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What is the biggest need you see in students in Merced?
They [students] need to see beyond their immediate world. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our community, but often what happens, because we struggle socioeconomically, is that students do not see themselves beyond the current state in which they live. One of the reasons why I push for a trip to Washington D.C. is so students can see the world from a different perspective and they may find that they want more for their community.
What kind of impact can the class have on the community?
I think it has had a positive impact on our community, because more young women and young men are beginning to question what they see and why society is buying into it. I enjoy hearing students discuss what they see on social media and how certain genders are categorized and how that needs to be changed. While they had perhaps previously laughed at it or engaged in diminishing of a particular gender, they are now seeking ways to empower themselves and others. In 2008, we started with 23 students who took the class. We now have over 400 students who signed up to take next year’s class. There is something that is connecting with the students that they want to be a part of.
What do you see for the class’s future?
I am excited to announce that next year we will be offering an AP Women’s Literature class, we are looking at getting the approval of a Transnational Women’s Studies class. Eventually, we would like to develop a course on Title IX, as well as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) course. The long term goal as I see it is to develop a program that would allow students to have access to information that may not be available in any other high school in the nation. That way they can carry that knowledge with them so that others might find it of interest and want to come and see what students at Buhach Colony High School are learning and seek to replicate it.
After years of teaching, what has it taught you?
I think the best lesson is the one I tell the students on the first day: that there is no judgment. Every person who walks through this door is not who they seem. Every person has certain challenges that they carry with them. They might not initially feel comfortable sharing, but if we can begin to create a sense that we are all in this together, they can become more real, and we as a society can move away from judgment. I have grown as a person, having to reflect upon my own personal relationships, and which relationships go by what I seek to teach in the class and which ones go against it. I have had to make changes in my own life to make sure that how I live my life is reflective of what I ask of my students.
