New Teacher Interviews

Q: Can you tell me about your educational background and what led you to become a teacher?

Jonathan Chang: “I went to Cal State Channel Islands for a bachelor's in English, and I stuck around there after for the teaching credential program for another year and a half or so. And right now, I'm currently pursuing a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Grand Canyon University online. And I chose to become a teacher because it was, I would say, I was really inspired by the high school English teachers that I had. I had a really good time in their classes and learned a lot.”

Hannah Cutting: “I went to school actually in this district. I went to Canyon. I was a Canyon Cowboy. While I was there, I had a lot of really great teachers, and I had some teachers that were not so great. And it was the not-so-great teachers that ended up pushing me to education. I remember having a conversation with my anatomy teacher my senior year because my senior year I was a student service. And she was like, ‘Well what do you wanna do with your life? Why are you doing this instead of taking any other elective.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I wanna be a teacher, but I don’t know' cause I’m so nervous because what if I end up like those ones who don’t like kids and whatever.’ And she was like, ‘You have to become a teacher. You don’t have a choice. That’s what you have to do.’ And I was like, ‘Okay!’ So, I decided I was going to become a teacher and I went to school at the University of Alabama Birmingham with the intention of being a teacher in California, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. So, I eventually ended up changing my major from education to English. And then going back here for my credentials. And then I got my master’s after that. So basically I taught at a college level before I ever taught at the secondary level, middle school and high school, so I taught for a couple of years in college and then I came back and here I am.

Donald Buer: “I guess my background is in, well, math. I have both my bachelor's and my master's degree in math. I got my bachelor's degree from Washington State University and my master's from the University of Northern Colorado. And I think I knew I wanted to be a math teacher when I was 16. I was an Algebra 2 Trig. And, I think I got the highest or the second highest grade in the class. And I really started to like it. I started to enjoy helping my friends out with their problems and answering their questions. So that's when I started thinking about being a teacher.”

Newton Okewoye: “I'm just gonna tell you. When I was in, what you call here in America, 9th grade, we had a club at school called JETS Club. It's called Junior Engineering and Techno/Technological Students. So our seniors, like the twelfth graders, would go around and look for smart kids and try to teach them stuff that is beyond their class level. So I was one of those students that they picked out of school then, while I was in my ninth grade. The school used to be from 6th grade, which you call sixth grade to twelfth grade, was the comprehensive kind of school. So they would take the ninth graders to go teach. So, they would so during some of those JETS Club events, they would say, ‘Hey. Go teach the sixth graders, seventh graders, eighth graders math or some kind of science.’ So I remember that I used to do math a lot because I liked math, and they thought I was good at math. That's what triggered my teaching instincts. And they always said, ‘Oh, you teach very well. You understand it.’ So it started in ninth grade. So, I kept teaching till I became the president. By the time I got to twelfth grade, ultimately, I became the head boy. And when I graduated high school in 1996, I was home waiting to get into the university. One of my teachers came to our house and talked to my mom saying, ‘Hey. The principal wants your son to come back and be a teacher at our school.’ So I was 17 when I started teaching. So when I entered university, while I was studying, I studied food technology in my first grade. It was an engineer, it was like food engineering. And while I was there, I was still a full-time teacher outside. Because you don't need a credential in Nigeria to be a teacher. You just have to know what you're doing. So that's how I taught all through. So I've been teaching since 1996, November. I've always taught up till now.”

Dena de Vera: “I have a bachelor in cinema television arts. I have a master's in education, and I have a CTE credential, which is a career technical education credential, which allows me to teach a program like this. Prior to teaching I was a TV producer. And so I did that for many years for a lot of different TV shows. I did reality, documentaries, and competition shows. Some were Emmy nominated and I love them and I love that world. And when I was kinda done with that career and ready to do something else, I wanted to teach what I learned, which is why I'm a career technical educator, which is why I'm a CTE teacher. So I'm actually teaching a small window of what we do in that industry for real, to the students in my class now.”

Nicholas Thompson: “So I started in special education at Rosemead High School in Rosemead, California. That was my first experience in special education. That's when I realized that becoming a teacher was my goal, my career goal. So I started off taking classes at East Los Angeles City College, ELAC. Really enjoyed ELAC. I got my associate degree in social sciences over there. From ELAC, I transferred into Cal State LA, Golden Eagles. I got my bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies. I entered Cal State LA's credential program, teaching credential program. I started off at Cal State LA, and I ended up transferring to the LACOE program, LA County of Education, where I continued my credential program, and now I am here at Valencia High School.”

