MODELO DE RECLUTAMIENTO DE PERSONAL

I didn’t want to sub, so [when] I graduated in December I had a contract in January [in the] city of Shoreside. Most of my colleagues were holding out for suburban jobs and they went on to sub for couple of years or more. I was willing to go an urban [school district] . . . [I was] 22 from suburban Riverdale and I am like throw me in [to the] city of

Shoreside schools, throw me in, I got [my] swimming trunks, like let's go.

[Teaching at Shoreside] was great . . . I [was] working with middle school kids—seven and eighth grade boys, well [not] everyone, but the boys were the most memorable. [I was working with] seventh and eighth graders in Shoreside [in the] eastern part of the city: high crime, low-SES, notorious for violence, drugs, the loud noise from the [train] as it rattles by. It was a life experience man . . . but a good one because I was able to make connections with the kids [and] I wondered if [I was] cooking with something here because if these kids now [wanted] to come to school and they feel like it is a little more purposeful for them because at least one of their teachers is going to get to know them on a personal level and try his damnedest to make this curriculum and these activities relevant to their lives and not what the curriculum resource said they were supposed to be like, then maybe that is not so bad. I bonded [with the students].

[I was teaching] seventh and eighth grade English classes . . . I only taught there half a year (the grant ended). And then I went to another Shoreside school . . . which is just out of the city, extremely diverse district in Shoreside that borders . . . into the suburbs. So [I worked in Shoreside] three years total. [This teaching experience] shaped me in a lot of ways. It shaped me in that [it gave me perspective on] the human element [of] connecting with people and making them feel like they are a part of [the school] and [that] all kids can learn. It made me feel like that's real, ‘cause before (the way I desired to build relationships) was confined to the University . . . but when it worked in a hard core neighborhood . . . then that made me think, ok it could work [anywhere]. You know, when it is working with Chinese students who were there for engineering, and it is also working with a14 year-old Puerto Rican [student], who is rumored to have gang activity, that was meaningful to me.

It validated the process (building relationships) and made me want to continue to do it. Also . . . I had [things] going on in my life [that] helped because I am no longer in a college dorm getting a little financial help from my mom and dad. I am making a paycheck. . . . I'd say it shaped me as a person first, an educator second. But, then I see them [as] one . . . at the same time.

There are a lot of [stories] . . . One that really made a difference to me [is about a] young man had been held back twice, this is in my second year in Shoreside when I moved to teach fifth grade, and [the young man] had just lost his father, his father died, was drug related, and his mom and the young man were in shambles. I mean very tough, [the] boy [was] probably thirteen in [the] fifth grade, which is already a tough day at school. Everybody knows you’re older, everybody knows you got held back, and every school day was tough [and] then you lose dad . . . then it is just you and mom. And I worked with them a lot. You know, you always say no one is your favorite [and] you treat [students] the same, but I gravitated to this kid, ‘cause he needed help. And it was [the] first time I started to think about [the] coordination of [social] services. What is my relationship with the counselor so we could get him some help with the counselor? What is my relationship with outside agencies? So I could tell mom and help her, and [to] inform her as to what she has at her disposal—so that was big.

Also, just making sure that personally . . . when he was going to be in class, he knew he was going to be supported [and] he could maybe laugh a little bit. The way I used to teach . . . we were having fun while we were doing it, so he could crack a few smiles [and he could] get away from life for a while. And that was probably in the fall of like October or November 2007 and then January comes around [and] we had a parent-teacher conference. Mom breaks down telling me, “We don't know what we would do without you, you’re such a positive influence on my son, he needed you at this time . . . I believe this may be a blessing.” Overwhelming stuff, I am like “No ma’am, I am just doing what I need to be doing . . . it's all good. This is what I should do, this is what my job says I'm supposed to do.” But she insisted and that meant a lot. So, that story [was] further validation . . . knowing that who knows where that kid would have been emotionally. He was still going to be in school [because] mom was going to bring him and he was going to go to school. But, she thought that accelerated his process, his ability to grieve, his ability to have another purpose other than, "Oh my life is horrible." So that was cool. That's one I could think of right off the top of my head. I think about him a lot, and [his mother].