Beyond My Years

Teaching takes trust, starring Luz Selenia Muñoz

• Amplify Education • Season 1 • Episode 8

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Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres walks alongside Luz Selenia Muñoz as she retraces the path that led her from planning to become a psychologist in Puerto Rico to living in Chicago as a veteran bilingual teacher with 20 years under her belt. Luz shares how finding her happy place in second grade took time, describing how she quickly learned that teaching upper elementary was not for her. She also dives into how immigrating from Puerto Rico to the United States taught her how to persevere through the struggles of a new environment, and how she learned to balance her independence with reliance on and trust in her fellow educators for support.. Luz stresses some of the most important lessons she has learned along the way, including teaching a culture rather than just a language, staying focused on your target language, making connections with students, trying something different instead of giving up, and understanding that tomorrow will get better.

Show notes:

Quotes:
“I'm here to teach this language. And it's not just the language; it's the culture that comes with the language.” —Luz S. Muñoz

“Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, teaching is not for me. I tried for one year and it didn't work.’ Maybe you were in the wrong place. Maybe that's not the grade level for you. Just try something different before quitting. Try something different.” —Luz S. Muñoz

“You need a lot of love for your students. Doesn't matter where you are. You need love for your students and understanding that tomorrow is going to get better.” —Luz S. Muñoz


Luz Muñoz: (00:00)
Sometimes people say, "Oh, teaching is not for me. I tried for one year, and it didn't work." Maybe you were in the wrong place. When you try different things, you will find your happy place.

Ana Torres: (00:13)
This is Ana Torres, and welcome to Beyond My Years from Amplify. On each episode, I speak with long-time educators who share chronicles from the classroom. And some lessons they like to pass on to newer teachers. So, as I've shared before, I am a former dual-language, bilingual teacher. I SO enjoyed my time in the classroom with my babies, 'cause they're, you know, I always call them my babies no matter how old they are. And I had an amazing mentor teacher. She had taught for many, many years. And she really brought a lot of expertise to me. She was a great sounding board. LOVED hearing about the experiences that she had. And she really taught me a lot. I would've not made it my first year without her. But, she was a teacher in a monolingual classroom. What I did feel was missing in my kind of mentor experience was having someone that day in and day out was living in a bilingual and/or dual-language classroom. 'Cause those are some unique experiences there. I would've loved to have had someone who was living the experiences I was living with, with my babies on a daily basis. I know that those of you who are listening in, especially my bilingual and dual-language teachers, hopefully what I'm saying to you resonates with you. Yes, we've had great mentor teachers. But, it would've probably been really great to have someone that could relate to our situation and our experiences. So, I am a fierce biliteracy and multilingual advocate, as most of you know. And I'm going to be actually spotlighting an amazing bilingual and dual-language teacher on this episode today. Her name is Luz Muñoz, and that conversation is coming right up. Now, before we bring Luz on, let me share just a couple of quick notes. One, please don't forget to stick around until the end of this episode to hear from my classroom insider, Eric Cross. Now second, I also recorded a short conversation with today's guest in Spanish. There's a link to that in the description of this episode. Please consider sharing it with a friend, or even a colleague who might enjoy that. And now let's bring on Luz Muñoz. My heart is big and it is very full, and I'm so excited to introduce today's guest. Her name is Luz Muñoz. She is a second grade dual-language teacher with approximately 20 years teaching experience. Super excited about sharing her experiences here with you today. And you're gonna soon learn that she has a fascinating journey that has taken her from Puerto Rico to now eso.

Luz Muñoz: (03:38)
Whoo!

Ana Torres: (03:38)
She's already ready for us. Look, you heard the, "Whoo," already. Puerto Rico to Illinois. I'm excited for Luz to share some of her advice, for bilingual and dual-language educators in particular. But I really, strongly know that ALL educators will really get a lot from the conversation that Luz and I are gonna have today. So, without further ado, I am so ready and excited for Luz to share her incredible journey, and her unique perspective on education that I know will be valuable to all of the listeners today. Luz is waiting for me to like hush right now and go, "Ana, es mi tiempo, it's my turn." I wanna welcome bienvenida Luz Muñoz.