Samantha Villareal: “So, actually, I went to Valencia High School. So I graduated in 2015, and then I went to College of the Canyons in UCI. I am currently an intern teacher, so I actually go to CSUN. So while I'm getting my credential to teach, I go to CSUN. What led me to being a special education teacher is being a paraeducator. So I worked here as a one-on-one with some students, and it was amazing, and I wanted to do more.”

Q: What subjects and grade levels have you taught, and what do you enjoy most about teaching?

Jonathan Chang: “So I have taught seventh, eighth, and just a tiny bit of eleventh grade before this. The last three years, I was at Placerita Junior High teaching ACHIEVE. And so now this year, I just have ninth and tenth grade English. And I am really enjoying it because I haven't been teaching a plain English class for, for three years now. So, I get to, you know, talk about literature and stuff, which I'm really passionate about. That's one thing I like about teaching. And then also, I get to meet  a little over a hundred interesting people every year.”

Hannah Cutting: “I love teaching. Obviously, I have taught freshman composition at a college level, I’ve taught seventh and eighth grade, and now I'm teaching nine and ten. Before, I was a sub, so I have taught just about all grades, seven through twelve. But, I only taught English, like actually, as a classroom teacher and then writing. It’s my favorite subject in the world, and I’m really glad I get to teach it. I think it’s the best; it’s so much fun. I love teaching writing, it’s a blast.”

Donald Buer: “I've done it all. I've taught everything from sixth grade to twelfth grade, everything from pre-algebra to advanced calculus. And I've taught geometry. You name it. I've done it in over sixteen years or so. And what was the second part? What do you enjoy most about teaching? I like watching the light bulb go off in the student's head when they get excited about discovering something on their own. That brings me joy. When they know what they're doing. And when they figure it out themselves with a little bit of help from me, instead of me just telling them how to do it..”

Newton Okewoye: “Because I was looking for money, I've taught every grade level. That's starting from KG— first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade in America, seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade, and twelfth grade. Yeah. I mean, really all. I've taught college classes. I help out at College of the Canyons. I teach all calculus classes, all about differential equations.”

Dena de Vera: “My very first year teaching, I taught English just until one of these positions became available and I did enjoy it. And I taught freshmen engineers then, but I have been teaching, TV and film production and the live shows. And I teach freshmen to seniors, so I teach all different grade levels. And I love teaching it all quite honestly. I love teaching the beginning students because this is all brand new to them. And when they finally get it and they're excited by it, it makes me smile. And then my advanced students, it's great because VTV, they're a family and so they have a lot of camaraderie and it just has a different vibe than a normal class.”

Nicholas Thompson: So I have done probably all the grade levels now. So I started off at Rosemead High School where our kids were from ninth grade to senior year, so ninth to twelfth. Then my first experience teaching was at the elementary school level. I had third, fourth, and fifth graders in my classroom. From elementary school, I went to the middle school level, and I had sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. And then most recently, I'm here before Valencia High School. I was at Sulphur Springs Elementary School, back down to the elementary school level, where I had fifth and sixth graders. And then now here at Valencia High School, I'm part of our adult transition program. So now I'm working with our adults—our 18 to 22 year olds. I've worked with all ages.”

Samantha Villareal: “So right now, it's just SDCLS, so special education, life skills. You can just say that it's special education. That's the only one I've taught. Oh my goodness. Watching the kids grow. I think that's what I enjoy the most. Like, watching them hit milestones, seeing what they can achieve. Love that.”

Q: Why did you choose this school, and what do you hope to bring to our community?

Chang: “I actually did not choose the school. I was transferred. I was transferred by the district. They said they had too many teachers, for ACHIEVE over at Placerita. And so I was transferred over here, and I'm actually finding that I like it a lot better. I went to a high school that's a lot like this, Camarillo High School in Camarillo, California. It's like a nice suburban high school, about twenty hundred, twenty five hundred students or so. So I feel pretty at home with where I'm at now. And in terms of what I'm bringing to the community, I would say, my unique perspective on life and education and all that kind of stuff.”

Cutting: “I chose Valencia because the environment here is a lot different than other schools. I could tell they were responsible, more friendly. I like all the things about students that were told to me. Plus, you guys have a reputation in the community: Valencia is a very great school. And I was excited to be able to join.”

