Story 05: Timothy (MA): Amazing Student Growth

May 27

Written By Caleb Howard

My name is Timothy Chávez and I’ve been teaching Spanish since 2014. I currently teach in Massachusetts.

What made me happy this week >>>

…was my community both at work and at home.

From my camera roll that makes me smile >>>

My cat, Mixton, is enjoying his little chair, and it makes me happy to see him and his fur siblings happy.

Teacher pressure feels like >>>

…a knot in my gut that blocks my throat and makes it hard to breathe.

Teaching in 3 words >>>

Enlightening. Exhausting. Inspiring.

What made me decide to be a teacher was>>>

My kindergarten teacher was so whacky and cool; I wanted to be just like her!

A frustrating moment >>>

Sometimes we have to go against our values, take a few steps backward and be patient with others. But the more we do that, the more burnt out we can get.

A proud moment >>>

My novice students did a performance assessment and we looked back at their first writings and compared them to their most recent ones. It was amazing to see them see how much growth they have made.