While I was growing up I thought every public school was like mine, with bad food and strict schedules. As I transitioned from middle school to high school I learned that there were better public schools. My school, Sunnyside High School, had a 48% graduation rate when I was a freshman. The community was mainly made up of undocumented farm workers, including my parents. The high school was doing so poorly that a professional principle had to come and change the school system. We started to get out of school later, lunch was cut in half, and detentions were mandatory if students did not have a 2.5 or above in every class. There were teachers such as Mr.Linstran, who dedicated extra time in helping students understand course material. There were
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Linstran was known as the “cool teacher”. He encouraged students to come in before or after school to get extra help. I think he honestly believed everyone in his class could go to college if they tried. He tried to connect with students offering educational examples about people we admired at the time, such as Tupac, in class lectures. Linstran encouraged students and would offer stern advice to students who would not attend class regularly. One day each student was required to go in front of the class to share: what they hope to get out of the class, what they wanted to do after high school, and a goal. One student shared “I’m going to whichever college will accept me”. The whole class laughed, but Linstran got serious and encouraged the class to have goals, reminding everyone that they just need to try to better themselves. He would constantly remind the class that popularity will not matter after high school, but education will. Linstran expected his class to grow and learn. He went beyond teaching because he offered advice and support. During my senior year he helped me by proofreading my college essays and offering advice about what I should expect in college. My previous teachers knew my cousins, since we were the only ones with the same last name. Previous teachers would change their attitude towards me after finding out we were all related. Lindstran, however told me to tell my cousin to keep going and not give up. That’s what especially set
Linstran was known as the “cool teacher”. He encouraged students to come in before or after school to get extra help. I think he honestly believed everyone in his class could go to college if they tried. He tried to connect with students offering educational examples about people we admired at the time, such as Tupac, in class lectures. Linstran encouraged students and would offer stern advice to students who would not attend class regularly. One day each student was required to go in front of the class to share: what they hope to get out of the class, what they wanted to do after high school, and a goal. One student shared “I’m going to whichever college will accept me”. The whole class laughed, but Linstran got serious and encouraged the class to have goals, reminding everyone that they just need to try to better themselves. He would constantly remind the class that popularity will not matter after high school, but education will. Linstran expected his class to grow and learn. He went beyond teaching because he offered advice and support. During my senior year he helped me by proofreading my college essays and offering advice about what I should expect in college. My previous teachers knew my cousins, since we were the only ones with the same last name. Previous teachers would change their attitude towards me after finding out we were all related. Lindstran, however told me to tell my cousin to keep going and not give up. That’s what especially set