Teacher Profile: Ramon Garcia Gomez by Abril Garcia Madrigal and Cristian Zapien Aispuro

Abril Garcia-Madrigal

As soon as you see Ramon’s face,  you automatically see his sweat dripping off slowly from his short body and his cologne slowly drifting away and turning into sweat and his hands shaking rapidly. He cradles the ball like a baby’s head, shoots the ball and makes nothing but net.

Ramon Garcia Gomez is a Breakthrough teacher and has an inspiration to teach basketball. He loves to teach that because he enjoys his students getting competitive with each other and just loves the feeling of everyone having fun because that's when he knows that he’s doing his job right. “I enjoy playing basketball because I love the plays they make and I love the team work when everyone passes the ball,” Ramon says. “Kids also inspire me with how they play.”

Ramon goes to Bellarmine College Prep, an all boys private school. In school, Ramon plays soccer, basketball, and runs track and field. He enjoys a lot of sports but basketball is his favorite. His favorite thing to do when he plays basketball is just to shoot around and improve on his skills. 

“My favorite team has to be the Warriors and my favorite player has to be Seph Curry," he says.

Ramon’s street name for basketball is “The Banker” because Ramon has an interest in banking and finance. He doesn’t know what university he wants to go to yet but he has some in mind like Stanford, Notre Dame University, and other ones.

“I think Ramon is a great guy and knows how to deal with stuff," says Hima Rajana, another Breakthrough teacher. "He’s a great inspiration to kids and he is going to be very successful in life."

Ramon has a great personality and great attitude and he’s a wonderful role model to kids.

Cristian Zapien Aispuro 

Thud, thud, thud. That’s the sound of Ramon Garcia Gomez taking the ball up the court. He’s going for the layup, so far he is going to make it. It’s going to be a toilet, but ooh the ball falls out of the rim. That was Ramon, my basketball teacher. Have you ever seen Ramon wear flip flops? If you say no, here is the reason for it: “My one toe is over the other and that’s why I can’t wear flip flops,” Ramon says.

Ramon is a teacher for basketball and math, but that’s a different story. This story is going to be about him and his passion for basketball.

Ramon likes teaching students basketball. “I grow through their learning,” Ramon says.

Ramon was once on a basketball team. “I was on a basketball team for middle school, but I was not on the official basketball team,” Ramon says.

He also has another reason why he likes basketball. The reason is: “Basketball is fun and a fast-paced game,” Ramon says.

Ramon, a student at an all-boys school in San Jose, enjoys his school. “I enjoy the brotherhood of the school, the feel of us together, and it’s better than a public school.”

Willie Hercule, another Breakthrough teacher, enjoys spending time with Ramon. “He’s a pretty great guy, pretty cool, but he knows who’s really in charge…” Willie says.

Ramon is a really cool guy and whoever has him for a teacher is lucky. He is pretty strict in class but he is also fun at the same time.

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.”

Teacher Profile: Erin Gonzalez by Raho Faraha

From far away you see a girl with a calm demeanor who’s listening to the students around her, rather than talking. Teachers and students are adding on to the sounds and noises, and all you can hear from far away are the soft murmurs that leave their mouths. Students surround her at a table and you can see a girl with shoulder-length hair with calm blue eyes matching her light blue blouse and dark blue jeans. You are watching Erin Gonzalez, a calm 20 year old who is a 7th grade literature teacher at Breakthrough for the summer.

Erin  loves her books and her history, and she teachers American history as her elective class. “ I like historical-fiction books because it’s fun to look at history through a different perceptive,” Erin says.

However, one of her favorite books is Pride and Prejudice.”My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice and my favorite character is Jane because I can relate to her,” Erin says.

Erin also enjoys reading science-fiction books because she likes seeing the creation of other worlds. “I like the creation of other worlds because it’s more interesting than our world,” Erin says.    

Erin has enjoyed being a Breakthrough teacher. ”I’m a Breakthrough teacher because I love books and teaching,” Erin says.

Even though Erin wasn’t a Breakthrough student, she still attends a very good university. “I go to Santa Clara University, but I transferred from Boston University,” Erin says.

Erin has many hobbies that she enjoys outside of Breakthrough. "I play the harp and I love to cook,” Erin says.

While Erin is an inspiration to many people, she was inspired by Hilary Clinton and one of her college professors."

Many different names have different meanings, but not many have a name meaning peace. Erin’s name in Irish means peace, which is such a fitting name for such a peaceful person. 

When asked about her favorite color, which is purple she says,” My favorite color is purple because there are so many shades to choose from and they have so many emotions behind each one,” Erin said.  

