Years in education: 20+ Cuban-American Heterosexual Male First in family to graduate from college Middle School Science & Technology Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I started teaching in South Central Los Angeles back in 1991, I was a young Hispanic heterosexual male in a female dominated profession. Frankly, that never was an issue to me because I was raised by my mother. My father wasn't present so I was used to being around women. Teaching in L.A. was within my comfort zone because my school was 85% Hispanic and almost 15% African American. The staff I worked with in L.A. was quite diverse too. We had a Cuban-American teacher (me), a couple of Mexican-American teachers, a Panamanian-American teacher, several African American teachers, and a few Caucasian teachers! And three teachers on staff were homosexual. A great team to work with. I started teaching mixed classes of beginning English speakers to English-Only speakers. Because I could speak Spanish I moved to teaching full classes of beginning English speakers so my classes were made up of 100% Hispanic kids. I had Mexican, Salvadoran, Nicaraguan, and Guatemalen students! Back then California had a full bilingual program so that kids could learn in their native language while increasing their English learning as they progressed instead of hearing English all the time and learning what they could. When my wife and I moved to Washington, I left my Hispanic kids and moved to a rural town teaching kids that were predominantly Caucasian. It was a culture shock! While I do miss teaching Hispanic kids, I do enjoy working with the kids in my community. I live right across the street from my rural school now so I’m not just their teacher, I’m neighbor to many of my students. And I’ve been here for 20 years! I never speak Spanish anymore though. I barely remember my native tongue. I’m so Americanized that I don’t even remember what it was like being Cuban. Part of me has always thought that I am so American because I grew up in Miami. But I really didn’t. In Miami, I grew up Cuban in America. My elementary school and junior high school were both predominantly Hispanic (mostly Cuban) and African American. Now, I am all American. I’ll have to remedy that someday. I just don’t know how. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I think teachers and students having things in common matters. My own daughter admitted that her favorite teacher in 7th grade was the youngest teacher on the staff. It was my daughter who told me that she really liked that teacher because she was, "relevant." That's where I got that from because until my daughter said that to me, I didn't know the generation gap was a thing. Until my daughter mentioned relevancy, I didn't realize how much kids appreciate having teachers that they can relate to. I try to relate to my students by learning about the things they like. I have always enjoyed talking to my students about things they like. It makes school more of a family setting and less of a job. Plus, it keeps me current. I am 49 years old, almost 50. When I started teaching in grades 4 and 5 I was 24 years old. At that time I felt that I was still relevant to my students because I was young enough to understand their pop culture such as music and TV shows. Fast forward to 2017 and I'm seeing the generation gap between me and my students more and more. I refer to things such as 9/11 and have to back up and explain because of all the blank stares I get. Luckily, I'm young enough at heart to listen to some music that middle school students listen to, I watch TV shows and movies that middle school students watch, and I try to keep up with sports so when they talk about it I can converse. I am a geek at heart, a big fan of Star Trek and Star Wars, so I have quite a bit in common with my fellow geeky students. I'm also a user of social media and technology so I can connect with students who also use those. So while the generation gap is WIDE and very REAL I find ways to stay current while not being creepy, like saying, "tots cray cray." Yes, I've tried saying it and let's just say it didn't work! So now I work extra hard to connect with my students. My daughter and my students are my connection to the current generation. Reading about Gen Z is just not enough, you have to connect with Gen Z kids. Al is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow him on Twitter @educatoral.
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Years in education: 4-6 Latina Female First in family to graduate from college Kindergarten Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: When I was in school as a child in Seattle, I moved a lot and my mom did everything she could to save money for a house. We were mostly in survival mode until I turned 12, and finally bought a home in Puyallup. In Seattle, I had a very diverse group of friends whose parents valued their cultural roots. My best friends were Swedish, Venezuelan, and Polish. I didn't use Spanish at school, but I got the message that being different and having different cultural traditions was the norm. When we moved to Puyallup, it was a whole other world. Everyone was white. Although adults were nice and respectful, the message I got in school here was very different. Kids here had a specific association with Latinos, and it was very negative, so I stopped using Spanish all together. Especially as a teenager, when it is so important to affirm a child's identity, I wish I had come across adults or students who were curious about my culture. I wish I had come across people who thought it was an asset to speak another language, or who expressed positive views about those I identified with. Instead, I worked very hard from 12-18 to hide things about me that made me a Latina so that I could be socially successful in school. The more my mom tried to force me to use Spanish at home, the more I rebelled and refused to use it. I still had a great experience in school and I can look back on with fond memories, but I wonder all the time where my language skills would be if I hadn't stopped using Spanish for 6 years. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: When I was doing my student teaching, I became close to many of the Latina girls in my 5th grade class. Since my Spanish isn't 100% on point anymore, I tend to use it in Spanglish style, switching between languages depending on which one lends itself better to the message I'm trying to get across. The girls communicated in a similar style, and we clicked right away. I think there's a huge need for bicultural models in my generation and in the generations after. The immigrant generation (parents) provide guidelines on "who we are" and "where we come from," but are not always able to help their kids navigate an American world. With this group of 5th grade girls, I felt like I could encourage part of their identities that made them Latinas, but I could also talk to them about college and careers and parents. One event that struck me most about our interactions was when one of the girls asked me to be her Godmother for her Quinceañera. I was excited and honored, but when I asked her what I needed to do to prepare for such an important day, she laughed and said, "You know! You've had one, right?" I shook my head. "No! I'm Peruvian." We have a lot of Latinos in our school district, but most are Mexican. We were able to share with each other what kinds of things bonded us as Latinos, but also the differences we have between countries. It was a great moment of learning, but also served as a lesson for us both. You can always learn from each other, no matter your position as teacher or student. We were equals in that moment, and I hope that I can create more moments of that kind of equality in my classroom as long as I teach. Jill is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow her on Twitter @LlamaLovesK. Years in Education: 7-10 African-American + Native-American Heterosexual Female Chemistry and Forensic Science Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: My students are from different backgrounds, and we have gone through some of the same things when it comes to racism in an America. I have taught predominately at low-income schools with immigrant students. My students judge me the first day meeting me. They called me an Oreo, white girl, rich girl, etc. Once the students hear the stories of what I have gone through, then they realize that we are not different at all. I tell the students that I grew up in a rural town that was predominately Caucasian. In elementary school, students would not be my friend because I was black and they thought they would become dirty like me. I had teachers call me the n-word. Police followed me because they didn't believe my family lived in a particular place in town. Police stopped me because they didn't think I could afford the car I have. They've followed me in stores. Once the students hear my story, they talk to my about their stories. They understand that we have more in common and relate to each other. Though I didn't grow up in a low-income area, we have experienced the same things in life. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Yes, it does so we can relate to each other in the classroom. My students and I have been able to relate to each other on many things. Not just on racism but on life. Students that relate to teachers will open up to teachers and work harder in the classroom than students that don't. Most students that don't have things in common with their teacher will not work for them. I have noticed that when I tell my stories to my students and let them know about my life, they tell me about theirs. Some of my students have gone to my university and pursued chemistry just like I did. You end up helping the students in the long run and start to see them succeeding in life. Aletha is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator. She is currently working with English Language Learners to create resources for teachers inspired by project-based learning. Follow her on Twitter @alwillia. Years in Education: 7-10 Black Gay Male High School Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I am a person of color who is still discovering what it means to be woke everyday. I used to see the world colorblindly, if I'm honest. More and more often, I'm scared when I see a police officer for no reason. I'm scared for my students. I try to model what it means to be an educated young Black man. I don't always feel successful and that story resonates with students. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: Students MUST have things in common with their teachers -- particularly our most vulnerable students. They need to see themselves in the people who see with them more than their parents. We must share our stories as a community, holding them with truth and grace. That is how we are going to get through life together. Evin is a 2017 Washington State Teacher Leader. Follow him on Twitter @baritoneblogger. Years in education: 4-6 Asian + Caucasian Heterosexual Female Middle School Math Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I am exactly like my students. My students are growing up in an affluent suburb of a larger city. I went to school in the North shore suburbs of Chicago. I would have classified my upbringing as upper middle class much like the students that I teach. I am mixed race, much like many of my students, or at least they are one or the other race. I had the same experiences they had, I hear their stories and I have those same stories. I am just like my students in almost every way. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I have taught in 3 schools before this school, and I am finally at a school where I find the students the most similar. The first and second schools I taught in, there were major religious sects present, I am not religious. The third school I taught in was a large transient immigrant population and high population of free/reduce lunch students, this is not the kind of school I went to. I find that at the current school I am at, I can relate to my students, and I share their same stories. They say that you teach how you were taught, perhaps I do in some ways, I am always trying to challenge and enrich their thinking versus trying to motivate them to want to learn. They already want to learn, much like I had wanted to. I will never be a good teacher to the students who need motivating; I am not a cheerleader. I will never be a good teacher to those who have had a different upbringing than me; I cannot relate. I believe that for me to be the best teacher I can possibly be, I need to be able to relate to my students; have things in common with them. I love the school that I teach at, probably because this is the kind of school I went to. Follow Regen on Twitter @regenlorden. Years in education: 2-3 Mexican Male LGBTQ First in family to graduate from college High School AVID Teacher Q: What do you have in common with your students? A: I currently teach in the community where I was born and raised. My students and I both share the knowledge and experiences of our culture and the influences of our social and geographical area. We, my students and I, were raised with Mexican American traditions and share our community as part of our upbringing narrative. Q: Does it matter that students and teachers have things in common? A: I am a firm believer that "students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" (John C. Maxwell). Having commonalities with students allow teachers to make connections with them, and in return, gives students the sense of comfort and belonging. Marcos is a 2017 TED-Ed Innovative Educator is the Founder of the South Texas Ideas Festival. To learn more about how this event is invigorating the Rio Grande Valley and the youth who will someday lead there, visit stxideas.com. |
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