It’s Whom You Teach, Not Just What You Teach

By Dr. Sonia Nieto

Angeles Pérez, a fourth-grade bilingual teacher in her second year of teaching in the Sheldon Independent School District in Texas, beams when she talks about her students. They’re her buddies, she says, and she continues, “I make it a point to every day greet them at the door. I’m at the door, I’m smiling. And at the end of each day, I leave with a hug and they run to me to give me a hug and it’s the best feeling because they care so much about me that they will do for me. They will work for me because they know I work for them. I love them.”

Roger Wallace, a veteran teacher, has been the only African American male teacher in his school since he began teaching there 36 years ago. He had not originally planned to become a teacher but rather a juvenile justice lawyer. He had always loved working with kids, and he did well on his law boards and gained admission to law school. But he abandoned the idea of law after he became hooked on teaching in his senior year in college when he had an internship in an after-school program in Worcester, Massachusetts. He found the work so rewarding that he thought, “Where can I work with a body of kids before they get into a great deal of trouble?” He realized, he said, that “it had to be in a school.” Immediately after graduating, he became a teacher.

Angeles Pérez and Roger Wallace, along with about 20 other teachers – about half of them teachers of color – are the subject of my new book, From Surviving to Thriving: Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds (Heinemann, forthcoming). It is a book I have been thinking about for some time because I have been inspired by the many excellent teachers I have worked with over the years. At the same time, I worry about the constant discourse that positions students of color as challenges at best, problems at worst, and I wanted to present teachers who instead view these students as a joy and a possibility.

The teachers I interviewed for the book  differ from one another in many ways: They come from school districts throughout the nation, some urban, some rural, some in-between; they teach various subject areas in early childhood, elementary, or secondary schools; they are different in ethnicity, age, and reasons for entering the profession, and the students they teach are also ethnically and racially diverse; in experience, they range from novice to veteran. At the same time, these teachers share a common vision: passionate about teaching, they love their craft and their students, and they understand that what they teach is not as important as whom they teach. In what follows, I briefly highlight Angeles Pérez and Roger Wallace to see what lessons they hold for other teachers and for all of us who care about children of color and their futures.

Angeles Pérez jokes that she’s a Puerto Rican transplant in a heavily Mexican American community, but she challenges the stereotype that all Latinos are alike. She has made it her responsibility to learn about her students’ Mexican and Central American backgrounds because, she says, if her students’ identities are visible in the curriculum, learning is more exciting, and students become better writers and more enthusiastic learners. At the same time, she insists that each student is also an individual and it’s the teacher’s responsibility to figure each student out and then tap into his or her interests.

A teacher of language arts, social studies, and ESL (English as a Second Language), Angeles teaches in a school where 87 percent of the students are Latinos/as and 96 percent are classified as economically disadvantaged. Angeles said that she purposely chose this school because so many of the students live in poverty and they deserve excellent teachers. In explaining her decision, she says that it’s  unfair that children who live in poverty and attend poorly resourced schools are rejected: “I read a book that said all the great teachers want to go to all of the great schools. But what about the kids that it’s not their fault? Maybe they’re economically disadvantaged, so you’re going to get stuck with the leftovers?”

Although Angeles is just 22 years old, when she talks about teaching, it is clear that she is wise beyond her years. She bubbles over with enthusiasm when describing her students whom she calls her “babies,” saying “I’m their biggest fan.”  About teaching, she says, “I come out of school and I feel like a really cool person because these kids just bring you up and I like to think that I do the same for them.”  For example, given the low status of bilingual programs in most schools, Angeles was ecstatic when one of her students won the spelling bee in English at her school: “That for me was so big that I felt like I won the spelling bee! Their success is my success, I guess.”

Angeles achieves her objectives by making sure to set aside time to get to know each of her students. For one, she has a built-in “hanging out time” because for her, what is most important is “to get to know your kid.” She recounts the story of a mother who came to see her in tears because her son had never been happy in school before this year: “He had told her that since my name is Angeles, I was an angel for him because he’s never had a teacher understand him. For me, that day I cried. I cried my eyes out because it just goes to show that they know when you care and if you show them you care, they care and they will work for you.”

