Since 2004, I’ve been in formation as a teacher, learning from every experience and interaction. I pride myself on creatively engaging my students, developing close relationships with a community, and empowering young people to impact the world. Sounds great on paper, but here’s a glimpse of what that looks like.
Why should a classroom be contained to four walls? We explore a living, vibrant world full of beauty and problems, full of opportunity for young learners. One immersion experience I offer in my hometown of Seattle is taking my students to the International District as an extension of the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. As a former reporter for the local International Examiner, I lead students on a walking tour, offering historical and contemporary insight, as well as taking my class to a dim sum lunch. Hope they know how to use chopsticks!
Practical application of skills is important. From left to right, the first photo shows a student leading a cooking lesson during my World Languages and Cultures class. In the middle photo, a seventh grader teaches the class to make a tent in the woods after reading a book on survival. The picture on the right shows a debrief between my seventh graders with the Head of School, after proposing a middle grade foreign language program.
I spent nine years fine tuning, updating, and keeping relevant the culminating project at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. Dubbed the Juan Diego Project to reflect our namesake’s story, each 8th grader undertakes a yearlong service experience where they research a social justice issue in depth. Throughout the years, their final products have included TED or “GUAD” Talks, exhibiting at our school open house, community presentations, and website development. Students graduate knowing they’ve made a positive impact on our community, both local and international. They also leave with the ability to research using a variety of databases through the public library system.
Four of my students were the youngest to participate in the Teen Action Fair at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center in 2015. That same year, our class collaborated with college students at Seattle University’s Poverty Education Center to learn more about global hunger and inequities the poor and vulnerable face in our own city.
Again, using service and location as a vehicle for education, I have engaged students in intergenerational relationships, town clean-ups in Lahaina, HI, and invasive species removal in the Honokowai Valley, Maui.
Speaking of intergenerational relationships, empowering older students to lead younger students is another staple of my pedagogy. The call to leadership is part of the formation of the whole person, and a life skill that is invaluable for adolescents. Here, an 8th grader has learned about nomadic life in Nigeria, adapted her knowledge into a children’s storybook, and shared her story with second graders.
I’ve co-directed musicals for 12 years. Emphasis on “co-“. My role has been to work with students on acting, vocals, choreo, blocking, set design, sound management, event coordination, fundraising… okay, I’ve had my hand in pretty much every aspect of putting on a musical. But I’ve always done so with a team. I’m not doing one of these solo! One unique aspect of the musicals I’ve led at OLG is that it is a mandatory, curriculum-based academic experience for all 8th graders. A rite of passage, if you will. In the process, which is fun for some and awkward for others, students graduate with a wealth of new skills and, perhaps more importantly, memories to last a life time. Note – the third picture is actually not a musical production. It is a house band I formed in 2018 with kids who just wanted to jam. We had fun.
I tell my students, “When you walk through my doors, I’m your teacher for life.” So, at any point, if they need help or advice, I will do what I can to help them out. Teaching is my world, and consequently, so are my students. They mean the world to me. After they graduate, I love reconnecting with them at school events. I’ve even organized an alumni basketball group that plays weekly. Truly, the connections we form are the number one reason why I teach.
I will conclude with my mission statement, and hopefully, it now has greater context.
I empower my students with the abilities to write, speak and read effectively, and to think critically. With these skills, I engage them with their community, both local and global, through service, research and advocacy. As an educator, I seek opportunities to challenge myself and grow in my own understanding of the world. As a writer, I seek to tell stories about human relationship.
I hope this photo essay sheds a little bit of light on my passion as an educator. In 15 years, this is merely a glimpse. Peace and aloha for reading.