School Climate/Culture

My elementary years were good.  I grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico and attended school there until seventh grade.  My school was relaxed but the teachers were strict with discipline.  Our school was very small compared to the schools here.  I lived in a small town so the school did not have many students.  Everyone knew each other.  It felt safe and comfortable in my elementary school.  Although there were some kids that were picked on, it felt more like the way that siblings pick on each other, not like bullying.  Everyone was included as part of the group.  During my elementary years I used to be very interested in school and I had much more motivation and drive to do well.  I looked forward to going to school every day.  I remember being one of the top three in the class and I was always competing for the best scores in the class.  I had a strong sense of culture and belonging from my school and community.  We celebrated important festivals by marching through the town.  We also learned cultural dances that we presented to the community.

Moving on to middle school and high school I lost that sense of community and belonging and some of my enthusiasm for education.  When I was 13, my family moved to Door Country, WI.  Here in the United States, I was not as motivated as I was in Mexico. 

When my family and I moved here to the United States, I attended Gibraltar Middle School and High School in Fish Creek.  I started school as an 8^th grader.  The climate and culture were obviously different from what I was used to in Mexico.  It seemed like here we were on the clock most of the time.  I could not be late to a class or I would be tardy and be in trouble.  I was not used to that kind of schedule.  Nobody could be in the hallways without a pass or arrive at a class late without a pass.  The school time was different; I had to ride a bus to and from school.  In Mexico I walked to school and in seventh grade the school hours were from 1:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. so we could have more time at home with our families.

Gibraltar School was not diverse at all.  I was one of six Hispanic kids, including my siblings.  It was a scary experience for me because I was new to the country and did not know the language and the culture.

My High school years were similar to my middle school year at Gibraltar.  I had only a few good friends.  Even though I could speak and understand the English language better, I still struggled with other kids and some teachers.  I did experience some prejudice and discrimination during my middle and high school years here in the United States.  It was a scary place for me.  I did not feel one hundred percent safe.  I used to get picked on and in one occasion I was involved in a fight with another student.  I managed to graduate but high school was not a pleasant experience.   

-Marco Olson Guillén

Teaching Metaphor

I compare teaching to building a house.  Building a house takes a great deal of planning.  It takes time and materials.  You need to have the right equipment, builders, etc.  In construction, you have to submit your plans before you can begin your house construction. 

When you prepare to build a house you need all the plans, tools and materials to build it.  The first step in building a house is the foundation.  You need to have a good foundation in order to build a strong, solid house that will last for a life time.  Same thing when you teach, you need all the right qualities and preparations to be an effective teacher.  When you build a house you follow a plan, but sometimes that plan might have some modifications.  Teaching can be similar.  Teachers follow daily, weekly and unit plans, but they sometimes need to make modifications in their lesson plans to reach all students. 

Even after a house is fully constructed, it still requires maintenance and upkeep, and possibly some modifications over the years.  Homeowners continuously need to keep the yard clean, cut the grass, take care of the gardens, repair broken things, repaint and so on.  Teachers must also continue to learn and get better by taking part in professional development, learning from colleagues, and learning through experience.  Teachers must be flexible and willing to change their teaching strategies to accommodate all students.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Educational Autobiography

I grew up in Las Varas in Chihuahua, Mexico.  Growing up I loved going to school.  My Elementary school, Emiliano Zapata, was only a few blocks away from my house.  I remember being excited to go to school because I was eager to learn.  I was about five years old when I started Kindergarten.  I remember it was a really exciting thing for me.  I don’t remember having a feeling of fear, but maybe a bit of nervousness.  The town I grew up in was very small and everyone knew each other.  I remember Kindergarten being so much fun.  A lady used to bring hot chocolate to us every other day, which was a treat for us.  Going to school in Mexico is so different from school here in the United States.  I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but it seemed like we respected the teachers a lot more than here.  Of course, I do remember my teachers being fairly strict and expecting us to be respectful, behave and listen.  If we did not follow the expectations, we would be in trouble and our parents were contacted or we would get other consequences.  The teachers were allowed to use physical discipline (such as hitting) with the students who would not follow expectations.  Somehow it kept the misbehaviors to a minimum.

Growing up, I loved school and it felt good when I got good grades.  I was proud of myself and my family was also proud of me.  I remember the school being small and in our small “rancho” town we did not have all the commodities that the city kids had.  Looking back, it is so different to compare my elementary years to today’s elementary students.  In my “rancho” we used to spend the majority of our time outside playing sports or playing other games.  We did not have any video games or the technology that kids have now.  In fact, we didn’t even have a TV until I was about 10 years old.  My classrooms were very plain: desks, a blackboard and the teacher’s desk.  The school did not have any money for other things such as posters or classroom decorations.  Some classrooms could have used a little maintenance but as I said the money was not available.  Somehow the money did not make it to our little town.  All throughout my elementary years there were only enough kids for one class per grade.  My early elementary years were better than my later ones.  I remember my fifth grade teacher would hit us in our finger tips with the blackboard eraser if we did not bring our homework or if we misbehaved in class.  It did not happen often but of course I made sure I had my homework done.  My sixth grade teacher used to hit us with the meter ruler behind our legs when we would not raise our hands and listen to the instruction.  He only had a few kids that misbehaved, and it was only on rare occasions.  It was definitely stricter than here.  On the positive side I had a really nice third grade teacher.  Sra. Esmeralda was such a great teacher, and very nice to the class.  She had a different approach from the other teachers.  She was very patient and caring yet firm and we all respected her and listened to her.  She did not have behavior issues with the kids.  She believed that all her students could learn and achieve and she believed in us.  She was my favorite teacher during my elementary years. 

When I was thirteen years old my parents moved to the United States to find a better life.  I went to Gibraltar Middle School and High School in Fish Creek.  I can say that those school years were not as good as my earlier years.  I attended school without knowing the language or culture, and filled with many fears.  The first half of my 8^th grade year was very hard for me.  There were no ESL services at that time so I was fully immersed in English without support.  I remember not wanting to go to school and begging my parents not to send me and to take us back home to Mexico.  They used to tell us that we would only stay here for a little while.  I remember being in the dark for most of my 8^th grade year, but after I learned enough English things got a little better.  I often felt alone and I felt discriminated against at times.  I can honestly say that the rest of my high school years were not as enjoyable as I would have liked.  I learned English and graduated but I cannot say that I had an awesome high school experience.  Some of the teachers were nice but I feel that the system did not do everything or could not do everything to accommodate my needs.  Things are changing and it is getting better.  Spanish speaking kids get more help and have more resources to succeed than I had.

-Marco Olson Guillén