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Teacher of the Month:

Pamela Espinoza-Verduzco  

Leilani Santos

January 10, 2024

 

What is a good teacher? A good teacher is someone who teaches valuable lessons such as how to better your learning skills, challenge yourself, and overall understand their students. Teachers don't just teach but go out of their way to help students during their breaks or during their lunch. They try to better understand each one of their students as well which also shows students they have an adult they can trust and who cares for them. Some teachers even attend students´ games such as in soccer, football, basketball and many other sports. A teacher who will be highlighted this month is Pamela Espinoza-Verduzco who is a first year teacher teaching math to 9th graders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Verduzco did two years at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) and three years at California Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo. Even though she attended those schools . Verduczco said,  ¨I almost dropped out of college because it got rough. I couldn't pass an advanced Linear Algebra class until finally on my 3rd attempt I passed! ´´ When I was interviewing her, she said that I noticed that she seemed very excited about how successful. Verduzco then attended the ALDER residency program where she got her Masters in Education. She is now on an emergency credential meaning she is still able to teach but still has to get her official teaching credential, Verduzco remarked , ´´I worked my butt off to be able to be where I am now.´´ This stands out to me because after all her ups and downs she didn't give up and kept on going and now she has accomplished something big. This can have a big impact on students by showing them how despite everything you can still accomplish a lot. 

 

While interviewing Verduzco I asked her why she wanted to become a teacher which she shared, ´´I love working with the youth. I have worked with Community Partnership for Youth for a majority of my life. I have been in the program since I was in 5th grade up until 2023.´´ This made her realize she enjoyed working with kids  and wanted to become a teacher and be able to do the things she enjoyed.

 

I  asked her why she like working with teenagers and Verduzco replied, ´´I simply enjoy being able to be a role model for these students. It's usually in middle school where students tend to start to think about dropping out of school but it's in high school where they make those decisions, by skipping class or not caring about their grades or simply not showing up to school or making other things as priorities.´´ Verduzco simply wants the best for her students. She also enjoys being able to help her students and hearing,´´OHH I understand it now.¨Verduzco overall is an amazing teacher that just wants the best for her students and wants to encourage her students to keep on trying and not give up.