate them, they shape our relationships with ourselves immensely. For better or for worse, they hold this sway when we are at our most vulnerable and most desperate to fit in. Unfortunately, with a primarily cishet female, white, able-bodied, and college-educated pool of teachers, this influence may be for the worse. This group is the group to shape students ideas of how they or their parents should look and act in an America where white, straight, rich and able-bodied people are still upheld as the golden standard. This group is so often unhelpful when the really tough questions come up--the ones that make or break a student's desire to succeed in school, the ones that at their core ask "do I belong here?" or "is the way I'm feeling valid?" This group is ill-equipped to handle transitioning students, first-gen students, students of color, and all others who don't fit neatly into the Guess Who board. This group needs to change, so that students can find mentors to connect with and rely on. Bae is getting ready to start her second year at Stanford University where she is the Co-Chair of the student group Queer & Asian. See her beautiful and meticulous notes from class on Instagram at @its_the_bae_area. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong High School Student Chinese Immigrant Female Will be the first in her family to go to college Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I really couldn't think of anything off of the top of my head. This question took way longer than it should have. My math tutor is a huge nerd, we talk about Game of Thrones all the time. Then somehow I recommended a TV show on Netflix to my biology teacher, so I guess that's that. All my teachers are female? Does that even count? I think after I began developing a passion for education, I started relating to some teachers more because I can see their passion and how they care for students. This is a really hard question. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Most parents from my ethnic background would say it doesn't matter. As long as the students learn the appropriate materials and are well prepared for standardized tests, it doesn't matter if the teacher is approachable or not. But most students would agree it does matter. When the teacher cracks that one joke, references that one TV show or movie we like, I think we all suddenly become fond of them. We become willing to listen. I think we all learn better when we like the teacher. We grow to like the class, the the subject, then other subjects in that field. We become less scared to ask seemingly stupid questions, and we begin to learn at a much more productive pace. I remember when I first moved to the US in third grade, I could barely speak any English. There was a counselor who spoke Chinese. I suddenly felt so much better, and just a little bit less lonely. And that made learning English and becoming part of the community that much easier. BUT then again, we seem to be influenced by teachers that have no commonality with us. When I see my biology teacher ramble on and on about how amazing biology is, I get somewhat touched. And I start listening because the examples she gives us are so profound that it made a STEM class interesting. When my usually strict algebra teacher told the class we could talk to her and push the homework due dates back if we wanted to priotize AP tests instead (she literally said "don't do your math homework. This is not important. AP tests are important"), I became somewhat touched. And I started listening to her lectures because I knew she is a good teacher, and she really cares. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, similarities matter. It forms instant bonds between students and teachers. But even if we couldn't form that bond, students will evetually see a good teacher's passion, and grow to respect them, to open up to them. I don't know though, respect is respect, but trust is another thing. It definitly helps if the person we're supposed to open up to has had similar experiences. We'll know they understand that way. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong Middle School Student Indian Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I like having things in common with my teachers. When I was India I had three things in common with all my teachers in each grade. All my teachers were Indian just like me, they spoke the same language as me, and they were all female like me. There are very few male teachers in India, most of then are female. Also one more thing I had in common with my teachers in India was that they were the same race as me. In India I had a lot of things in common with all of my teachers. But in America now I have very few things in common with my teachers. At my elementary school, I had one thing common with my art teacher. We both liked art. I was always excited when we had art. My teacher appreciated me, and we could talk about art. I was sad when I didn't have her as my teacher the next year. I always enjoyed art. What I had learned was that the more you have in common with your teachers the more you pay attention in class with them. You do not goof up, and get in trouble. You have fun being in their class. That is what happened to me. I had fun being in my art teacher’s class. This year in middle school, I had one thing common with my French teacher. We both liked French. Since I had this thing in common with her, I really like French class. I pay more attention, which helps learn French better. The more I understood French better, the better my French grade was. What I learned was that the more you like your teacher, the more you would try to get a good grade in that class. If you do not have anything in common with your teachers then you will probably not like your teachers. In addition, this year I had one more thing in common with my International Studies, we liked human geography. Every time I had International Studies, I would be excited to learn. I also understood better. When I learned that in 2nd semester I was not going to have her, I was sad. Now I have a new International Studies teacher. