Beyond My Years

Teaching with determination, starring Khamphet Pease

• Amplify Education • Season 1 • Episode 4

Share episode

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns all she can learn from the life stories and lessons of Khamphet Pease. While other teenagers might have been sneaking around to go to late night scary movies, Khamphet was applying for scholarships and submitting college applications. As a refugee from Laos, Khamphet shares the difficulty she experienced navigating a home culture that did not encourage education or career ambitions for women. Despite that, she laughs over her stubbornness that she sees as an integral part of what has motivated her to chase her dreams, spend over 20 years as a STEM teacher, and what earned her the presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching. Due to gendered norms and expectations, she almost lost out on the future she truly wanted. Since then, she has made it her mission to champion a learning environment where young girls feel they belong and can thrive in STEM fields. Khamphet takes Ana on a journey through all the lessons she learned along the way of managing work/life balance, creating a classroom culture of trust, and the importance of finding a mentor during the hardest teaching years of your life. Once back in the classroom, Eric Cross and Ana check in on Eric’s first two weeks of back-to-school and discuss practical ways to take care of yourself first so you can then take care of your students.

Show notes:

Quotes:
“This next school year, she told me I'm up at 60 percent girls in my intro to coding classe,. and that's huge! I want to make sure that girls have access and they feel wanted and included and they can see themselves in these fields.” —Khamphet Pease

“I remember one class that I had [with only] one female student, and she was just looking around and I could see in her eyes that she just felt like this is not a place for her. She dropped out of that class and after that I was like, no, this is unacceptable.” —Khamphet Pease

“We just need more women. More of their voices. They need more seats at the table because if we all hear [only] male voices, then 50 percent of the population isn't going to have their problem solved as easily or as efficiently.” —Khamphet Pease

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (00:00)
I remember one class that I had that only had one female student, and she was just looking around and I could see it in her eyes, as she just felt like this is not a place for her. And she dropped out of that class. And after that I was like, no, this is unacceptable.

Ana Torres: (00:15)
This is Ana Torres, and welcome to Beyond My Years from Amplify. On each episode, I speak with longtime educators who share chronicles from the classroom and some lessons they'd like to pass on to newer teachers. Today's guest is Phet Pease, a prize STEM educator from San Diego, California. Long before she was winning national awards for her teaching, Phet was a young girl who came to the United States as a refugee. On this episode, Phet describes the determination and stubbornness, that that was her word, she displayed on her journey to becoming a veteran teacher. She'll share a story of a bet her students made during her first year about how long she'd last in the classroom. I have to admit, really it's one of my favorite stories so far from a Beyond My Years guest. We're also going to dive into Phet's passion for supporting girls in STEM. That's such an important topic, and I think Phet has some great ideas to share with us all. Please stick around until the end for classroom insider Eric Cross. He will be sharing his thoughts on my conversation with Phet. But now it's time to meet Phet Pease.

Ana Torres: (01:44)
Can I tell you, Phet, I am so excited to talk to you today. Can you tell us where you are right now?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (01:51)
I'm actually really honored to be here, but I am still in my classroom, , so the school day has ended. But I am waiting, my students are gonna be exhibiting at a local elementary school's family steam night tonight. And so ... just killing time until I pick up some kids and shuffle them over there.

Ana Torres: (02:10)
I like how you're like, I'm killing time . I'm assuming that you have been ... what time did you arrive in your classroom today?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (02:18)
Around 7:30 a.m.

Ana Torres: (02:20)
Okay. 7:30 a.m. Okay. And so tell us where you're teaching and what you're teaching.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (02:26)
So I teach STEM electives, so if you don't know what STEM stands for, it's an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And I teach at Wilson Middle School. So sixth through eighth grade students.

Ana Torres: (02:39)
Sixth to eighth grade. Some people could say that's that middle school. That's scary grade.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (02:44)
Yes. Yeah, But I ...

Ana Torres: (02:45)
You're not scared, are you Phet?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (02:47)
Well actually, initially I was, because when I was first starting off and considering a possibility of teaching, I always thought I would teach elementary school. And so middle school was intimidating for me because at that time I was smaller, and so they were larger than I was and I didn't think I could quite handle it, you know, with all the hormones and the adolescents, puberty, all those things. I didn't think I was prepared for that. But as luck would have it, my first teaching job, I ended up teaching and getting hired at actually the middle school that I attended in my youth, and I've been here ever since.

Ana Torres: (03:24)
Wow. So thank you for joining us today and being part of this podcast that really is geared towards hearing from educators who have been in the field for, you know, seasoned educators, let's say. Right? We're not gonna say older educators, we're gonna say seasoned educators, if that's okay with you. Phet.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (03:43)
I like seasoned. Yes.

Ana Torres: (03:45)
Don't you like seasoned better? Okay. So how many years have you been in the classroom?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (03:49)
I have now been teaching for 20 years.

