Monday - Welcoming with Foster Care
My name is Jimmy Garcia. I was born and raised in Ecuador and came to America about a year ago. Learning English has been a difficult task for me but I was fascinated by the technical terms in literature and the beauty of writing where opinions mattered but mathematics. I cannot see myself ever enjoying mathematics and the worst of it all math has been a constant struggle. But now being in seventh grade with Ms. Aguilar I cannot say that I still dislike Mathematics just as I did before which is a strange feeling. Ms. Aguilar teaching methods toward mathematics is very different from my previous teachers even now writing a diary about this is my teacher's idea and the reason I started doing this… well it is because… I want to show how much being in her class really helped me a lot with my math skills. It all started with…
https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/8-ways-make-students-feel-welcome-first-day-school
On the first day of class it was a Monday just like this day. She welcomed us one by one with a handshake, high-five or a “good-morning” and told us to sit where we wanted to sit. We as latino kids got all excited and started sitting next to the friends, in my case, I sat next to my two guy friends Jairo and Emiliano. It was strange because Ms. Aguilar did not make a sound but just stood there in the middle of the class as if she was waiting for us to stay quiet. Some students pause their conversations and their movements. Then she clapped her hands twice and introduced herself. I think she specifically said…
“Good Morning Everyone! My name is Ms. Aguilar or you can call me Mr. A or Ms. J. I will be your seventh grade teacher. As you see I allowed you to sit next to your best friend and I let you talk and when you were ready to pay attention I started to speak. Now the reason why I let you do that is because it's the first day of school and I want to get to know you…”
Some students turned around and started shushing him out and others just blurted giggles and well I was just looking at Ms. Aguilar's reaction and I believed she surprised everyone in the room. She started speaking in Spanish to the student and apologized to him about speaking too fast. So she repeated herself and addressed the issue that happened when she got interrupted. She asked the student his name and his name was Julio. Then she said the following:
“I understand that what Julio did could be shocking or funny but I respect what Julio did because he pointed out my mistakes. But Julio, what could you have done to pause me instead of interrupting in between my sentences.”
Julio stayed silent and everyone was a bit scared because we thought Ms.Aguilar was mad toward Julio but when she gave us time to answer she continued to answer the question that Julio could have raised his hand but she was grateful he spoke up. She also wanted to emphasize how she was not upset or angry towards Julio. Everyone felt relaxed afterwards. That day Ms. Aguilar made us do icebreakers where she introduced herself first answering the following questions:
What is our Name? Our Parents' origin/roots? A small description of their families? The Hobbies or pets we have? What is our favorite subject?
She gave us the choice whether to say it in Spanish or English. Every time a student spoke she would write it down and raise her hand and ask questions to the student who would talk. Then it was my turn and unfortunately I was the last one so I was super nervous.
“I am Jimmy Garcia and I am from Ecuador and came with my family to America a year ago. My English is not very good but one hobby is teaching myself English by watching anime or tv shows. I live with my mom and dad where they work every single day until very late around 8pm and it is usually lonely because I do not have siblings or any pets. I really am thankful for my friends here because I hang out with them after school. I don’t like Math but I really enjoy English.”
The reason why I was scared is because Ms. A asked me why I did not like Math. I stood there nervous and I felt everyone was staring me down and I couldn't utter a word. Ms. Aguilar stepped in and talked about the reason she asked me that question because she felt it would be easier for me to explain because my English was clear and perfect. She also talked about her dislike toward the other subject and why she became a Math teacher so it was okay if most of the students in the classroom disliked mathematics.
On that day she assigned a project where she wanted us to create a cartoon version of us. She provided a detailed description in English and she also had a Spanish version on the back page. Before she dismissed the class she asked everyone if they were okay doing the assignment and when she saw no one raised their hand she dismissed class.
Ms. Aguilar welcomed everyone again with a handshake, high-five or with a “good-morning”. It was the same routined from yesterday and everyone got loud but Ms. A clapped her hands twice and everyone paused their conversation and their complete focus was on her. It was surprising how everyone reacted which Ms. A started talking about the project and asked us about the project. If it was hard or easy or was she too mean or too nice?
Emiliano confessed after Ms. A asked that question that he did not do it because he just did not have the materials to do it. Then he apologized to Ms. A about not doing the project. She started collecting everyone's project and gave Emiliano to do the project in class. She asked Emiliano why he did not inform her before class. He said he was avergonzado meaning ashamed. Ms. A spoke to everyone that no one should feel ashamed to share their situations that they could speak to her privately if they do not want to share publicly. Ms. Aguilar really emphasizes the importance of being comfortable with her but with respect.
After that everyone would let Ms. A know when they could not do an assignment, or asked Ms. A with questions if they did not understand her lesson. Ms. A learned really quickly everyone named the project she assigned us. The notes she took on our icebreakers she taped it on our projects that she hung up on the wall. Every day she would welcome us with a smile on her face and mention our names and give us the option whether to do the following whether it be a handshake, high-five or a “good morning”. Everyone sits on their choice seats but that all changed on a certain Tuesday.
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