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, it definitely matters that students and teachers have things in common. When teachers and students have things in common, they interact more with each. They get to know each other. Students pay more attention, they like their teacher. If you have nothing in common with your teacher, then you probably will not like the class. You also will not be able to focus in class much. There are kids who do not have anything in common with some of their teachers or maybe all of them, and it is hard for them to focus in school. Some students try to find things they have in common with their teachers, and they find it. Then they can start to know their teachers better. Students and teachers can talk about the same thing if they have things in common. The thing is that students can get in trouble if they do not have things in common. What happens is that they will not like their teacher because they do not have anything in common with them. They will goof in class, and not pay attention. This is why it does matter for students and teachers to have things in common. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong Middle School Student Japanese Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: “You follow MY rules in MY room.” First, it is not your room. It is the school's room. Second, why even have rules? Third, why should I even listen to you? Fourth, I really hate that voice of yours. These are my first four thought that come to mind when the teacher says the rules. I am Asian. I am female. I am tall. I have glasses. I do not follow the rules. In fact, I hate the rules. I never have had much in common with my teachers. I have had a few things in common, like gender, or family, or what I favor. However, one thing I had never had in common with my teachers was having an all-Asian teacher. In addition, I have never met or had a teacher with as much opposition towards rules as much as me. I remember that back in 5th grade, I had a Norwegian female teacher, who was very strict and expected a lot out of us. She was the bane of my fifth grade school life. And since our class was so boisterous, she was a pain. For all of us. I think that the biggest reason that I disliked her was because she had a chart of rules. And I always broke them. In addition, for some reason the teacher disliked me so I was punished. If some of the teacher’s pets broke the rules, they were not punished. For an example, I broke the rule, “No talking in class while the teacher was talking.” I was punished by staying in for my recess. The other kid who was talking to me should have been punished too. But she wasn't, since she was favored. My teacher obviously did not like me. I was fine with her not liking me, because I did not like her. From having this teacher, I learned that rules are rules and if I do not follow them, the teacher will dislike me and I will have a terrible year. I want to be who I truly am so I won’t change how I act in front of teachers or other people. Because I do not want to. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, I think that having things in common with your teacher is very important. When we have things in common with our teachers, we can solve problems easier and we can have fewer problems. Though it is important to have things in common, we cannot always have things in common, and if we do, we must cherish them. For me, it is very important to have someone who I can rely on and relate to. Whether that is a friend, or a family member, or a teacher, it is very important to have someone to relate to. I honestly do not like counselors. It seems like they understand you. However, humans cannot understand everyone’s feelings. We are humans. So we tend to take sides. It's human nature and we cannot deny it. I really felt this when I was involved in a problem with a fellow classmate in 5th grade. She had misunderstood what I said and was hurt and had started crying. I tried to explain but the teacher and the counselor took sides with the crying one. So I couldn’t really do anything. I am not sure if being Asian effects any of this, but one thing for sure is that in my family, I am taught not to keep all of my emotions in and stress over them. Therefore, if it is appropriate, I will say what is on my mind. However, teachers on the other hand want "school-appropriate conversations" and they want people to feel comfortable. Not saying that I disagree, but we should be able to express our feeling and not be punished. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong Middle School Student Chinese Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I had a few connections with my first grade teacher. When I was six, in first grade, I had just moved from China. My parents already knew a lot about English. On my first day of school, my head was still full of Mandarin dialects. I knew little English during that period of my life. I had to take a class with others my age and that class would help me learn English more fluently. I would always ask my first grade teacher what others had asked her. For example, a student near me asked her how to spell a word. Then I would ask the teacher how to spell a word as well, but a word I already knew how to spell so I could make sure that the answer was what I thought it was. My teacher knew that I was learning a lot and starting to understand English more. It did not impact me a lot with my teachers being from a different area than me. I loved their personalities. In addition, my fifth grade teacher and I had a very strong bond when we would do writing with our class. When we had conferences, each time I would get to know her a bit more personally. I honestly feel like having a race connection with your teacher does not matter at all, personality matters more. If you know each other personally, it helps you have a stronger bond. That is much more important than where you are from and what language you speak. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: It might have been easier for me if some of my teachers were Chinese too. Mostly, I think being from different areas is what makes us unique. I think that one of the most important things in school is to have a bond with a certain teacher you know personally. It feels like you and the teacher have a special link. Just like a friend. The first step to becoming a friend with another person is knowing more about them. If you never knew that person, you will not be friends. It is the same with knowing teachers. That is why a bond with a teacher is important. Another thing is that when you are connected to a teacher, you are more likely to give attention to their lessons, and that way you have a larger learning opportunity. A bond like that is important becuase not all students are very engaged in what teachers have to say. Sometimes when you know more about your teacher than your classmates, you feel special since it is like a secret no one else knows about. That is another reason why having a bond with your teacher is significant. You might be more willing to talk to that teacher if you have a stronger connection with them. Photo (c) 2017 Kristin Leong High School Student Middle Eastern Muslim Heterosexual Female Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: If I am being completely honest, the only thing I have in common with my teachers is that they are mostly female – that is it. I have never encountered a Middle Eastern or even a Muslim teacher in the time that I have been in school. However, with the recent politics it is very comforting to know that many of my teachers share some of my same beliefs or at least support me in expressing my own ideas and opinions. After the inauguration this past January and after all the political protests and sadly the many violent acts against specific groups of people it was very easy to feel alone. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I came to school and almost all of my teachers and all of the office staff were wearing pins with different messages that preached equality, freedom of expression, and safety. Although I do not have a very direct commonality with my teachers, it is comforting to know that they are so accepting of who I am and whom I represent. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think it is so incredibly important for students and teachers to have things in common because it brings them closer together. Even though it is not commonly viewed this way, teachers and students have a very special and intimate relationship. Teachers help students build their character, their interests, and ultimately their future. The exchange of information that happens between a student and a teacher is so valuable and so important. However, if a student does not feel like they can trust or feel close to their teacher then it is very likely that they will not absorb the material. A teacher’s job is not to stand in front of a class and lecture their students. A teacher’s job is to connect with students and help them interpret the information and apply it to their own lives. In addition, when it comes to education, communication is one of the most important factors. If the student does not feel like they have anything in common with their teachers then that line of communication can very quickly be closed. If a student has something going on at home that prohibits them from finishing their homework, or if they are going through certain mental health issues, they need to have comfort in knowing that their teacher is someone they can come and talk to. I have seen multiple situations where a student is too afraid to talk to their teacher and ask for help because they feel like they will not understand. Having something in common with a teacher makes them less scary and more approachable. They no longer become a daunting adult, but rather a friend and someone that can easily be approached. Recently, my mosque was burned down in a very unfortunate case of arson. Coming to school and having multiple teachers ask me if I was okay, if it was the mosque I attended, and if there was anything I needed really made me feel like they cared about me and what was happening in my life both inside and outside of the classroom. I am thankful to have had amazing teachers in all my life in school and I really do believe it is because I was able to build relationships with them based on commonalities and trust. Middle School Student African African American Female First Generation American Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: I have moved to various different schools in three different school districts and most of my teachers did not relate to me by where I came from. I had mostly girl teachers. I had one teacher that was a male in the first grade. However, all of my teachers were white. While I was born in America, my mom and dad were born in Kenya and they moved to America for work. Now I can tell you that none of my teachers were African so it was hard to relate to them culture-wise. Although some teachers I could get something in common with. For example, my fourth grade teacher loved to read and write and get creative, so I could talk with her about books and poets and get to know her and create a bond. But then I moved to a new school and that bond had been mostly broken and I had to create another bond with another teacher in a new school. All my teachers had various personalities so it was hard to pick out every piece of myself to understand how to talk and relate to them. None of my teachers really tried to get to know me better, or to ask me question about myself or childhood or anything, and they didn’t really take much care in telling about themselves and showing me a side of them. There were even times when I could not talk to my friends or I could not make friends so easily partly because I moved a lot and partly because I did not relate to other kids. What I had with my teachers was not much but I seemed to connect to the other staff much more. The office assistant was an African American so sometimes I would like talking to her and have help from her. Another thing that helped is that my mom was mostly in the school I went to so I could talk to her but sometimes you might want to get away from your mom and talk to someone new. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think it is very important for teachers to have something in common with their students. Coming from a person who has moved to many schools, for me, I think it would have been easier to learn from my teachers if I did connect to them. Although having differences with my teachers did start up conversations about my different experiences. Also, I got to learn a little more about their culture and what they liked and how it even related to my experiences even though we are from two different places. The only thing that bothered me a little is that my teachers were usually all from the same place and the same culture so when I kept moving I was thinking maybe I would learn something new and I didn’t. But I learned their likes and hobbies. I had one teacher who was a little tough on the kids and I thought to myself, maybe if I started a conversation with her I can get her perspective, but I never found anything in common with her. Later on that made me realize the importance of having something in common with someone. High School Student Korean + American Female First Generation American First Child Q: What do you have in common with your teachers? A: What I have in common with my teachers is a sense of individuality. Of passion. In fact, my favorite teachers are the ones who say sarcastically and endearingly, "Oh honey, if I was in it for the money, I would not be teaching." It goes unnoticed by students often, and our relationships with teachers often become a routine one of gives homework, does homework; teaches lesson, asks question; writes test, takes test. But, teachers go into teaching because they were so passionate and so in love with their subject that they chose to dedicate their entire lives to sharing their source of happiness with the next generation. And that's pretty cool because I want my life to be one driven by passion, an excitement for living, and the desire to live nobly and selflessly for a cause too. I have teachers who, like me, love to be active in their community and are constantly buzzing with activity. It feels like as the student, I am simultaneously being inspired by their invigoration with life, AND inspiring them in the same way as well! It feels nice to know that there are adults in my life who are just as active and excited about their community as I am. It feels reassuring to know that even when I'm in the workforce, like them, I'll be able to maintain my passions and actively live life. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: As with any human relationship, similarities between students and teachers do make it easier to develop personal bonds. It's like a support system. We are at school every day, and we see our teachers every day. Teachers are the easiest people to access as a resource, and when we have similarities with these adults who we can look up to, it just feels nice. With me, I had wanted so badly to do something for the undocumented migrant workers that I had volunteered with every summer, but many adults in my life told me, "It's a very noble thought but you're just a high schooler. Leave that for college. You'll have plenty of time to find your passions then. Focus on your schoolwork, SAT, and school clubs. That's plenty enough already." I didn't feel like they understood me. Also, I'm from a very Korean background, and I realized that most of the adults telling me to drop my hopes of helping the workers, were in fact, Korean. I don't blame them for not understanding how I felt and how personal this cause was to me. Korea is a very homogeneous country. These adults, having grown up in 70s Korea, hadn't been exposed from a young age to diversity in culture and in people, like I had here in America. They didn't understand that I felt like I could relate to migrant workers. I am the type of person who's only talent is working hard. I'm not a math prodigy or born-poet. When I saw the migrants working so hard, I felt like I had to do something for them. For me, if I worked hard in school, I knew I would do well. They deserved that reassurance too. If you work hard, you should be able to do anything. Then, I met Ms. Leong. She was the only adult involved in my academic life who, for the first time, had gotten me to open up about my passion to support migrant workers. She told me she saw much of her younger self in me. She gave me the type of advice that in 20 years, I would probably want to give to my 16-year-old self. She told me, "Change starts with an individual, but is executed by a team--so go surround yourself by like-minded people." She is an activist, and is incorporating her passions into her daily life. Without having had Ms. Leong recognize me as the activist that I am and lead me and provide me resources to develop my passion, I can't imagine how different I would be. The fact that Ms. Leong and I had something in common--a passion for equality in rights and in dignity, so strong that we could not possibly suppress it--has changed my life for the better. I think it is also important to me that she is female, is also of Asian background, and is such an activist. We have much in common, which made it easier for me to be inspired by her and open up to her. Now she is a mentor, a great role model, and an awesome grown-up friend. to me. Rachel is currently getting ready for her senior year in high school filled with activism and college applications. She has spent her summers volunteering with migrant workers throughout her high school years. |
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