Luis Miramontes, another literature teacher at Breakthrough, has very positive things to say about her. "Erin is hard-working, responsible, and awesome!" Luis exclaims. "She's shy, but still all knowing."

  

Teacher Profile: Alex Aceves by Dung Phung

Boom! La! La! La! Boom! Alex Aceves’s classroom is full of music.

“Line up!” He yelled.

He looks professional and wears a suit and pointy shoes because it’s Visitors’ Days. He begins to let the students go in and do: The Do Now. At that moment, the room fills with awkward silent. Everyone laugh loudly, so he tells them to be quiet. 

Alex, a teacher at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, likes teaching physics and volleyball. He loves science and math; he took physics in his senior year of high school, so he understands the major concepts. He also has a fun crew leader who jokes with him most of the time.

Students complain a lot to Alex because he gives students too much homework.

“You guys! Stop complaining about the homework,” he says.

One time, Jessica and Jia, two head coordinators of Breakthrough, had to check his planners to make sure that that they were correct, so he felt really embarrassed. 

In addition, he’s extremely competitive. At lunch he yells,” Hurry up! Why are you guys eating too slowly? I want to beat you guys.”

The kids are mad at him, and they notify Kyle, his crew partner. Kyle tells Alex to calm down. Luckily, he’s able to control his determination.

Despite all the difficulties he has faced, he still likes teaching and being with students. Alex's parents are from Mexico, so he speaks Spanish and English. He is going to be a freshman at UCLA. “I love the campus. It has the major I want, and it’s gigantic,” exclaimed Alex. 

Alex likes to listen to Hispanic music and One Republic. He also likes teaching volleyball.

Kyle Stagnaro, a friend of Alex, describes how “Alex is funny, loud, makes lots of jokes, and a thoughtful friend because we support each other.”

Alex is serious, competitive, interesting and he’s a great teacher when you know him well. 

Teacher Profile: Genesis Alvarenga by Minett Tran

A quiet classroom stands in the middle of the school. The classroom is empty, but not with furniture. In fact, this cream-colored classroom will be full soon at 10:10. Even when the room is full with students, there is one thing this classroom needs.

Every classroom needs a teacher.

It seems that Room 5 has found its teacher in Genesis Alvarenga. Genesis is the Algebra  teacher for 8^th grade and also the teacher for Yoga, an elective. She is part of Breakthrough Collaborative, a program that promises to help students get to college with a 6-year program. In the program, Genesis teaches small groups of middle school students, which numbers ranging from six to nine, and is a part of the group of three people teaching Algebra.

The story of how Genesis got to Breakthrough is quite simple. “After my graduation speech,” she says, "a lady named Tanya from Breakthrough came up to me and referred me to Breakthrough. I’ve done some tutoring since high school, so I thought it would be a good experience. As for the application process, all the applicants print out a paper copy, then write on it. After that, we get an interview with Jia and Tina and do a mock lesson. I was one of the ones that got accepted in.”

At this point when she joined, she had expectations, like most teachers.  As most students know, being a  Breakthrough student is hard work and requires dedication. The program expects nothing less than excellence of their students. So do the teachers. “When I came to Breakthrough, I expected all the students to give their 100%,” Genesis states.” I wasn’t disappointed of course.”

When asked about her time before she came to Breakthrough, she talks about her family and college. She says, ”I’m actually going to Cal Poly later this year. I’m going to study Architecture as my major and uh.” As she pauses, she starts to think deeply, going back to her memories. "I actually am pretty ,uh, well, everyone in my family has  high expectations of me, since I’m the oldest. My other sister is about 12 years old like the students here.”

“When I first met Genesis, I thought she was a friendly person,” says Jordan Lim, another Breakthrough teacher.” I thought she was suuuuuper friendly and fun! I still think she is, too.”

Even Breakthrough is sometimes difficult to the teachers. The time management and homework that comes with the job of being a Breakthrough teacher parallels the work that comes with being a Breakthrough student. “We always have homework over the weekends," Genesis laughs. "The hardest part of being a teacher is the time management, and the fact that we have to be three days ahead in our lesson plans. The mentor teachers also check on us from time to time. Sometimes you can see them wander into our classroom.”

As a Breakthrough teacher, you have a fixed schedule that you follow every day. For example, Genesis says, "The Breakthrough teachers have to at least work 3 blocks. I have Block B Math, Block C Math, and  Block F Yoga. We also have to be at the school at 7:40 and greet the students.”

As you can see, Genesis is a very kind and caring towards the students. She does not slack or give up on the students. She embodies the connection that teachers should have with their students and the ability to teach.