Ana Torres: (03:52)
So wow, Phet, two decades. Let's start from the beginning, Phet. So where did you begin your career? You know, how did you get to be where you are now?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (04:02)
So, I guess to kind of understand my experience, you have to go way back. So I am a refugee. My family were political refugees from Laos, it's a country in Southeast Asia. We escaped because of political strife and turmoil in my home country, and we landed in a refugee camp in Thailand, and then eventually we got a sponsor family. You have to understand, my family's really large, so I have nine brothers and sisters. And so waiting for somebody who was willing to take in my entire family took a really long time. I think it was four years we were in the refugee camps until a church eventually sponsored us temporarily in Texas. And then a friend of my dad sponsored us and brought us to San Diego, California, which is where I reside now. So we landed in this really diverse community.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (05:00)
It was lower income, where a lot of other refugees landed as well. It's called City Heights in San Diego. At the time, my family squeezed into a 632-square-foot house, and it was like two bedrooms for all of us, including the sponsor family that had six members themselves. So, for a while, there were 17 of us living in this tiny house. But eventually they moved out and growing up, just because the way my culture is, there were really kind of gendered norms and traditions. And so, as a female, I wasn't really encouraged to kind of pursue education. That just wasn't part of the path that my parents saw because that's just not what happened in my home country. And so they didn't really push me at school, but I loved school. I loved being at school.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (05:54)
I loved my teachers and all the different things that they would do. And I really like to help people. And even though I didn't know myself that I wanted to be an educator at that time, I remember those experiences. I had exceptional teachers in my life. You know, I had teachers like Mrs. Himoglau, my fourth-grade teacher. She would take me out and go visit beaches, bodyboarding, museums. So, I picked up a violin for the first time. My teacher, Ms. Smith, she took me to my first movie theater. I had never had that experience. My first movie, by the way, was "Back to the Future Part III," and it was incredible . But I remember those experiences. So when I did eventually figure out I wanted to be a teacher, what they did and giving me those experiences outside of the classroom really impacted me and it kind of guides me in my own instructional practices.

Ana Torres: (06:52)
Thank you. I mean, like you really took us back to the beginning of the beginning, right? And just hearing you share your story of just the refugee camp, you know, can I tell you that that speaks to me in a way. In a different way. Of course, my experiences were obviously a lot different than yours, but I am an immigrant as well. I came to this country from Panama City, Panama at six years old. But one thing I will tell you is I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher from the age of three or four. And it seems like those experiences with these other teachers really kind of propelled you to do that. And you mentioned something that I think folks would like to hear a little bit more about, which is this uncomfortableness with you being a girl and how that was kind of seen in your community. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (07:45)
Yeah. Just in my culture, I was expected to kind of basically serve and take care of my younger siblings. So unlike my brothers who kind of had carte blanche, they could go out and do things and join organizations and clubs, I was kind of prevented from doing those things because that's not what girls do. Like you're supposed to stay home, cook and clean for your family. And, you know, at the time they didn't understand why I would want more because, you know, that's kind of what my mom did, right? She became a housewife and took care of all of us. And, you know, she was perfectly content doing that. But something inside of me just wanted more. And I felt like I could offer the world more than being a housewife. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And my mom, I absolutely admire her and adore her and the work that she had to do, especially coming to a new country with no language skills and being, you know, having to navigate all of that and raise all of us.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (08:51)
She's a tremendous person and I admire her greatly, but that just wasn't what I envisioned for my future. And so there was, you know, some resistance growing up and there was kind of a lot of tension between my parents and I, because, you know, we'd butt heads on what I wanted to do. So if I wanted to volunteer or join, you know, my parents were like, why would you wanna do that? Because they didn't understand that it helped me grow and, you know, 'cause I wanted to go to college. But they eventually came around, thankfully. .

Ana Torres: (09:26)
And I like how you mentioned, you know, like kind of you intrinsically knew that you wanted to go in a different direction than your mom, but you still honor what your mom did. I mean, there were what, how many kids, you said?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (09:38)
I have nine siblings, so yeah, there's 10 of us.

Ana Torres: (09:42)
Nine siblings. So do you feel that your backstory, if we could say it like, that was an impetus for you becoming the veteran teacher that you are because you are also a female in a more male-dominated field, which is STEM?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (09:56)
Yeah. So the experiences I had growing up definitely affects the way that I teach. And it's actually the huge reason why I really advocate for girls and females in STEM, because I was almost prevented from finding my path just because of my gender. And so I go out of my way to make sure that my female students have these experiences and they feel like they have welcoming spaces in my classes, in the clubs, in the community at large. I teach STEM electives and I've made huge gains in recruiting female students in my classes. When I first started, it was under 10%, and I have 36 kids max. I remember one class that I had that only had one female student, and she was just looking around and I could see it in her eyes, she just felt like this is not a place for her, and she dropped out of that class.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (10:56)
And after that I was like, no, this is unacceptable. I don't want any student to feel like they don't belong in this space. And so I've done a lot of work to grow my pedagogy, to find more inclusive activities for my students, to expose them, to have these clubs where they feel comfortable and safe, you know, experimenting and doing things without feeling like the boys are gonna dismantle all their work the next day. So I am really grateful my counselor pulled me aside after all this work I've been doing. She told me, 'cause gradually every year it's increasing, but this next school year, she told me I'm up at 60% girls in my intro to coding classes. And that's huge. You know, my aim has always been about 50% and it's been increasing every single year, and we're hovering over like a third, and now 40%. But to hear that next year, she's like, you know, "Phet, you have 60% girls." I've been working with my counselors as well and telling them, "Hey, this is what I wanna do. I wanna make sure that girls have access and they feel wanted and included in that they can see themselves in these fields."

