Hola Compañeros! My name is Miguel Herrera. I was born in Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico, which is a rural city located in a rugged and mountainous region in the south of Mexico. My education, naturally, began in Mexico. I completed kindergarten at Jardin de Ninos Club de Leones and I began elementary school at Coronel Valerio Trujano. I immigrated to the United States at the age of seven. North County San Diego, Encinitas to be exact, has been my second home. I attended Paul Ecke Central Elementary School from second to fourth grade; I graduated from Pacific View Elementary School, which was a very small school (5th& 6th grade only) and it no longer exists. I survived my junior high years at Diegueno Junior High (now renamed "middle school"). I graduated from La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad. In order to get of out San Diego, but not too far, and taste "independence" I decided to go to UCLA. My educational experience there was amazing though I wish I had applied myself more and utilized all the resources offered by the university. On my fourth year I studied abroad in Mexico City at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico(UNAM) where I had the time of my life. Mexico City is a megalopolis that has so many contrasting spaces and so many things to do. I graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a degree in Spanish and two minors, Mexican Studies and Latin American Studies. I have worked at Capri Elementary School in Encinitas in an after school program for the past two years and this is the primary reason why I have decided to pursue a career in teaching. I have been conditionally accepted to the Single Subject Program for this coming fall, and so my education and my learning continues.
After graduating from college I became disconnected from technology. I mainly use the computer for basic tasks such as emailing, word processing, and searching for information on the web. Overall I do like technology. It has definitely made many things a lot easier. At the same time, however, I think it has the potential to consume and segregate people. Yes, people are able to communicate to anyone in the world and socialize, but what troubles me the most is when I see people from all ages disengaged from the people around them because they are too busy with their gadgets. And to be honest, I refuse to buy a smartphone for that reason. I have never used twitter. With that said, last class was a revelation and it took me back to my computer apps class in high school when I first opened an email account and I learned about powerpoint and excel. I will definitely learn a lot from this course.
The beliefs in the Mission statement of this university coincide with my own as a future teacher. The reality is that not all students in this country receive a high quality education nor the motivation to learn. As teachers we have to be knowledgeable of the history of exclusion, marginalization, and deculturalization of various groups in our educational system, which is reflected by the Achievement Gap. For so long their voices have been denied and they have been forced to assimilate to a standard. As an immigrant, I am passionate about social justice and I believe that education can ameliorate many problems that we faced as a society. Our student population will only get more diverse and we have to be prepared to make their learning a high-quality and exhilarating experience. Teaching should be about guiding the student to believe in his/her self. The teacher is no longer that idealized image of the know-it-all, but rather an individual who learns along side his/her students.
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