Parents who immigrated from Northern and Southern Mexico taught me the importance of humility, honorable work and the significance and necessity of community. School was always a challenge for me growing up. One of my earliest and most difficult challenges was learning English. My teachers did the best they could with the resources available at the time. I truly hated school. Every Sunday evening my worry, fear and anxiety about going to school the next day was palpable. It stayed with me through high school.
As an educator, I learned many lessons throughout the years. I taught elective courses at a small private school for students with Dyslexia. There I learned how to be patient. I learned how to create consistency in my classroom and the need for routines. Years later when I was teaching in a large school district, those experiences helped me carve out a classroom environment where my transitional students felt safe and valued. I wanted to minimize as much worry and anxiety as I could in my students, so that I could help them concentrate on their learning. It was not easy at all. My students had so many varied and often complicated and difficult home situations.
What they did know, however, was that Mr. Morales cared for them and was always genuinely focused on helping them succeed. Working for Vista Higher Learning allows me to continue that very personal mission, providing instructional resources that lower fear and frustration in students to help them own their learning is truly rewarding.