Ana Torres: (12:08)
And that's really inspiring, right? I mean, again, that kind of speaks to that tension too that you were having at home, right? So let's just back up a little bit here if we could, and just tell us a little bit about how you went from that girl who wanted to go to college and was having that tension, or, I hate to use the word conflict, but it seems like it was almost conflict with your parents to actually becoming a teacher back at your old school.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (12:37)
Yeah, there was  there was a huge conflict, you know, because they didn't want me to go to school. They don't like me to talk about it, but it actually had an arranged marriage at the time because my culture has arranged marriages as part as our traditions. And I was supposed to be married at the age of 16, so college was not supposed to be on my mind. You know, I was already supposed to be married and starting my life as a housewife and whatnot. But like I said, that wasn't what I saw for myself. And so I pushed back and I did some things behind their backs, all good things like, you know, apply for scholarships and colleges and things of that nature. And I got accepted into them. And I ended up living at the dorms just to make things easier so that, you know, residing under my parents' roof, they had more control over what I was and was not able to do.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (13:30)
But I decided I needed to be independent. And so, I found myself at college and I actually was really into science and I graduated with a biology degree. And so that's why I was saying. I didn't know I wanted to be a teacher. I really enjoyed the sciences. And after college, I got a job at a biotech company and I was working there, but I started to get bored, . So I volunteered because I like helping people. And I was tutoring students at a local library in San Diego, after work hours. And it came to a point where I was looking more forward to my workday ending so I could go volunteer in the evenings with the students, and that's when I knew, okay, this is not what I want. I think I should pursue being an educator as my career profession.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (14:25)
And so I went and got my credential. And even at the time, I think, when my parents finally accepted the fact that I wanted to go to college, because they still really respected my accomplishments 'cause I was always a really great student, I got wonderful grades. You know, people have this misconception that teaching is not a highly regarded profession. What is that saying? Those who can't do teach or something like that. And so I felt like people were kind of disappointed in my decision to pursue teaching as a career because they felt like I had higher potential to do something that was more respected, more well-paying, et cetera.

Ana Torres: (15:11)
You know, thinking about those of us who are educators and have been doing this for a long time, and you mentioned, there is kind of that stigma of, oh, you're a teacher. Like, oh, you decided to do that because of course it doesn't pay as much as other jobs. And the fact that you actually had like a corporate job and actually felt it was more rewarding to be around children and educating children speaks to the heart of why most of us do what we do. We are folks that are wanting to help, right? And I heard you say, I really wanna help and support. And so that's really generally in our spirit to do that, right? Now most of us aren't sneaking around at 16 years old, having tensions with our parents about going to college because most of our parents want us to go to college. So while others were sneaking out and doing other crazy things while they were 16, Phet was trying to figure out how she was gonna go sneak around and go to college. So I find that to be a very admirable thing, Phet . So I mean, it seems like there was, you know, a little bit of tension going on, but you were pretty steadfast of where you kind of saw this going and that pivotal moment of I enjoy working with students, working with a lot more than my real job.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (16:26)
Yeah. I felt more of a sense of purpose and it was so rewarding to work with the students, especially when they were struggling. And then you're able to work with them and have them get that concept like teachers do. Like when you see that aha moment, that light bulb go off on the student' brain, that is the best feeling. Like you see it and you're like, yes, I was a little part of that. And so that when I knew I needed to pursue teaching. And interesting enough, like my experience, as unusual as it sounds, I've had a lot of my students that I teach go through the same things with their families. The parents are like, oh, you can't stay for a robotics club because I need you to pick up your sibling and take care of them. Or even in the other genders, like, oh no, you, because their parents do construction or whatever. No, you can't go to the competition. I need you at the work site with me so that you can make money.

