Category: School

Countdown to 40: Teacher in Progress

Posted on by alvin

Me with some of my favorite co-workers of all time. Overfelt Prom – I forget which year. Maybe 2011.

My going into teaching was kind of a no-brainer.

High school taught me that I actually have great people skills and am highly adaptable. I also learned that I was good at art and a pretty good leader. College taught me that I was a hard worker, but also that I genuinely enjoyed being around people and did not like the idea of desk work in a cubicle all day.

Being an art teacher allowed me to combine all of that while hopefully making some kind of impact on kids’ lives.

During my teaching credential program at National University, I was told that I would likely struggle to find a job because the state was going through severe budget cuts. When they found out I was also going to be an art teacher, they basically said, “Oh… then multiply that times two.”

I actually got really lucky.

As luck would have it, my high school art teacher had gotten pregnant and decided to relocate to New York at the end of the school year. The current principal also happened to be my former leadership teacher. Everything kind of just fell into place for me.

When I started teaching at Overfelt High School, I genuinely thought I was going to retire there. I was 100% all in. I advised a ton of clubs, sat in leadership meetings, became department chair… I fully immersed myself into the school community.

After wrapping up year three, I was preparing for year four when I was presented with an opportunity at Calero High School to help launch the school. I would get the opportunity to order the furniture and help build the art program from scratch. I remember going back and forth trying to decide what to do.

Overfelt felt comfortable and safe. I loved the students. I loved the staff. Simultaneously, I didn’t want to live life with regrets. I had graduated from there and immediately returned to work there right after college. No “what ifs.” I had one week to decide.

And then I decided.

I was going to leave.

I felt guilty about it for a long time.

Ultimately, Calero High School ended up not being the right fit for me, and after a short year there, I found myself at Silver Creek High School for over a decade. I am now currently at Piedmont Hills High School.

Some of my favorite students to have ever walked into my classroom at Silver Creek. It’s hard to remember names of every single student, but I definitely remember these three. Lily, Jacklyn and Rose. This photo was taken a year or two after gradation and they came to visit.

My biggest takeaway from all of this is that I can’t sit too comfortably for too long.

While things did not work out the way I imagined at Calero, they ultimately worked out wonderfully at Silver Creek. Ironically, my unhappiness during that time also pushed me to launch a side business called Ouchii, which later shaped a huge part of my identity for over a decade.

I remember talking to a wise coworker at Overfelt while trying to decide whether I should leave. We weren’t even particularly close, which is honestly why I reached out to him specifically. I wanted unbiased advice.

I asked him what he thought the right thing to do was, and he said something that has stuck with me ever since:

“If you are staying because you think the kids need you or the school needs you, that is not a good enough reason to stay. No matter where you go, kids will need you and the school will benefit from having you.”

He was right.

And now here I am wrapping up year 15, currently at Piedmont Hills High School.

While I am still finding my footing and adjusting, I am happy to report that I am still doing what I do best — helping kids develop their art skills while also being a safe adult they can talk to while navigating the craziness that is high school.

I can never get enough of these letters. And these always seem to come at the times I need them the most.

COVID 19 Chronicles: Part 3 / Where Do I Start?

Posted on by alvin
My nephew Cameron, who turned 1 in July!

I remember being on a Zoom call with my cousins and sibs a few months back and we were talking about how there’s no way the government would have us locked down through the summer and people would start to get impatient and riot.

… and here we are.

A month back or so, we were finally brought to “Phase 2” – which allowed many restaurants to reopen for to go options. To me, that was more than enough to make it seem like we had some form of normalcy because prior to that, I was legitimately cooking and what not. Not much else was open aside from the groceries and hospitals. Another expansion would happen that would allow indoor retail to resume not too long ago. At that point – I began to worry. I made the mistake of walking into a Ross with my mask thinking everyone would be responsible here in the Bay Area and of course I was wrong. It looked like a zoo in there. Masks off, people touching their faces… I knew it was only a matter of time before we got shut down again.

… lol and here we are again. After a brief reopening of gyms here in Santa Clara specifically, 2 days after, they were all shut down again. You’d think people would get it together and follow instructions because other countries seem to get it but evidently Americans are more concerned with having the freedom to spread the virus as they please since they view it as a hoax or something that impedes on their freedoms. I’m not going to get into that though – that in itself is a cluster f*ck and a blog entry all its own.

