Joe Vasquez

For the past eight months, I’ve been working extremely hard as a teacher in one of the most challenged schools in the country. You could even go so far as to say I have made tremendous strides with many students and everyday is a learning experience (oh, the irony). But that said, I still have that little pang in my gut for something more… entrepreneurial. For that reason, I’ve decided to join the Planana family (and I couldn’t be more excited to work with this team!).

Planana makes planning events cool again. By turning event attendees into promoters through a unique and well-designed platform, it increases event attendance, helps attendees get awesome rewards, and finally, helps sponsors find great events.

It works with pre-existing ticketing platforms and is super easy to import an event from other ticketing sites. Here’s an example of an event that is using the Planana platform and feel free to shoot suggestions, ideas, or even kudos our way. We would love to hear from you!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the Hearing Loss Association of America’s (HLAA) California Convention. Primarily, I spoke of the issues of adolescence and hearing impairment.

What really struck me however, was the strong connection between raising a child with hearing loss and being a teacher. For the purpose of brevity, I have bulleted some of the key points below.

1. Expectations: While we should not lower expectations for any child, it is especially critical not to lower expectations for those who are “disabled”. As seen in my classroom, many of my students with IEPs and various special needs have generally risen to the occasion and a few have even exceeded the classroom expectations.
2. Accessibility: To leapfrog off of the point that we should not lower expectations, we should invariably present opportunities for our youth to succeed. This does not mean giving them a “hand-out”, but merely, a “hand-up”. Our youth should be expected to master the content and excel, but more obstacles shouldn’t be put in the way than necessary.
3. Proximity and Affirmation: The mere thought of security given by knowing you are there 24/7 is enough for many children in difficult situations. By frequently checking in on classwork, their emotions, and general status, you will not only create a stronger bond with your child, but also create a safe environment where they can be vulnerable and themselves.

I could relate to you the travails of my newfound profession, but I by no means want to sacrifice myself to the ultimate of schadenfreude. But there have been instances of light in the classroom; the one time a student shook my hand and said, “thank you” with the utmost of sincerity, or the time I took a student to Stanford and he remarked, “This has been the best day of my life.”

As resentful as I may be sometimes of teaching, Teach for America, or my 180 adolescent students, I feel intensely grateful. I have had the opportunity to form some close relationships, motivate students to work harder, and learn even more about myself. As a professional in education for the past five months, I can undeniably say that this is one of the hardest, most stressful professions, especially for this pay bracket. I make close to $27,000 after taxes as a first-year teacher in the WCCUSD and have worked far more hours than I have in any job yet (I work close to eighty hours per week between school, preps, tutoring, and college classes).

‘Relationships’ is one of the most cliche bywords of the Teach for America experience yet, it is one of the organization’s strengths. Granted, many of the TFA corps members do not have the education background, let alone the teaching experience, to become successful teachers from the start, but the passion and sincerity of many of my colleagues has allowed us to form long-term mentoring relationships with our students. One of my students (let’s call him Miguel), recently came to me excitedly, “Mr. V, I have never had a passing semester until I met you! I want to go to college and be young and smart, just like you.” Granted, I cannot claim that I have the skills to control classrooms of >40 (shout-out to my Algebra 1 students!), but I have been successful in building relationships and encouraging my students to strive for something better.

So, before I sign off, I hope you take the opportunity to reflect on all of your personal, professional, and even casual relationships and how important and formative they have been for you. I’m grateful for everyone who has helped make me the way I am and aim to nurture these relationships every day. I can only hope to be as instrumental to someone else’s development in the future.

No Excuses,
Mr. V

The past two weeks have been a tumultuous ride through some of the most treacherous mountains — reaching highs higher than Kilimanjaro and lows unknown to even that of Death Valley. But irrespective of the tumult, there were some interesting stories. The kids have been becoming increasingly engaged with a class-viewable participation tracker on the board, thus increasing the camaraderie and desire to learn in the classroom. One notable event however, took the form of a pizza.

Yes… I said it — a pizza. Halfway through a lesson on self-control and the well-known Marshmallow Experiment, a pizza soars midway through my room, emerging from the direction of my classroom’s door. Trash scattered about and one pizza-injured student later, I manage to turn one student’s poor decision into one of a life lesson. Somehow, I made it work with only one casualty and the pizza-lunging culprit still at large. More to come — interesting things that work for teachers, investment, management, and funny stores. Stay tuned.

Well, as many of you know, I’ve been preparing to get into the classroom and I am extremely excited. Amidst the craziness though, I wanted to share a real gem from Teach for America’s Summer Institute. One of my students, Juan Carlos, wrote a brief letter about the impact that us brand new teachers have had on his outlook on education and learning. Check out the letter below — this is what gets me up every morning.

The past four weeks have been tremendous — I have spent almost 100 hours/week delving into pedagogical texts, engaging in conversations related to educational equity, and just enjoying life. Thus far, I’ve made some amazing friends; people I hope to remember and stay in touch with for the rest of my life.

Below is a picture of me in the classroom, helping out one of my most troubled students with ADHD. He is by far my most challenging student but it feels amazing when he gets a concept and masters it. Although many of the students have challenged me and pushed me to m limits, there is one thing I will never do — that being never losing faith in my kids! More to come soon!

I just graduated from what is invariably (and in my own opinion) the best university in the world. The realization is just sinking in and I have been hit by a wave of nostalgia. But the road to the future is bright and exciting. I will be working as a mathematics teacher at Helms Middle School in San Pablo, California with Teach for America. In addition, I will be interning at Goldman Sachs investment banking division in New York during the Summer of 2012. I will write more soon to reflect on my time at Stanford, my current plans, and my hopes for the future. Hope to hear from you all soon!