Ana Torres: (17:27)
How do you typically respond in those situations? And do you ever intervene? Do you ever talk to parents?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (17:33)
It's really challenging, but I have had some success with reaching out to the parents, especially when it's regarding my robotics club or my classes, because sometimes they're like, oh no, this is not for girls. You shouldn't learn engineering. You know, you need to take music class or art class or something else that's more like gendered. And I invite them in. I say, please come to my class. Please come to my club and you'll see that this is a viable pathway for your child. Look at them. Look at the knowledge they're gaining from building this robot from programming it. Please come to our competitions. And when they do come, they're always so impressed and they had no idea and insight ... that this is something that their child wants to do and has a passion towards, because they think it's just kind of not meaningful. Because it's an elective class, this is not gonna help them out in the real world. And so when they see the kids are developing these real life skills, the critical thinking and the problem-solving, the creativity along with the technical skills, usually I'm able to turn them around and they'll let their child attend these classes and take these clubs, and then they become my hugest supporters, , you know, then they're like, how can we help, you know?

Ana Torres: (18:59)
We'll be right back with so much more from Phet Pease. Don't forget, later on I'll be joined by classroom insider, Eric Cross, for his personal thoughts on bringing Phet's ideas into today's classroom.

Eric Cross: (19:15)
If you find yourself to be a really kind, warm person naturally, then holding the line and being firm might be a bit tougher for you and feel really uncomfortable, but that means it's absolutely necessary.

Ana Torres: (19:25)
That's coming up in a bit. We're going back to my conversation with Phet Pease.

Ana Torres: (19:34)
Has there ever been a time where you intervened and it didn't turn out that way?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (19:40)
Knock on wood, not yet. I've been pretty successful with my interventions. There was one time where at first it seemed like I was unsuccessful because they just weren't returning my phone calls. They didn't want to return my emails, but I don't give up easily. And so I kept at it. And then I don't know whether it was just to get me off their case because I just kept calling and emailing and, you know, showing up. But they eventually relented and they came around and like I said, they do become my biggest supporters.

Ana Torres: (20:17)
And I can only imagine how those students feel, that you're like advocating on their behalf in some way.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (20:24)
I'm able to build that rapport with the students because, you know, I do come from this community. And so for many of them, they see me as a role model too. They oftentimes come to me, "Ms. Pease, you're my hero. I you can do it, I can do it too."

Ana Torres: (20:38)
You also mentioned too that because it is an elective, it's not seen as important as other classes. What would you say to parents that are ... that's a waste of time for my daughter? What would you say to other educators who are maybe thinking, how valuable is that to have?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (20:58)
Oh my goodness. The world needs more girls in STEM. It is so important. We need their perspectives. It's also very valuable for the girls themselves because they're able to put themselves in places where there are gonna be high paying jobs, right? So they're gonna be able to be independent and take care of themselves in the future. But we just need more of their voices. They need more seats at the table. Because oftentimes the people who work on these solutions for these problems in the world, if we all hear male voices, then 50% of the population isn't gonna have their problem solved as easily or as efficiently because they're not there to speak up. So it's really important, don't be the barrier. Help them, support them, give them what they need in order for them to not only get into that field, but encourage and recruit others so that there isn't this huge disparity between the genders.

Ana Torres: (22:02)
Now let's go back to being a veteran educator, I'm sorry, seasoned educator . I want you to take me to your favorite, favorite class that you've ever had, and what was special about that class?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (22:18)
This is tough because I have so many favorite classes . But what they have in common is, we have built such a strong connection that there's this big trust among us and we're able to just relax, have fun. We laugh a lot. I do a lot of silly things that really affect my dignity and pride, but it's effective in the classroom. , I have a terrible singing voice, but I make song parodies to help them learn different steps for math problems or whatnot. And we just have a really good time.

Ana Torres: (22:57)
And that's, you know, a very typical teacher answer, right? We love all of our students the same. And of course it is hard to pick like the favorite class. And you touched upon something that's very, very important Phet. What you do in order to create an environment of fun or an environment of learning. Can you talk to us a little bit about how you build that community of trust, where you are authentic and your students also feel that they can be their authentic selves in your classroom?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (23:28)
Yeah, so it's not my classroom. It's our classroom. And so at the beginning of the year, we always have that conversation and they are partners in this. And so we'll spend the first two weeks thinking of our ideal classroom. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What's happening in it? And we'll share these visions. For the students who don't like to speak up, I still wanna give them a voice. So I'll do something like a pear deck where they're able to type in the response without fear. Because it's the beginning, so they don't know yet, that it's okay to make mistakes. And so they'll type in their responses and we'll anonymously share it and we'll create these posters that we come to a collective agreement of what this ideal classroom looks like. And then they'll sign it.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (24:16)
And then every day for five minutes, I do some sort of community builder experience. And it's just little short check-ins. Like, would you rather eat a raw onion or suck on a lemon? You know? But it's a way for them to get to know each other, you know, I'll do check-ins with them ... How are you feeling? What's new going on in your life? And for those who feel comfortable sharing out loud, they'll do. So others who are more private, they're still participating, but where I'm only seeing the responses. And so we do that all the time. And at the beginning, you know, the kids are really shy. They're still learning each other, but once they find out these common interests by these things, like, oh, he likes onions. Like he's the only other one who's chose, to chew on an onion.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (25:01)
And then they form these relationships amongst themselves, right? I also embed my content within there. So like they'll do cup towers where I give them 20 cups and they have to work as a group to be able to build the tallest tower and have it standing, within five minutes or whatever. And they're still learning kind of like the engineering design process where they have to reiterate and you know, persevere and all those things. And I found that it is really just amazing investment in the students, 'cause I know a lot of teachers are like, "Oh no, I don't have time for that. I gotta cover the standards and I have to have all this, you know, done by the end of the year. So I don't have time to spend two weeks doing this in my classroom." But let me tell you, it is so worth it because once you have that relationship and connection with your students, when you do dive into the content, it is smooth sailing because they trust you now.