Buer: “Well, this is kind of my hometown. I graduated from Canyon. So I went to Sierra Vista Junior High School and Canyon High School, and I've been teaching a while. And, I was kind of moving around all over the world, really, and I just felt like it was time to come back home.”

Okewoye: “Why did I choose this school? My daughter made me choose this school. So when I applied to the Hart School District, I knew because my daughter goes to West Ranch. So I had an idea that West Ranch was a good school. Other than that, I didn't know any other thing about any school. So when I got a call because I applied to this district, I got a call from the school and they said, ‘Hey. Can you come in for an interview?’ I immediately said no because I already said ‘yes’ to another school, which was not West Ranch. But so while I was driving, I already made up my mind that I already said yes to them. Why would I now say, ‘Oh, I'm sorry. I'm going to another school.’ So I called my daughter and I said, ‘Hey, this school, Valencia High School, called me if I want to do an interview.’ She said, go to ‘Valencia daddy.’ That's how I came here. If my daughter did not say it, I would have not come to Valencia. So she's the reason and I'm glad she did that because this is a good school, in my opinion. I think my students can if I'm very, you see the way I'm talking? That's how I teach. My classroom is always active, dynamic. My students think that I'm a good teacher. I think I'm a good teacher too. It's hard for a teacher to say that. But I know that I am, because my goal is actually to see that students learn and do well. I teach two classes of Algebra 1 and three of Algebra 2. And in either case, my goal is that students learn, and that not just learn math, excuse me, learn the lessons that they have in life, that there are lessons in life to learn. And sometimes I put that in my teaching. I yell at them sometimes. But I do it in a nice way..”

Thompson: “So, so after working at Sulfur Springs, I heard a lot about the Hart District. So everybody was telling me how amazing Hart District is, and I always had the desire to get back to the high school level. It just so happened that, after hearing about our district, still wanting to get to the high school level, there was a position that opened up here. So I applied over the summer, and I got accepted to join Valencia High School. So I'm really excited to be here. I've heard amazing things about Valencia High School. Your athletics are amazing, your after-school programs, your clubs. Valencia High School has so much to offer for their students, so I'm really excited to be a part of your guys' your guys' Valencia High School family. Go Vikings!”

Villareal: I chose this school in particular. One, because I went here, and two, because I worked here prior to teaching. I hope to bring more inclusion. So if you guys ever see any of my students walking around, please say hi if you see me with them. I totally appreciate it.”

Q: What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your student teaching or previous teaching experiences?

Chang: “The most valuable thing. Wow. There's been a lot. I would say that one thing, one thing that really sticks with me is that students will not learn from someone they don't like. And, likewise, if they think that the teacher doesn't like them, they also won't learn. So, that's been important for me, not becauseI don't know, pushover or something like that, but more so because it's given me the kind of perspective to keep in mind that being a jerk doesn't really help. Kids could be breaking rules or not turning stuff in, but, you know, getting angry and losing my cool over it doesn't help anybody.”

Cutting: “During student teaching,  I had some of you might have had her because you guys went to Rio, but I worked with Ms. Schneider. So she taught me a lot, especially when it comes to being organized and having a routine. And it's something that you a lot of students don't see, but at the end of the day, there's certain things that we use teachers do not do to make our lives easier than I say. And she was really adamant about me taking that time to do that for myself and taking that time to do that for myself and being able to actually do whatever I needed to do. And so she taught me to actually take the time to make my life a little bit easier as a teacher, which is really, really important for me. And I think that was probably for me. And I think that was probably that was probably the most valuable lesson was learning how to make my life easier at the end of the day and doing those little things that I really don't want to make my life easier at the end of the day and doing those little things that I really don't want to do that make my life easier.

Buer: “Oh my god. The most valuable thing I learned is that patience is important. Being patient with students and understanding that math is hard. It was hard for me too. And so I understand kind of what they're going through. I can relate to any kind of difficulties that they may be having.”