Luz Muñoz: (04:23)
Whoo from Puerto Rico, Illinois . Thank you, Ana, for having me here.

Ana Torres: (04:28)
The honor's mine. I'm so excited. We're just gonna dive in. You have been in the classroom for two decades.

Luz Muñoz: (04:41)
Yep.

Ana Torres: (04:41)
So that makes you a seasoned educator. And as we say in Panama, "Tienes sabor. Muchos sabor. A lot of sazon." A lot of flavor. What and where have you taught Luz?

Luz Muñoz: (04:55)
I started my career in Puerto Rico. I taught five years in Puerto Rico in public school. Then I came here to the United States, to Illinois specifically, for vacation. And I got offered a position as a teacher. I'm like, "Yeah, for a year." I just need to learn English so I can go back to Puerto Rico. And then I have stayed since 2006. I started here as a bilingual teacher teaching first grade. So, that was like a crazy thing. Arriving 10 days before starting the classroom to take trainings in English, and then trying to understand what they were saying. And crying, and crying, and crying, because I couldn't understand what they were saying.

Ana Torres: (05:38)
Oh gosh.

Luz Muñoz: (05:39)
And then arriving to a classroom full of beautiful kids that didn't understand my Spanish.

Ana Torres: (05:45)
Aye Dios, Dios, Dios. So, Luz is already excited to kind of share her backstory. And Luz. We're going to get to all of those amazing details, OK?

Luz Muñoz: (05:56)
OK.

Ana Torres: (05:56)
Because I know you've got some amazing stories to share with us. With what you've just said, what's been the best, or the most surprising, part of becoming a seasoned educator? An educator with sabor. What's that been like?

Luz Muñoz: (06:12)
I think getting to understand where the kids are coming from. When you are a new teacher, you come with all this theology from college, and then you arrive to the classroom, and it's like, nobody taught me how to teach. I don't understand what to do in the classroom. The first three years I think you are like a fish out of water. And then you start getting deep in the water and breathing again, and like, "OK, I got it." And then when you look back, it's like, "Poor for those kids," the first years, because I didn't know what I was doing. Even though you were doing the best of yourself, looking now it's like maybe I don't have the energy that I had 20 years ago. I still have the passion for my kids. But I understand when they come the first day, how do they feel? What are the backgrounds that I need to understand? The cultures? Because it's different. And year by year, you get to the know them more, and understand more of what's going on in the classroom.

Ana Torres: (07:20)
I can so relate to that Luz. I think, sometimes, as we become seasoned, we beat ourselves up for what we should have done. But I like what you just said, "We did the best we could with the experience and the knowledge that we have all of the time." And all you can do is the best you can do. Another thing I wanted to ask you too is what do you think is the secret que es el secreto to a long and happy teaching career? Because you've been doing this for 20 years. That's a long career.

Luz Muñoz: (07:53)
Yes. I think remember that your coworkers are your family. And you need them. And they need you. That every day is a new beginning. Just start with a positive attitude. Arriving to the school saying, "Buenos dias," to everyone. Even though they speak English, they will get it, eventually, that you're saying, "Good morning." And knowing that you need to stop.

Ana Torres: (08:21)
Right.

Luz Muñoz: (08:21)
That 3:30pm is my time to go home. Doesn't matter what I leave at the table, because otherwise you don't take a break, and you get exhausted. Same thing, if you feel like you're exhausted by the end of the week, and maybe you have been two weeks running out of gas. You have sick days. And you should take a mental day, a half day, just to take a break, recharge, and go back.

Ana Torres: (08:49)
You mentioned, and you did it without thinking Luz, you said, "You know what, coworkers are like family, right?"

Luz Muñoz: (08:58)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (08:58)
When did you learn that? And why is that something important to share?