Ana Torres: (25:55)
A little suggestion, a little piece of advice there. And so is that something that you started out year one? Or is that something that you evolved and said, as you've taught longer, and said, "Wow, this two weeks is a great investment"

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (26:12)
I had to learn that. That was an evolution for me because my first year was kind of in the hot seat, 'cause I was hired midyear and it was a group of kids who had already had a revolving door of teachers come and go. And as a new teacher, I didn't understand that forming a relationship with my students was more important than teaching them the content, 'cause I was hired as an eighth grade math teacher and I really loved math and I wanted them to understand the math, and that was my focus. But they didn't know who I was as an educator, as a human. They just saw this new person who was in their space, and they just assumed that I was gonna be another person who would abandon them just like the other teachers had. And so they didn't wanna listen to what it had to say. And I just kept trying to teach them math and it wasn't working. And so after that first year, and subsequent years after that, I was like, we're gonna start this differently. I just naively thought, because I love this subject matter so much, the kids are going to love it too. And they're gonna learn through osmosis. And  that wasn't the case, obviously

Ana Torres: (27:28)
 Right. I can remember, I always go back to my year one and how I love those children. I had 26 kids, they are always just, you know, vivid in my memories when I talk about teaching and stories of teaching and the mistakes that I made. But that wasn't necessarily, I would say like my most challenging year, but it was the year that I learned that I needed to be more authentic. I needed to create more of those authentic spaces for both myself and students to be vulnerable, right? They knew that I cared about them, they knew that I knew the content, but something was missing. And I think that investment, I love that word that you used, that investment that we put in, in that beginning of the year -- and I would actually spend six weeks. Now, I did teach content, Phet, but I would spend a good six weeks upfront to really establish a community of not just a community of learners, but of community kind of like family, right? So as we speak to each other, we speak to each other respectfully, right? But I wanted to go back to, because you went through that year one, would you say that was your most challenging year? Or can you take us to your most challenging year and tell us why that was your most challenging year.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (28:41)
That actually was my most challenging year. 

Ana Torres: (28:45)
As you were telling me the story of, hey, these kids didn't trust me, I'm thinking, was this your most challenging year?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (28:50)
Yeah, it definitely was. Like I said, just because it was midway through the school year, and it was a group of students who, they were kind of like the misfits or the outcasts. Teachers did not want to stay in that classroom, and the kids knew it. And so they behaved in that way because they felt like no one cared, right? So that was really hard to gain their trust. They really thought I was going to leave them because every teacher had left them throughout that year. They had so many teachers come and go in that time period. And so here's me coming in and they're like, she's just gonna be out again. In fact, they actually had a betting pool amongst themselves, I later found out, to see how long I would last  in that space.

Ana Torres: (29:35)
Wow.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (29:36)
And nobody bet that I was going to survive until the end of the year. But it's interesting because I am Facebook friends with some of those original students in my first year, and they say, "Well, my gosh, Miss Pease, I'm so sorry."  Because they remember the things, you know, that happened. All the different difficulties and challenges I had that year. And they're like, "I'm embarrassed that, you know, I was a part of that. But kudos to you. I couldn't believe that you stuck it out with us, even with all that went down."

Ana Torres: (30:10)
And so why did you stick it out?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (30:13)
I am a very stubborn person, and once I set my heart on teaching, I just wanted to do the best job I could. And there is no quitting. If I start something, I'm gonna see it through to the end. And as hard as that first year was, and I really truly didn't have very much support, except one mentor teacher who helped me, and I give kudos to her because if it wasn't for her, I don't know whether I would've stuck it out. But I just knew that this wasn't going to be forever. This was a temporary class, a temporary time, but things would get better. I just needed as a teacher to figure out what that hook was, right? To get them to listen and to settle down and to, you know, do some sort of learning. And so for me it was kind of like a puzzle that I needed to solve. And so I continually tried different things. I sought advice, asked for help, and I wasn't going down, you know?