Okewoye: “Don't trust students. That was a joke. But, really— as a teacher— know that every student is coming from a different angle. We all have different perspectives. Be forgiving to your students as quickly as you can. Otherwise, it will impede your teaching. You can't help somebody you don't forgive, or you don't you can't help somebody you don't like. Don't prejudge people. Don't say, ‘Oh, this is a bad student or this is a good student.’ Just be neutral. And even when students misbehave, they're young. They don't know what they're doing most of the time. Most of the time. Some of them do, but most of them are just experimenting with different things. So sometimes when students say things that offend you in class— don't, don't bring it back tomorrow and say, ‘Oh, this student did this yesterday, and then you now take it out on the student.’ No. Because I don't really think students are out there to harm you. They're just there to they're just doing their thing. Unfortunately, you're just in their way. So as a teacher, what is my most important lesson? Maybe I'm beating around the bush. I would say, love your students. That's all I'm gonna say. Expect a better end for them, a better future. So even if things don't look good now, know that this you're just part of the the machine that's gonna help them get what they need to get in the future. So they don't have to be perfect now. I think that's what I'm saying. So don't expect your students to do everything right now. Be a part of the building and believe that even if you don't do all of the work now, somebody else will do the rest. But you can't do everything in one class. That's that's the greatest lesson I've learned. Because I've seen students who I thought were not gonna do well that ended up doing well. And the ones that I thought were gonna do well did not do well. So just do your part. I'll leave the rest.”

de Vera: “My very first year teaching, I was actually here at Valencia, in the English department. And then when the position became available at Golden Valley, I went over there for several years. And then while I loved it there, I knew I always wanted to come back and be a Viking again. I just like walking on this campus. I like the vibe that it has. It just feels a little like home. I guess the biggest experience I had from just teaching in general is, as long as I am passionate about what I'm teaching, which I am, then the majority of my students are passionate about learning it. And I think that goes a long way.”

Thompson: “So especially in the special education population, each one of our students are every student is unique. You know? You guys are all unique. Everybody has their strengths, their weaknesses, what they like, what they don't like. Same thing with special education. Our kids, they have their likes, their don't likes. They have their strengths, their weaknesses, but then we add in, they all have disabilities. And their disabilities come with different strengths and different weaknesses. So being part of the special education family, being a teacher in special education, I find it really exciting to learn all those, to learn all the ins and outs of each individual student because we're all so different, and our kids have so many different strengths. And how can I, as a teacher, tap into each one of those strengths for each one of our kids? So it's really exciting every single day to go into it thinking, how can I get the best out of each one of these kids? It's really, that's what I enjoy most about it.”

Villareal: “So that one's a little hard because, technically, I'm skipping student teaching. However, I have done observations and I think seeing how everyone else does it and how I can incorporate what they do into what I'm doing. So that way, it's this whole little mishmash is, I think, the best.”

Q: What is your teaching philosophy, and how do you implement it in your classroom?

Chang: “My teaching philosophy is that anybody and everybody can learn. It just takes a little bit of work. And we all need a little bit of help every now and then. And, so my main goal is to make sure that anybody who needs that kind of extra help, that I can do that for them. Or if in the case if I have an instructional assistant in my class and whatnot, they can do that too. And anything else? And then the final thing is I'm just not a big homework guy because in my point of view if I'm going to assign something, I wanna be around to help with it. And if it's homework just, you know, go home and do this. We're not gonna talk about this in class at all, but just do this at home and bring it back next time. I don't find that very helpful. Because for the students who can't do that at home or some students' parents can help out at home, some students can't. ”

Cutting: “ I am not this way to get philosophy. I like to try to make learning as fun as possible. Especially a lot of times English can be a bit of a drag. It's a lot of reading. It's a lot of writing. So I try to make things a little more entertaining. I like using acronyms. I like adding humor and a lot of my personality into my teaching. A lot of the time, I try to make things into games to help people remember things. Just making sure that I'm making things engaging and fun so that way it kinda sticks, especially some of the more complicated writing stuff. How do you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all your students? This was a super important thing for me to learn coming from college to a junior high. So I always try to make sure I have step by step guides for what to do. I'll provide examples. We'll go over exactly what I expect. I make sure that I have bullet points for each of what I'm expecting for each task. I'll provide an example beforehand. We'll work together, then work with partners that work with ourselves to make sure that we're able to do that. So I really just try to incorporate a variety of things to make sure that we're all on the same page about what's expected, and then we're all on the same page on what to do when.”

Buer: “Patience, patience, patience. If a student is working hard and making an attempt and trying, I have no problem explaining it, going over it four or five different times as long as they're trying. If they're not trying, then it gets a little frustrating. But yeah.”

