Our students care about changing their lives. They are going to
make something of themselves, despite their socioeconomic status,
and they know, like we do, that there are people in the world who
will try to bring them down. Not at South Valley, though, they know
they can succeed here.
I had the opportunity to read Cynthia Walker’s column “Teachers’ Salary and One View of a Pie in the Face”. I am sure you are very good at what you do, as you stated. However, I would like to invite you to come to South Valley for a day and teach math to the typical 175 students our math teachers might have in any given semester. If you decide to come on Nov. 16, make sure you wear your international clothes, because it’s International Day here at South Valley.
You might want to come in a bit early, maybe around 7:30 a.m., because that’s when most of our staff comes in. Not because they HAVE to, but because they want to. Around 8 a.m., before school begins, many of our students will be in the classroom working, not because a teacher “made them”, but because they have been instilled with the desire and motivation to learn. Maybe you missed that on your last visit to South Valley.
Yes, there is chit-chat going on all day. We talk quite a bit.
Maybe you overheard our conversation last week about Italian Renaissance painters, or maybe you were in science class and overheard a rather loud explosion when a certain teacher blew up a pumpkin to drive home the difference between a solid and a gas. Perhaps you were in math class last week when one of our teachers had students learn spatial reasoning using M.C. Escher’s tessellations. Maybe you heard our students talking about our new tennis courts, or the fact that at South Valley, they learn to swim.
Perhaps you mistook disruption for learning. After all, we don’t make our students sit in one spot for too long. We like to let them learn in their own style.
Sometimes that involves moving outside of the traditional 1950’s style of teaching. Many of us thought you mistakenly thought chit-chat could have been students in choir singing about their cultural heritage, or maybe it was a saxophone you heard playing Bach. Perhaps you heard our students talking about one of the many trips they might take this year, including the 6th grade science camp trip they just got back from, or maybe it was the trip to New York some of our eighth graders will be going on.
How do we have all these great things at South Valley, even when over 70 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch? I’ll tell you, Mrs. Walker, we do whatever it takes to make sure our students have EVERYTHING they deserve. That might mean we have to take a pie or two occasionally, but we do it. We do whatever we need to do, because South Valley kids deserve the same privileges and education that your seven students do, even though many of our students couldn’t afford the camera to take the picture to send into your school for admission.
We would love to have you come out to South Valley. We will be here usually until 5 p.m. – not because we have to, but because our students work harder than any other students I have ever seen. This week we’ll stay until 5 p.m., and on Thursday past 7. Why? Because our parents work very hard, and sometimes it’s hard for them to get to conferences. We try to make it as convenient as possible for them.
Our students care about changing their lives. They are going to make something of themselves, despite their socioeconomic status, and they know, like we do, that there are people in the world who will try to bring them down. Not at South Valley, though, they know they can succeed here.
I have a hunch your students might be going on to college regardless of the fact that you taught them algebra. Oddly enough, many of my students do say good morning to me, but not because I require them to, it’s because they want to.
Oh, and this past Friday night, we are sorry we missed you at our Faculty Follies show. You missed our staff working together as a team, not because we didn’t have anything better to do with our Friday night, but because we all wanted to help our students raise money for a trip of a lifetime, for many, perhaps the first time they will go away from home. You can still catch the show on You Tube if you are curious. There is a link on our student-run Web page.
If you do you’ll see many acts, including Principal John Perales dancing this time instead of taking pies in the face.
Amber Woodward is a teacher at South Valley Middle School in Gilroy. Anyone interested in submitting a guest column may contact Editor Mark Derry at
ed****@****ic.com.