Ana Torres: (31:26)
 They weren't gonna take you down. I love that.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (31:27)
Yeah. Like in class, you know, they would do things where I could tell they wanted to really upset me and to really get a rise outta me. But I'm stubborn, and that's not happening in front of them. At home or in the car, that's when, you know, the tears would come down or, "Oh my gosh, I can't. What did I get myself into? How am I going to fix this?" But just like my students are, I'm resilient. I bounce back too. And so I just knew it wasn't anything personal, so I never took it like, this is them against me -- it was just the situation that they were in and this is how they knew to respond in that situation. And so it was just finding a way to connect with them. And you know, thankfully I did, but it wasn't until like towards the very, very end of the year. And then I knew after that, things would get better.

Ana Torres: (32:17)
But I liked what you said as far as, it almost sounds like you just took it one day at a time. Now you did allude to your stubbornness, which, hey, if you go back to your original story, you're pretty stubborn about, "I wanna go to school," right? "And I wanna go to college and I wanna have a job." And so that stubbornness  was actually something that benefited you here. But the fact that you didn't see that challenging experience as, "I'm defeated," because, you know, there are some teachers who may have walked away from that. I mean, they had a whole betting pool on it, right? And 'cause that prior teacher, for whatever reason, decided to walk away, you were, that teacher meant to stay with them and become the teacher that you are today because of that experience. So that almost sounds like advice that you're giving folks is, tomorrow's another day.

Ana Torres: (33:12)
I remember there was a very hard, and it wasn't a hard class, it was a hard student. It was a difficult student that created a classroom environment of a lot of tension and a lot of anxiety. And I actually thought about quitting. I had to tell myself, tomorrow is a clean slate. Right? Tomorrow's a clean slate. Tomorrow we start over. And that actually helped in a very difficult, that was a very difficult year for me. But again, going back to what you mentioned is, having a mentor teacher, someone who seasoned as well, helps get through those times. I think you mentioned that you've had mentor teachers, but did you have one at that moment in time during that challenging time with that class?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (33:58)
There wasn't a teacher that was assigned to me, but I sought support and help. My partner teacher, Miss. Janice Paige, I love her. I still communicate with her. She had gravitas, right? She was in, I think in her fifties, sorry, Miss Paige, if I got your age wrong, . But she was experienced and she just had this way about her where she was no-nonsense, and the kids did not try things in her classroom. Whereas I was this very young, early twenties educator. Pollyanna, you know, I'm going to change the world, you know, and all these things, and I wasn't prepared for that tough group of students I had that first year. But she said, "Hey, you know, if they mess with you or you need them out of your classroom, just send them to me. I'll deal with it. You don't need to worry about it."

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (34:46)
And the few times I had to do that, they came back, "Oh, I'm never gonna act up again. 'cause I don't wanna go to Miss. Paige." So that was really helpful. And just having somebody to kind of vent to and ask for, you know, "Oh, this is not working. What are things that you are trying that has worked for you?" That was great, because knowing that I wasn't alone and I had some support really helped make that year more successful.

Ana Torres: (35:15)
And having a mentor teacher or someone who's in your corner is, is really important in this field because it can feel very isolating, wouldn't you say? . I mean, think about it. We're in our classrooms with 20 plus kids with doors closed and, you know, lots of different things go on. Every day is different.

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (35:37)
And she was so funny too. So even if I had a really bad day, she was able to, you know, uplift my mood because she was just hysterical. The things that she would say, and, I just loved her so much. Yeah, she was a light definitely that year.

Ana Torres: (35:52)
Well, and you need that. I think laughter is really key in what we do on a day-to-day basis. Because sometimes if you're not laughing, you're crying, aren't you? , right? You know, I had a very influential mentor teacher my first year, and she was great. She was a wonderful individual. I actually went on a campus that started a bilingual program, very new, and it shook some people a little bit, 'cause it was literally like, what are all these Spanish speaking kids doing here? Like, what? This is gonna change the dynamic of our school. And although she was not a bilingual teacher, she offered me a lot of support. And because of that support, I knew that I wanted to be a mentor or a partner to someone else. And a lot of it is, learn from my missteps, right? You know, starting off, there's some things that we probably both did that we are not happy about. And so what would you say is a nugget of advice or a suggestion or an aha of, "Wow. Had someone told me this when I first started, I would've done ..."

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (37:00)
Yeah. So there's some things. But one of the key things, and this is something I still kind of struggle with honestly, but finding that work-life balance. Because as teachers, a lot of us are overachievers and we want to do everything, and we want to do everything well. And so if it takes a lot of time, we will dedicate that time to the detriment of our family time or whatnot. Don't do that to yourself. Do a better job prioritizing things, especially your checklists, but make sure you take care of yourself as well. You know, take the time to go for a walk. Take the time to take a bubble bath. Cook for yourself. Do whatever you find enjoyment in, because that school checklist can always wait because things are continually being added to it, and you're never gonna get through it all right? Don't kill yourself coming super, super early and staying super, super late, you know?

Ana Torres: (37:59)
Like you're doing today, right? 