Okewoye: “The students need you, and you must provide for them what they need. And don't expect them to be at your level. I think that's the bane of many math teachers. Because you know something does not mean that the students are at your level. They're not. I know it because I've taught different levels. And sometimes I'm teaching a calculus class, like at College of the Canyons. Or I'm helping out some students when I'm tutoring for some classes. And I noticed that these students don't know the things that they're supposed to have learned in fifth grade. But they are encountering this class. I can't get angry. It's just that sometimes you get agitated. But, so I tell myself, ‘Why are you here? You're here to help this student. Okay, talk to this student. You're supposed to know this, you don't know this.’ Go back to their level. Tell them, ‘Hey, you gotta do this, you gotta do this.’ So my philosophy is that students need you. That's why they are here. If they don't need you, they would have taken a class online. Or they would already be doing, for example, my Algebra 2 class, I don't expect them to have the skills of somebody that's taking accelerated math. I wouldn't expect them to have that level of skill. So if they don't get it, I won't go ahead. I'll have to come back to their level. So in my class, I try to let them see what they need to know and that I'm willing to help them. That's my philosophy. The students need you, and you must give them what they need, not what they want. Because many of them want to use their phone. They don't, they don't need that. They need to learn math because they need it.”

de Vera: “I don't have a teaching philosophy. I just say, be passionate, be creative, and give it your all. And it's okay to make mistakes. Try to color outside the lines.”

Thompson: “Again, kind of like what I was saying before, really individualized. My teaching philosophy is I want to engage and target each one of our kids as an individual. You know? So if one child learns a different way than another child, then I wanna give that same lesson to them in a different way, and I wanna be sure that they're successful. So I really go at it as an individual approach, and I try to help one of our kids individually.”

Villareal: “My teaching philosophy is that everyone is capable of learning and everyone is capable of being included. And implementing it in my classroom is taking my kids out. So like I said, if you guys see them, you guys say hi. They're they would love to say hi to everyone. So that's how they're all capable of being a part of our Valencia community. “

Q: Can you describe your classroom management style? How do you handle disruptive behavior?

Chang: When it comes to difficult behavior, I've learned thatcalling attention to it kind of makes things worse in some cases, because sometimes you have those students who do that sort of thing because they want to get attention from their classmates or whatever. And so, basically not making a big deal out of something is typically how we'll try to handle something like that. Like, not call it out in front of the whole class, but talk to the student, what do you call it, one on one.”

Cutting: “I think this question always is a struggle for me. I try to build relationships. That's kind of how I deal with it ever. If I ever have disruptive behavior, a lot of the time, my first first response is to literally woah. That was a lot. And kinda dealing with that and then talking through why would you do that? Like, what's the deal with that? Rather than going straight to step outside, get out of my room. I like to seek to understand why people do what they do rather than kind of punish them for what they're doing at the moment. So a lot of what my classroom management style is building relationships and then, you know, making sure ‘Does this person do I know why this person is doing that?’ And if I don't, finding that out.”

Buer: “I don't have any disruptive behavior. What are you talking about? Haha. Well, that's something that I'm still kinda trying to get adjusted to. I think I have some ideas that you know, this is my first year at Valencia, so I'm trying to you know, students are feeling me out, feeling them out trying to figure out what's gonna work and what doesn't work. Because what worked in my previous schools isn't gonna work here. And so, I'd say that I'm still trying to figure that out.”

Okewoye: “I would rate myself number one. And my students number two. I don't have a problem. I don't make rules that are necessary. I think that rules, unnecessary rules, actually cause disruption. Don't make a rule if you don't need it, and don't make a rule if it's unfair. When I started, the only problem I used to have in this class was phones. All of them used their phones. And I always said, If you keep doing this, I'll have to bring this thing in. I told them, but maybe they didn't know how I was gonna do it. So it was always the phone. Without the phone, I had because again, they wanted to listen to me. Because they needed me. And when students sat beside each other and I thought they were talking too much. I don't always like my students talking, but I wanted the subjects to be math. Talk about math, but don't talk about other things. But you can always tell when people are not talking about math. But math, because they'll be smiling. Math doesn't make you smile. So once I see people, especially when I'm teaching, and I see people talking, so I let people talk. But once I start talking, you have to stop the talking. Whatever you were talking about, even if it was math, you still have to stop because I'm talking. And what I'm saying is more important than yours, at that time. Once I stop talking, you can now talk. So I try to not sit students beside their friends. Once I notice your friends, even outside, if I step out of my class and I see two of my students talking together outside, once they come into the class, I'm gonna move their seat without telling them. Because the tendency is that they're gonna start talking while I'm teaching. So my classroom management is I am very fair. Nobody thinks I'm unfair to them because I call people out. I don't do secret punishment. If you're doing something, I say, ‘Hey, stop that thing now.’ Now everybody in class knows that I've warned the person. The next thing I do, I move them away from the seat, without telling them that's the reason. But they know that's the reason. And I'm fair, I'm nice, I give my students a break. I give them a break, go take your phone, use it. When it's time to return the phone, return it. So they started playing games. They'll put empty cases of their phones in the rack and then they'll keep the phone. So I punish the class. When I give them the break, I usually give them like five, six minutes of break between while I'm teaching. I said, ‘During this break, nobody goes to their phone because somebody cheated.’ Now, I'm sure the person will not cheat again in the next class. So I think my students will say I'm fair. I just want them to say, I haven't heard them say I'm unfair. Neither have I been accused of being unfair. But I don't have any problem with classroom management. I think it's just the Nigerian state that's in me. Don't play around me.”

