An Impromptu Conversation – Part 1

SHARE THIS STORY:

There are few enjoyable moments during testing as a teacher. But I find sometimes magic moments come out of it.

This year as I was proctoring the AASA test to the English as a Second Language students, I had a lovely conversation that I wanted to share with you all. We were due to start the test at 8 am and our school day starts at 7:20 am. During this time, students were to get their snacks, headphones, and mice from differnet locations and report to their testing location. For the generalized population, your testing location is your first period teacher. But some students are moved to smaller groups to help serve their individualized needs.

As my small group of students filed into my room, we set up the room for testing. We had bathroom breaks and we got our wiggles out. As we were settling in, about 10 minutes before the test, one student started sharing a story. The following is a recount from the best of my memory of that conversation.

Student 1 (S1): Mrs. Mora, when I moved here from Mexico, it was so hard. I didn’t know English and when kids would be laughing around me and I wouldn’t know if they were laughing at me. I never knew if they were bullying me.

S2: That happened to me too! The kids were mean! They would make fun of my accent.

As I listened, I took in the students and this moment. Oh, how I wished the 8:00 am start time would disappear! So that I continue to listen to these students retell their experiences.

S3: That sorta happened to me but since I was good at sports, they became nicer. But one kid made fun of my sister so I punched him in the face. And then he stopped.

Mrs. Mora: Wow, well we don’t want to be punching people in the face when we have conflicts.

S3: Well he never did it again.

Mrs. Mora: Have all of you had similar experiences?

Class: Yes!

Mrs. Mora: Have things gotten better for most of you?

Some responded with yes and some with no. Oh how I wanted to scoop them up and tell them that it would be okay. That things would get better after school. That in the real world people are understanding of your accent. But I knew I couldn’t. I have the priviledge of being a white passing latina that grew up in Oklahoma so I don’t have an accent. But my husband moved here from Chile on a Fiance Visa when he was 30 years old without any English. An Electrical Engineer in his country, with many credentials and supervisor experiences, started working at Taco Bell in the States when he got his work permit.

I wanted to tell them so many things in that moment.

But in that moment, it was 8:00 am.

Mrs. Mora: Thank you for sharing your stories. I want to hear more very soon, let’s continue this later. But it is now time to start the test.

Over the following week, those students did come back to my class and I asked them if they would be willing to turn our conversation into a podcast. Maybe no one will hear it but I wanted to have it for the future. I assured the students that if anyone did hear it, it would only be teachers because it is important for people to know what students come to school to deal with.

In part 2, I will share more information about how that conversation continued.

Sara Mora

Sara Mora has been living her dream of being a teacher for the last 12 years. She studied Elementary Education at the University of Arizona and was selected as a Rodel Oustanding Student Teacher. Sara taught 1st grade in Nogales for 3 years before moving to 2nd grade in the Sahuarita Unified School District to be closer to home. In 2017, she obtained her Master’s in Educational Technology from Northern Arizona University. This degree opened the door for her to move into a brand new position at the newest K-8 in Sahuarita. Sara was tasked with designing and implementing a middle school Career and Technical Education program geared towards college and career exploration. And though not required, Sara worked towards getting certified in Career and Technical Education so that she could do justice to her position. After her first year in this position, she was selected as an Arizona Education Foundation Ambassador of Excellence Teacher of the Year for 2021. When she’s not teaching, she’s advising her Video Production Club and facilitating Technology Professional Development for her district. In her spare time, Sara also works as a health coach, enjoys volunteering her tech skills at church, traveling with her husband and son, reading, and making Tik Tok videos.