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (38:01)
I know, I know. I was like, that's why I said I'm still struggling with it, . But this is a special event, so I had committed to it. But, don't do it routinely. Set those boundaries for yourself so that you don't get burnt out.

Ana Torres: (38:13)
Yeah. Self-care is so important. Had someone said that to me, because I literally recall doing what you're actually doing today, but I know we're teasing a little bit about it. Those 12-hour days, right? Of beginning at six and ending at six, and then, you know, maybe eating something and then picking it back up later on. And so that's a great, great piece of advice. So we're gonna end it on a really great note too. Before we kind of say goodbye. You received a very special award for something, right?

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (38:48)
I've actually received several, but yes, I have received, a special award. I was honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2020. I was invited to go to D.C., and receive my award in person. So I have a framed certificate from Joe Biden. For me, it was such a huge honor. You know, I always go like, here's me this little, you know, Laotian refugee girl growing up in City Heights with very humble beginnings, and through a lot of hard work and the support of so many around me, I was able to achieve what's considered the pinnacle of the STEM teaching profession. It's the highest honor you can receive from the federal government. It was extraordinary. The feeling it was so amazing, you know, I was like pinching myself. It was such an honor to represent so many people--females, minorities, Laotians. It was just, yeah, I am still humbled and honored to have that experience

Ana Torres: (40:00)
And just well deserved, you know, with everything that you have done in this profession and what you all, you're just a role model, not only for girls, just for folks, you know, for educators that are in stem and for you to receive this very elite award and you're still continuing to do this wonderful, wonderful work. So thanks so much, Phet, for just taking time to be with us today and sharing your wisdom and actually sharing some really great and funny stories as well. Yeah. So you wanna give a shout out to your district before we close

Khamphet "Phet" Pease: (40:33)
Out? Thank you. San Diego Unified, because you are the first and only district that has hired me and put your trust and confidence in me when I was trying to get a job. And I'm so grateful that I ended up at Wilson Middle School and have been here for now 20 years. Um, because of your faith and trust in me, we've been able to achieve amazing things. So thank you so much.

Ana Torres: (40:58)
Thank you so much. Phet.

Ana Torres: (41:03)
That was Phet Pease. Don't you wish you could be part of her robotics club? Check the show notes for some links to keep up with Phet. And now I am very excited to be joined by the one, the only classroom insider, Eric Cross. Let's get Eric on the line.

Ana Torres: (41:28)
Well, Eric. Eric!

Eric Cross: (41:31)
Hey.

Ana Torres: (41:31)
Okay. So how are things going?

Eric Cross: (41:33)
Good, good. We're just finishing week two and it's been good getting to know my students.

Ana Torres: (41:40)
Before we talk about Phet, you know, I have to get an update on something, right?

Eric Cross: (41:44)
What's up?

Ana Torres: (41:45)
You mentioned you were going to try Eric's mini-Magna Carta idea that he shared, Eric Jones. I know listeners wanna know, and I wanna know, how it's going.

Eric Cross: (41:55)
It was a great exercise. I didn't call it Magna Carta 'cause I didn't want to go back into the history of explaining what Magna Carta was. But what we did is, we created these classroom norms, the students did it. And they did it in different categories. So they did what their expectation was and desire was for student-to-student relationships, student-to-teacher relationships, and then teacher-to-student--so how should we all interact amongst each other? And then we kind of distilled all those down into some overall norms or agreements for our classes. And it was great because they all had voice and input into it. You know, and the great thing is they all kind of come up with the same ideas.

Ana Torres: (42:32)
I love to hear that. So yeah, I probably would've done the same thing, not having to go into the whole what Magna Carta means. Thanks for sharing that. So we're gonna get to the nitty and the gritty here. So I really wanna know from you, Eric, my classroom insider, what you thought about my conversation with Phet, 'cause it was really a great conversation with her.

Eric Cross: (42:56)
Well, it made me proud because Phet is a science teacher in my city here in San Diego. And so, super proud and inspired to see her getting after it in the classroom. And her story, and how she connects her story and her experiences to her students is incredibly powerful. So not only did she give a lot of great tips and advice for new and aspiring or experienced teachers, but she connected a lot of her personal backstory into that, which made that interview really rich. So I really enjoyed it.

Ana Torres: (43:23)
And can I say what resonated overall in this conversation that I had with her was just the passion she had for girls in STEM. And Eric, you know, you are a middle school science teacher, so there's some connections there. What were your main takeaways from the conversation that you heard with Phet and me.

Speaker 3: (43:43)
Well, one of them, and it's probably really relevant right now because I'm in the beginning of the school year, but she said that she devotes the first two weeks of every year to developing norms and culture. And she thinks that's important, and I can't agree with that more and recommend that more strongly to educators, because there's a saying that goes, what you accept becomes normal. And when you create those classroom norms and culture, that is what's going to sustain that culture throughout the year. When you do that in the beginning and you create this warm space in your classroom, but you also hold the line, which--we've had having a lot of conversations about this lately--kind of depends on your personality type. And one of the things we've been talking about as a team here where I'm at is, if you find yourself to be a really kind, warm person, naturally, then holding the line and being firm might be a bit tougher for you and feel really uncomfortable.