de Vera: “ My classroom when a student walks in, yes, it is a creative atmosphere but it is an atmosphere where students know what to expect when they walk in. So they know where to sit, they know what to expect for the day, and they know how to act for the day.”

Thompson: “Especially in special education, you know, we'll kinda have some behaviors. There's gonna be some challenges through the day. But it's important to understand again. It's understanding each child is different. Each child has different ends, and there's reasons why maybe those behaviors pop up. So I think it's important to understand each child as an individual. We understand them each as an individual, and then that helps us when it comes to working with those behaviors. So we have to be understanding, 1st and foremost. Secondly, then we wanna be sure that we take care of all of our students, especially when it comes to safety, keeping the classroom environment safe. So we try to manage the behaviors. We'll try to obviously keep our classrooms safe, keep our classroom environment safe. So that's where our mindset goes when it comes to behaviors. But once we're able to kinda get over those and get over the behaviors, we're able to go right back to class.”

Villareal: “Classroom management style is we're honestly all a team. So it's not just, ‘Oh, I'm over here.’ Well, I'm gonna come over here and help. In terms of disruptive behavior, we do a lot of deep breaths. We have our own calm corner. So we have that. I know sometimes general classrooms have nice calm corners. We've got reading books. We have areas where we can take a break. A part is taking a break before diving back in to do our work.”

Q: How do you incorporate technology into your lessons?

Chang: “So our textbook, the My Perspectives, it's all online, and I'm learning how to use it because we didn't use it at Placerita. Or I didn't because I was ACHIEVE. So there's that part of it. Google Classroom, like, every teacher does that these days. And then what I was telling you before about, using chat gpt and AI to, help me out with lesson planning and whatnot.”

Cutting: “We use Google Classroom almost every single day of my classroom. I try to find things that are a little more engaging. We'll try to use Canva. We'll design things. I try to give options for, you know, being able to use computer design for certain assignments and certain projects and things like that. I've let students make TikToks before for projects. So I try to find ways that technology can actually be useful and can fit into your everyday life and try to find ways to make it so that way students are able to engage with technology in ways that they're familiar with, while also building skills about how to properly use that technology.”

Buer: “Well, I use the iPad. The iPad helps so that you know, I can project through the projector. I can mirror the iPad with that. So I can move around the classroom. Sometimes I like to give the iPad to the student and watch them write, and everyone else can see what they're writing. I'm really big on the graphing calculator, but I teach algebra and geometry this year. So we don't really use the graphing calculator at all. We just use these little 4 function calculators.”

Okewoye: “Google Classroom. I use Quizizz. I like Quizizz. I love them to use calculators if they have to. I always project. [he shows his tablet]. I teach from here. Oh, can I add a tablet? Teach from here, and they see it there. This is an example. But that's how I teach every time I teach. Let me see if this is still available. And I think they don't have the notes or I want others who missed class to get it. I just posted this note [class lesson] on Google Classroom. The only problem with being absent is that you can't get the explanation, which I don't encourage students to be absent from. But that's what I do mostly for, for technology and informing parents and the students about their grades and all the information. Like now, the Google Classroom has been an effect. I do IXL too, jam something. Group Jam. You put a question on the board and everybody in the classroom attends the question and posts their answer. Group Jam. So IXL is a plus for me, and I'm basically that.”

de Vera: “My classroom is all tech. It's from cameras to computers to editing. It's all tech. Everything is tech.”

