Teacher Profile: Joseline Gonzalez by Samantha Bhatia

She walks out onto the basketball courts ready to get her game on. “Does anyone want to play football?” she invitingly asks. Joseline Gonzalez, a teacher at Breakthrough Collaborative, loves being with kids. As she asked, kids gathered around. One by one they broke up into two teams. As the football flew into the air, the tension rose higher and higher. Joseline swiftly catches the throw, showing off her skills. She quickly throws it back and as the ball spins in the air, the shouts of the kids grow quieter and quieter… And the ball is caught! Everyone is amazed by Joseline’s smooth throw. Although no one was keeping score, everyone was enjoying themselves and having fun. 

Joseline is very energetic, and has many different strengths. Another Breakthrough teacher Jennifer Cruz says, “Joseline knows how to have fun, get a game started, and get everyone pumped up even herself.”

Joseline loves kids. “I really enjoy working with middle school students,” Joseline says. “I love being a role model for the kids.”

Joseline believes that she will take away many skills from Breakthrough. “I believe I will take away patience and knowledge from other teachers and the students.”

Actually, Joseline has learned quite a bit herself. “I so far have learned how to manage a class, speak in public, and create personal relationships.”

Joseline chose to be a writing teacher at Breakthrough. “I like how writing allows you to communicate with others,” Joseline says. “Writing allows you to communicate with others. I use it everyday with my family and with my school and at my job.”

Although Joseline is a writing teacher, that is not her favorite subject. “My favorite is history because it involves reading articles, learning history, and writing,” Joseline admits.

Joseline also enjoys dancing, as she is a dance teacher for her elective period. “Dancing allows me to express myself freely,” she says. Joseline is very athletic and does many other sports. “I also run cross country, track and play basketball,” she explains.

Even though she loves working as a role model for kids, she doesn’t want to be a teacher. “I want to work in changing education policies to give every student the same advantage. I see inequality in today’s education system and acknowledge that less people of color graduate from high school and go to college,” she says. “I really want to make a difference in the education gap because I am the first generation in my family to graduate high school and go to college.”