Luz Muñoz: (09:03)
Because sometimes you forget. The first year, you are just going through everything and trying to survive. You don't know who to trust, who to talk to, who to go to and cry. Because some days, even after 20 years, you have to cry.

Ana Torres: (09:20)
Yeah. Yeah.

Luz Muñoz: (09:22)
And when you make that connection, that your coworkers are going through the same thing, and you hear their conversation sometimes during lunch, it's like, "Oh, I'm not the only one." And then you start making those connection with those teachers around you.

Ana Torres: (09:38)
Establishing that trust early on. I remember being the only fourth grade dual-language teacher on the campus.There was only one per grade. And I remember getting together, and saying, "Hey let's have lunch together." And again, kind of talk through things that are happening. And it wasn't always necessarily academic, it's like, "Como te va?" How are you feeling? How do you support each other? And it was comforting to be able to speak to fellow teachers that were kind of going through similar things. So, I totally connect with you on that level, as far as it is your family. 'cause you spend more time with them than you do anyone else probably. Husband? Kids? Todo, no? Would you agree?

Luz Muñoz: (10:26)
Totally agree. I remember seven years ago, when I started in this building, I was the only one in kindergarten teaching Spanish, a dual language. But the interventionist, she was someone that I met by chance, at the school, before starting this school. And then we conferenced. And she knew my students. And I knew what she was going through. So it's like, "OK, I'm doing this. How can you help me with this?" And she arrives, like, "OK, I have tried this, this, and this. What else can I do?" So having this conversation, it's not just me. This is not working. Let's find something together that works.

Ana Torres: (11:08)
It seems like that was something very important to you, having a support system.

Luz Muñoz: (11:12)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (11:13)
I heard you mention advice that was given to you personally. What piece of advice did you get as a younger educator that sticks with you?

Luz Muñoz: (11:24)
I will say make connections. Not just with your coworkers, but with your students. When you make connections with them, you will see what they need. And the behaviors are going to improve, because before the behavior escalates, you know what this kid is going through and how to change his or her mood. So make connections with your students. Know what they're doing outside of school. For example, I have this student this year that everything is about focas, seals. He doesn't talk about anything else. So when I see that he's getting lost, I say, "OK, let's think this is a foca." And he's like, "Oh, she's talking to me." And he made that connection. So try to make just connections with your students. Sometimes you need to forget that I'm here to teach, and think I'm here to make the connections with my students so then I can teach.

Ana Torres: (12:23)
That is very important. And quite a few of our guests that we've had have really emphasized making connections with students. And, like you mentioned, outside of just the classroom. So look, Luz Muñoz already dropping her wisdom nuggets here. Now I know, and Luz is looking at me like, "Ana, when are we going to get to the good stuff? When are we going to get to my story?" And here is where we're going to get to that, because I know that our listeners are like, we wanna hear Luz' story. How did she come from Puerto Rico to Illinois? Yo te quiero Puerto Rico, right? So let's start at the beginning Luz. Did you always know that you wanted to be a teacher Luz?

Luz Muñoz: (13:09)
No. When I went to college, I wanted to be a psychologist, not a teacher.

Ana Torres: (13:16)
Did you have a moment when you decided I wanna do teaching? Did you have an "Aha" moment?

Luz Muñoz: (13:22)
No, it didn't work like that . I entered college University of Puerto Rico. It's a public school. And not everyone entered college. So they told me, "Just enter through education because it's easier. Let's apply and then you can switch careers." So I had to take a class, and I wasn't able to take it the first year. So the second year comes and I'm like, "I like what I'm doing right now. I'm going to finish my Bachelor's in Education and then I switch to psychology. So when I finished my Bachelor's in Education, it didn't work like that. I'm stuck in education. But I had a passion for kids. It's always a passion for helping. I can help in the classroom. And I enjoy it. So I just stayed in education.

