Building Strong Children, Instead of Repairing Broken Men
Attending Prairie View, A&M University has had a profound impact on how I view the world and the condition that we are currently in. Growing up I had always been in classes that were Pre-Ap, AP, or Dual Credit. This type of challenging coursework has paid dividends in regard to my academic career in college. However, not everyone took on those same challenges and in fact struggled for one reason or another in regular classes. I experienced this first hand working as a Peer Tutor at PVAMU. I had the privilege of tutoring students in College Algebra, Trigonometry, and General Biology. Working with those students opened my eyes to the fact that not everyone was encouraged to do well or provided the same resources as myself to thrive academically. I had to perfect my levels of patience to effectively and efficiently bring the students who sought my help up to speed and eventually thrive in the subject that initially made them cringe. It brought joy and a wonderful sense of fulfillment knowing that I had a hand in preventing a student from failing or bringing someone from a C to a B. I have no doubt that working as a Biology Teacher would grant me the same level of fulfillment as I was able to take this experience to other areas of employment and as a means of serving my community.
While still navigating my early years of undergrad, I was asked to assist a very seasoned and inspiring teacher in helping students with Math as a part of the Dream Camp Program at Greater Mount Zion in Brazoria, Texas. While there I was able to open the minds of high school students who attended areas of Algebra and Biology. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to assist them in regard to their education and I was even able to see the fruits of my labor from my time at Prairie View. It turns out one of the students I tutored in Trigonometry was the granddaughter of one of the members of that church. Working with the children and in this case young adults allows me to give back and lend a helping hand to the generation coming behind me.
Shortly after I graduated from Prairie View, I was able to gain even more experience working with High School Students as a Senior Academic Tutor for Wisdom High School (formally Lee High School) as a part of the Apollo 20 Fellowship Program. I was able to work with a variety of kids from multiple backgrounds in Algebra. Being that this school was predominantly Hispanic, I was able to learn a few things from them as well. In the short time that was there I learned formal and informal Spanish from the students while I taught them Algebra. In doing so I found that many of the students were actually quite bright but no one had taken the time to actually reach out to them in a way they could understand. I was excited to be able to not only find a job that allowed me to assist with their learning process but that the experience I had gained here I could take with me anywhere. It hurt my spirit when the program was discontinued due to budget constraints but my supervisors and the principal assured all of the Fellows that this was no fault of their own but due to HISD becoming "too rich". Thankfully I was able to continue this type of occupation at Sylvan Learning Center where I am still helping in educating our nation's youth.
Although the Apollo 20 Program came to an end, it did not stop me from pursuing a career in education. From August 2017-August 2019, I worked as a Science Teacher for Children's Learning Adventure. While at the Riverstone location, I was able to learn how to run a class and what it takes to prepare for a successful class. I had the opportunity to work with an incredibly diverse group of students from multiple backgrounds and age groups. I found that not only did I have to learn how to adjust the lesson or experiment for ages, but many students did not have an affinity for Science, Mathematics, or anything Left-Brained for that matter. Instead of allowing their apathy towards the class to get the better of them, I worked with my audience and found ways to grab their attention and ultimately teach them in the process.
It wasn't until the height of the Pandemic that I was able to finally exercise my goal of teaching. I had the opportunity to teach my first and second class at Varnett Public Schools. Here I took special care to hone in on how to craft my lessons for differentiated delivery. I learned how to lean on others when necessary. Most importantly I learned just how daunting this mission is and I have even more growing to do in my mind, spirit, and my craft to continue to be successful for the community I serve. The dedicated individuals there definitely inspired me to take my new teaching career to heights I did not think possible.
Teaching for me goes beyond teaching content. The profession is educating, nurturing, and cultivating young minds into being better than they intended for themselves. When students are observing or conducting an experiment and they get that spark to want to know more and do more is when I have earned my check. I cannot wait to be able to provide those sparks many times over working towards the academic success of the students I serve.