According to Angeles, thriving as a teacher goes beyond students scoring well on tests. Although the students she taught in her first year of teaching did very well on the state test (a few even went from the 19^th to the 90^th percentile, an astonishing accomplishment), thriving is about more: “I feel as if I’m thriving in the fact that the TAKS in Texas is on the side burner; I know they’re going to succeed in that.” To accomplish this, Angeles helps students set high goals for themselves at the beginning of the year. But as happy as she was with the test results, she said that seeing her students learn to accept who they are and to be happy with themselves is her greatest achievement.

Roger Wallace, a veteran sixth-grade teacher in the Amherst, Massachusetts Public Schools, a college town of about 35,000, has a legion of fans in town. Because he is the only African American male teacher in the school,  many people of color in the community want him to  teach their children (although many White children and their families also covet a place in his class). The school is quite diverse, with about 65 percent White students, and with African Americans, Latinos/as, Cambodians, and others making up the remainder. In terms of social class, his students range from those who are very wealthy to those who live in poverty.

Roger thinks that there is no greater calling than teaching, and as a Black man, he says that he has certain responsibilities. Part of his cultural legacy, he says, is to accept all children for who they are rather than what he, or anyone else, expects them to be. He explained, for instance, that some White teachers expect children of color to be just like the White kids. But he says, “Can you teach them as they are? Instead of ‘I’ll teach them when they become what I want, and then they’ll be ready to learn?’” His advice to teachers: “If you want to be a successful teacher of children of diverse backgrounds, put your stuff away.”

Roger says he thrives by keeping teaching new. No two groups of kids are alike, and as a result, every class is his favorite class, and he gives his all to each of the students he teaches. Although he has challenging students every year, he told a story about his stepfather to describe how he views these challenges. He says his stepfather was a skilled carpenter, and he told Roger, “There’s never a bad piece of wood. There’s only wood that needs extra planing. You have to find the right purpose for the piece of wood.” That has become Roger’s philosophy about his students as well: He pushes for excellence with each student by listening and learning from them. For him, that is what it means to create a more empowered learner.

For Roger, teaching is about trust. He shows this trust, for example, by going to his students’ homes to help them organize their rooms so that they can study more efficiently. He builds relationships with parents by meeting them where they will feel comfortable. He explains, “I thrive because I like to have parent conferences in laundromats. If I know a parent goes to a laundromat on Thursdays, I show up with clean hands and an attitude to fold everything but the underwear.”  He has, he says, the “country doctor philosophy” because education is not a 9-3 job. He sees himself not only as a teacher, but also as a friend, a neighbor, and a counselor to his students. Roger makes sure that every child in his class has his phone number and feels free to call him anytime.

Being in Roger’s class is about more than the content that he teaches; it is also about helping students figure out who they are and what will help them learn. He says that to be successful with students of color, you have to love them for 6 1/2 to 7 hours, 180 days, and you have to stick with them. “So,” he says, “to teach kids of diverse backgrounds, you have to be someone who can shuffle a lot of cards.” Those cards include being effective with White students as well, many of whom have been changed forever because of having had him as a teacher.

What can we learn from Roger and Angeles? Even in these brief glimpses into their world, we have seen that for thriving teachers,these are true:

• Teaching is an act of love. Effective teachers know that students who feel loved and valued are free to learn. Thus, teaching is primarily about forging a connection with students, not just teaching the curriculum.

• Effective teaching takes a combination of courage and humility. It means crossing cultural and social class boundaries,beingwilling to learn from those  unlike oneself and relishing the opportunity to do so. It also implies constantly looking for ways to stay motivated and fresh.
• Being an effective teacher of students of diverse backgrounds means being a learner of content, students, and families. It means keeping abreast of one’s profession, learning who the students are and what makes them tick and learning about their families and communities  to build respectful relationships with them all.

Angeles and Roger  differ in many ways to be sure, but they share an outlook of teaching that transcends gender, race, and experience. It is an outlook that views each child, regardless of background or circumstance, as a learner capable of great things, now and in the future.