Ana Torres: (14:12)
Well good! And can I say that I'm pretty sure all of your students are glad that you stayed.

Luz Muñoz: (14:18)
And I'm glad too.

Ana Torres: (14:20)
You're glad too?

Luz Muñoz: (14:21)
It worked perfect. I am right here. I got a better opportunity. And then I met my husband in education. He's also a teacher.

Ana Torres: (14:32)
Being in the psychology field, you would've never met your husband/

Luz Muñoz: (14:35)
Yep.

Ana Torres: (14:35)
So there's been many things.

Luz Muñoz: (14:37)
And I probably wouldn't have moved here.

Ana Torres: (14:38)
In Puerto Rico, during those five years that you were teaching in Puerto Rico, what kind of school were you teaching at?

Luz Muñoz: (14:45)
OK, in Puerto Rico, when you are not tenured, they review every end of the school year. And they call you back every year. So five years, five different schools.

Ana Torres: (14:57)
Oh wow!

Luz Muñoz: (14:58)
I started fourth to sixth grade teaching Spanish, and that wasn't for me. So in September or October, I resigned. And then I found a position in a public school in second grade. And I love it! This is my happy place!

Ana Torres: (15:16)
I'm so glad you're going there, because I'm a former fourth grade teacher, and I didn't wanna teach any other grade but fourth grade. And you're saying, "Ana, that wasn't necessarily for me." So tell me about second grade, 'cause it feels like you fell in love then. I found the teaching grade that I love. What was special about second grade?

Luz Muñoz: (15:41)
I think because I was able to be myself. I can sit on the floor. I can sing with the kids. I can play with them. And they want to play my games. It wasn't anything silly about me being myself. Versus in fourth to sixth grade, I had to be acting mature, not singing, because that's for babies.

Ana Torres: (16:05)
I see. So this was more comfortable for you, because of the age group. And you do look like you, you've got, you know the esta bailar, that she likes to dance, and she likes to sing, and get on the floor with kids. So I think it is important for educators to know where they fit best Luz. Wouldn't you agree?

Luz Muñoz: (16:25)
Yes. And I think when you try different things, you will find your happy place. Sometimes people say, "Oh, teaching is not for me. I tried for one year, and it didn't work." Maybe you were in the wrong place.

Ana Torres: (16:36)
That!

Luz Muñoz: (16:36)
Maybe that's not the grade level for you.

Ana Torres: (16:40)
Right, right.

Luz Muñoz: (16:40)
Just try something different. Before quitting, try something different. Sometimes a different school, because maybe that school is not for you.

Ana Torres: (16:50)
And I like that advice that you're giving there too, because there's a big turnover. Teachers come, and they leave. And I think you mentioned that you were in five different schools. Did being in those five different schools help you like figure out exactly where your passion was?

Luz Muñoz: (17:10)
Yes. After fourth to sixth, then I found second grade, and I love it. Then they move me again, and then I have to move to a first grade school. A different kind of population. I saw things that I never saw before. I grew up being poor, but I arrived in a place that the kids were even poorer than me. So looking at that, it was like, "Oh my, this is a different kind of work." And I loved the experience. Those kids were happy with everything. A sticker, a smile, a high five. In that year when I went to a different school and I had 21 kids, 18 were special ed. and three were not special ed.

Ana Torres: (17:58)
Wow.

Luz Muñoz: (17:59)
That was like, wow. What am I going to do here? But nobody told me that that wasn't normal. So I told them the expectation is the same for everyone, and we had a great year. Maybe I didn't accomplish all the things that I wanted to accomplish, but it was a great year. Then they move me again. And then I started taking classes to become an English teacher in Puerto Rico. Remember I don't know any English.

Ana Torres: (18:27)
Right, right.

Luz Muñoz: (18:28)
To get tenure is easier if you're an English teacher.

Ana Torres: (18:32)
OK.

