Teacher Tales #28 – The student voice and identity: Jessica, teacher advocate for social justice, language access and the rights of refugees and immigrants in schools and master “helper”

In this episode, we have a super powerful and insightful conversation with Jessica, a former college professor now teaching in a high school in the Midwest. Jessica says that it was destiny that she made that change because she feels like, with high school students, she gets to “teach with her whole heart.” And whole heart is exactly what Jessica brings to her school and to her students as she sponsors several clubs for students seeking a supportive adult and an outlet for them to safely share their true identity and their voice. She tries to help wherever she can and whomever she can as she sponsors clubs for LGBTQ+, immigrant and refugee students. She also does translation and support for refugee and immigrant persons in her community. She says that she “has an obligation as a person of privilege to provide opportunities and expansion of capabilities to others who have not had those same privileges as she has had.”  Through her lessons, she says that her teaching is helping to  “heal homophobia, racism, prejudices and social injustices.”  This champion for student identity and voice says that “children come to us pre-validated, and we just need to help them see that and tell them that we notice and see who they really are.”  She believes that students deserve respect and that, when given the opportunity, their learning can go wider and deeper than what we give them credit for. Jessica also has fun with her students as she uses her parrot, Merlin, as motivation and a system of reward. You can check out Merlin using his voice for musical interpretations here. Enjoy!