Thompson: “Technology is very important, especially nowadays. Yeah. We, again, all learn differently, and a lot of our kids, a lot of the kids here at Valencia High School, we like to use technology. So it's important to incorporate that into our lessons. So engaging the kids through technology. We try to use our Chromebooks. We use a curriculum called TeachTown. Our kids use TeachTown, and they really enjoy that. It's an interactive online program to where the kids can engage in the curriculum through the Chromebooks, through touch screens, and manipulatives. So it's really exciting. It's something the kids really enjoy.”

Villareal: “So, in our SPED classes, we have a smart board. I don't know if you guys have that. So, we're actually able to implement technology with that. It's a touch screen. So, our students learn best when they're able to manipulate objects and physically touch things. So by having the smart board, we can have them come up there, choose answers, touch things, move things around. So technology is huge with our group of students.”

Q: How do you build relationships with your students to foster a positive and inclusive classroom environment?

Chang: “I think I just kinda start with letting them get to know me saying a lot about myself, talking about myself a lot. In the first couple of weeks of the school year, kids are shy and whatever, but I usually notice that by after Christmas or so, they are more talkative and they wanna share more kind of stuff about, what's going on at home and that sort of thing.”

Cutting: “I try to mirror what I think should happen withany kind of relationship ever. A friendship or anything like that. I try to show parts of myself so that way students feel comfortable sharing parts of their self. I ask questions. Obviously, I find out what they do, you know, in the school, if they're part of ASB or a sport or whatever. I'm always willing to have students in my room to talk, chat, host a club, whatever. I'll almost say yes to anything that a student would like to do just because I know that's what you hear no a lot as a teenager. And so that yes is really important. But, you know I'll share parts of my life and ask about parts of theirs. We'll share good things that are going on. Any way that I can try to kind of get people to share parts of their lives, that's kind of how I build relationships with them.”

Buer: “I'd like to know what's kind of, you know, going on in their lives. Today's Monday. I'm like, ‘How was how was your weekend?’ And, like, any funny stories? What happened this weekend? Students know that I like sports, so they're asking me about my fantasy football team. And I like to talk about that maybe at the end of class. You know, football season just started. So, you know, sometimes students will ask me about that.”

Okewoye: “I just yell at them. Firstly, I'm very natural in class. I don't, I've tried, I don't know how to pretend. That's the problem I have. So students generally trust me. They like me. They want to interact with me. I don't make extra effort to foster a relationship with students. I just think it happens naturally. I've never tried to be my students’ friend. It just happens naturally because they all know I am sincere. I'm not trying to fake anything. And if I yell at you, it's because you did something wrong. If I say you did a good job, it means you did a good job. I cannot see black and say it's white. I'm not that kind of person. So I think that naturally just makes me have a good relationship with my students. And when I'm not happy, they know I'm not happy. Yeah. I can't hide it. So I'm almost always happy. And my sadness is temporary. It's based on what you do. Because once I'm done yelling at you, I've forgotten. Immediately, I don't remember what you did anymore. Even when students come to apologize to me, I start thinking, ‘What did this mean exactly?’ And I say, ‘Oh, no, don't worry about that. It's already gone.’ They try to remind me, like, ‘I'm sorry.’ Like students came to apologize. I'm sorry for coming late. ‘What? Get out of my sight!’ Yeah. So it doesn't matter.”

de Vera: “I build relationships just by getting to know my students. They get to know me. I get to know them. We talk a lot. It's not just me talking to them. It really is a two way street.”

Thompson: “Again, I can, I think it goes back to individuality. So looking at each kid as an individual, we have different likes and dislikes. Getting to know them on a personal level. What do they like to do after school? What sort of music are they into? What sort of movies do they like to watch? You know, pop culture, stuff like that. And then as our kids go through their day and they're working hard, they earn free time. We all like our free time. So, being able to engage the kids in that, finding fun activities that they can do that engage them in their own personal likes. So I enjoy that. I enjoy getting to know my kids on a personal level, getting to know what their likes and dislikes are.”

Villareal: “So talking with them, getting to know their interests, huge. They love to talk about what they're into. Like I said, if you wanna say hi, you can even ask them what they like and they'll respond. They love it. So just getting to know them on a personal personal level, knowing their background, knowing their culture, it's how you get to know them.”