So instead, I wanted to focus on a few key, pivotal moments that stood out to me personally in no particular order:

1) My Birthday
I was prepared to be sad on my birthday. It usually tends to happen – dating all the way back to my teens (Again, long story). But somewhere along the line in my 20s I just decided that my birthday was as awesome as I was going to make it for myself and made sure I had a great time every single year. With COVID-19, it seemed like I would be right back to sad ass birthdays. But, to my surprise – after teaching Zumba virtually on Zoom to some 100 people and having a glass of wine with them after was one of the most meaningful birthdays I’ve had. Almost cried actually… almost. I was just happy my mom was safe after her tumble, and seeing everyone smile post Zumba with their cups of wine really brought me joy. Thank you everyone who greeted me and especially those who came to dance with me that night. Jey and I also had dinner after upstairs which was nice.

2) Social Injustice
I was prepared to type a full on blog about my birthday but then a week or two after, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer by being pinned down to the ground by his neck. He suffered for 8 minutes and 46 seconds before he was put in an ambulance and declared dead. His murder sparked nationwide protests and riots and sparked heated discussions online between family members, friends and strangers. Just a few months prior in March, Breonna Taylor was killed in her own home by police. Regrettably, I failed to blog about Breonna – or even mention her name. It took yet another murder, nationwide riots and peaceful protests to finally get many including myself to pause and reflect and seek action. While I am starting to see the social media feeds slowly return back to “normal” – I hope the message and mission aren’t lost and continues to bulldoze forward. I hope the the complicated and heated conversations continue. I hope we respect each other and continue to acknowledge our own biases and privileges so we can understand the injustice that happens every single day to the black community. And something that I am trying to practice now more than ever is practicing empathy and learning to listen.

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Just wanted to say their names again in case you forgot them. <3

3) Ouchii Fitness
One project that I am so proud of was launching Ouchii Fitness. As a business owner, it’s always important to ask “What does the community need?” And with COVID-19 continuing to keep gyms shut, the answer was clear: the communities need ways to stay fit.

The beauty of group fitness is that the group dynamic encourages everyone to bring their energy and hype each other up. When that was suddenly taken away from us, many of us who enjoy the group dynamic lost the motivation to exercise. My free Zoom sessions were started shortly thereafter lockdown and culminated into www.OuchiiFitness.com. I launched the service just this month and have 50 or so members subscribed to some kind of fitness package and I am lucky to have such a dedicated group of fitness enthusiasts who trust me with their fitness goals.

4) 24 Cans Me
I got an e-mail saying I needed to join a conference call from 24 on an upcoming Wednesday. I dialed in and was greeted with an automated voice mail telling me I was being let go, along with countless others. It stung. I know the company is suffering, as are most gyms right now – but 24 specifically was already filing for bankruptcy. I think what stung most is knowing that I was chosen based on who knows what criteria and others were spared. What about all the people I brought in? The people who joined because of my classes alone? All the events I did? Or the fact that I did all that for half of what some other instructors made?

In a weird way – it all worked out. The other gyms who I feel have a more accurate grasp with what I can do or what I’ve done all reached out to me to return, which I am thankful for. However, with COVID-19 not going anywhere, and all the gyms consistently being asked to shut down – maybe it was all a sign?

I have no ill will toward 24 as a company. Could some things have been handled differently? I think so… but I did get a lot of perks out of 24 – the most significant being amassing a large network of fitness followers. And someday, I’m sure we’ll all be dancing, doing burpees and lifting together in person again at the gyms (maybe 24 again? Who knows?) – but as for now, I am okay running Ouchii Fitness and keeping people healthy and happy from the safety of their homes.

5) Birthdays Galore
My mom turned 65 – she can finally order off the senior menu at Sizzler (assuming they survive). My mom is one cool, funny lady. Both my nephews also turned 1 this month. My siblings of course wanted to give them the big party that most parents tend to do for their first borns (shout out to the forgotten middle children of the world!) but they responsibly decided to do drive thru birthday parties.

My other nephew, Oliver, born 2 days after Cameron who also celebrated his 1st birthday in July.

5) Distance Learning Fall 2020
It was also recently announced that my district, along with most of the state will be doing distance learning for the first semester of the 2020/2021 school year. The debate amongst people saying we, as teachers need to go back to the classroom is crazy. I’ll leave it at that.

As I end this entry, I just want to say I am thankful for such a strong network of people to help me get through this pandemic. Not once have I felt alone. I am thankful for my partner to have to talk to daily (and even when I don’t want to talk just knowing he is available to do so), thankful for my siblings and parents, my funny cousins, my friends, and my fitness family.

If you find yourself alone and need to chat – I am all for it. Let’s Zoom.