Eric Cross: (44:31)
But that means it's absolutely necessary. Inside, you're not gonna feel like a great person because you're like, "Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm being 'mean,'" right? But what you're doing is you're creating structure and you're a kind person and that structure and meanness is not who you would be as a person, but it's what they need to create the safety and the environment where all students can thrive. And so that's been a conversation and something that resonates, so I agree wholeheartedly with that. The more work you put in those first two weeks, the easier it will be as the semester continues.

Ana Torres: (45:01)
Yeah. That is so, so powerful. You're making a huge investment right up front as you're setting those norms and you're setting the culture for the classroom. And you and I both know Eric, that kind of evolves over time. Any other takeaways that you had, Eric?

Eric Cross: (45:21)
Yeah. Her mentioning of prioritizing things in your checklists and making sure that you take care of yourself. The need will always exceed your capacity. Always. You can live in your classroom. Over the years, I've done things to make things easier for myself so that I can, as that saying goes, sharpen my act so I can come back strong the next day. You know, one of them is knowing that when I start until when I finish, that's the time that I'm here and I'm putting in work. But then when I leave, I leave. And I go and I live my life and I do those things. Another thing I realized is, I spend a third of my life in the classroom, so I brought in some kind of creature comforts for myself. So I don't know if you'll appreciate this, but for the first year I went to Costco and I bought a refrigerator and I put it in my classroom.

Eric Cross: (46:04)
It's right here behind me. And inside I have healthy foods because you know what happens when I forget my lunch at home? I go out and I eat at nearby places. And the scale don't lie, , right? I was looking at the scale at the end of the year last year, and I was like, no, no, no, no, no. And I always forget my lunch. So those little things ... and then also making sure that I'm disciplined about my time and I take care of myself because if I'm good, I'm gonna come back fresh the next day for my students and they're gonna have a better experience. You're serving so many other people, you have to be okay so that you can pour out into them.

Ana Torres: (46:36)
Any final takeaways that you'd like to share with me today?

Eric Cross: (46:40)
One of the things I loved about what Phet said was that she invites parents and builds positive relationships and brings 'em to the classroom. And so often we wait until parent-teacher conferences. But why do that? Like start early, bring them in, invite them, let them see what's going on. And people need to be invited. They don't know that it's an option to do that. And that can really build some crucial support that some students need, especially when you're doing clubs that students may not have the support from their parents to do. Like Phet was talking about with some of the girls that she was inviting. The parents were kind of skeptical about that. And so it was great to build that ally and that relationship. And the last thing she said, it was simple, but it was important, is that she sought out support and help. And there's a lot that you learn in teacher programs and there's a lot that you learn at first-year teacher trainings at your school, but there's a lot of hacks and tricks and kind of secret things that kind of happen that the veterans know. And so asking for help is so important because they can save you so much time and help you with ways to be efficient. Those are things that come from having so a good relationship with your colleagues and, like this podcast about, is about having a good mentor.

Ana Torres: (47:45)
Remember that funny anecdote about the kids having a pool that she was gonna quit that year? I think her having the mentors allowed her to be able to really stay the course that year. She was probably very happy that the students lost that bet. Eric.

Eric Cross: (48:02)
Change the Vegas odds, right? It put 'em back in her favor.

Ana Torres: (48:06)
So thank you so much for sharing all of that today, and I guess we're going to have a new tagline, Eric. Until the next time.

Eric Cross: (48:15)
Thanks Ana. I'll see you next time.

Ana Torres: (48:19)
Thanks for listening to this episode of Beyond My Years From Amplify. I'm your host, Ana Torres. Our classroom insider is Eric Cross. Our music is from Andrew Smoley. Next time on the show, we're doing something very special. We're going to learn about one of the most rural districts in the entire country. And we don't just have one amazing guest. We have two, because we're going to be talking to Rod and Patti Lloyd. Two longtime educators in the northern most school district in the United States.

Rod Lloyd: (48:55)
In a smaller village, you are a teacher 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Patti Lloyd: (49:00)
It's home. And we just love the people.

Ana Torres: (49:01)
That's next time. And since we're talking about double trouble, now is a good time to break the news. Later this season on Beyond My Years, we're running two episodes in a row with the 2024 National Teacher of the Year and the 2023 National Teacher of the Year. Now that's a lot of star power coming up. The best way to catch every episode is to subscribe to Beyond My Years on the podcast platform of your choice. You can also help more people find the podcast by leaving us a rating and also a review. Our website is amplify.com/beyondmyyears. Until next time, remember to reach out and say thank you to a seasoned educator who has shaped your life. I am Ana Torres. Thanks so much for listening.