Luz Muñoz: (18:32)
So I start getting a certification to become an English teacher, and I started teaching English the following year, K to third grade. Then I noticed third grade is not for me. I love kinder, first, and second. So that was the place that taught me, "Yes, small kids are good for me." And especially teaching English. I didn't know any English. I know, "Pollito, Chicken Gallina, Hen" . So, I add to the song a lot of things. I remember creating a song just for animals, with the same tune, to get my kids engaged. Then I knew, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."

Ana Torres: (19:20)
I'm having so much fun, in case you can't tell. And we haven't even scratched the surface, 'cause Luz has some really amazing things to share with us. I wanna go back a little bit too and ask you the story of how you got from Puerto Rico to Illinois.

Luz Muñoz: (19:34)
So I taught five years in Puerto Rico. I came for vacation. The bilingual director in one district, she met me and she's like, "Oh, let me interview you." I'm like, "No, I don't want a position in English." She's like, "Don't worry, you are going to be fine." And then a month later, I arrived here, to take trainings, and start in the district. It was a great experience. I met a lot of great teachers, but nobody told me that my kids didn't speak Spanish like me. Mostly kids from Mexico. So when I arrived in the classroom, the first day I said  and everyone looked at me like, "What are you talking about?" And I was like, "I'm speaking in Spanish. What's wrong with these kids?" Like, .

Ana Torres: (20:29)
Let me translate for the rest of our listeners, right? Or do you want to translate that for us? All of our listeners may not understand what that is .

Luz Muñoz: (20:40)
I was saying, "Put your backpack on the carpet." And then I moved my hands, and one of the boys looked at everyone, and he said, "I think she's saying let's put the mochilas on the carpet. Let's put our backpacks on the carpet." And I'm like, "Oh, of course! Put your backpack on the carpet." And they were like, "Oh, finally she's talking our language!" So, even speaking Spanish, it was crazy for me trying to learn synonyms in Spanish. And trying to understand a culture.

Ana Torres: (21:12)
Because, again Puerto Rican culture may be different than Argentina culture, than Cuban culture, than Panamanian culture. And so, I love that you shared that story specifically with the word mochila. Some folks use the word mochila, which means backpack. Others use el bulto, which means backpack. So I love that we're having, already, this amazing conversation, just about language. And how even though you are a native Spanish speaker, that was something that was a little challenging for you to navigate. So what are some adjustments that you had to make?

Luz Muñoz: (21:52)
Coming from the Caribbean, 90 degrees every day. When we have 80, 70, we wear a jacket in Puerto Rico because it's cold. So, I arrived here in August. September arrived and it was cold. For me, it was probably in the seventies, sixties. So I had to wear a turtleneck  to survive September. I don't know what you're going to do when October and November arrive. October and November arrive, and I was dying. Not just it was cold, it was dark. In Puerto Rico, there is never dark before 6:00 PM, 7:00 PM. So at 4:00 PM, it was like it's time to sleep. This is too dark . It was a hard time. Finding Puerto Rican food. Trying to find people that understand my Spanish. Not just Spanish, my Spanish, what I was going to say.

Ana Torres: (22:52)
Talk about adding challenges to your life, navigating the transition. When have you ever worn a turtleneck? Finding turtlenecks? And then you've got to be in a classroom, and teaching in a very different way, right Luz?

Luz Muñoz: (23:06)
Yes. In Puerto Rico, we didn't have materials. Back then, when I was there, no materials. Just the green board with chalk. And arriving here, when you don't have green board, it's just a smart board, and a classroom full of books. Where you have a curriculum. Where you can make copies. That was amazing! But at the same time, it was too many things. What do they want me to do with this? I know how to teach, I don't need any of this. OK, let me try one book at a time. We have a program for reading, and I was like, "OK, let me read this." But it was in English. And my English wasn't that good. What does the book say? I'm trying to find someone that could explain that to me in Spanish. So, it was a challenge. It was fun, but it was a big learning experience.

Ana Torres: (24:08)
But I think that learning experience has made you who you are, as a 20-year veteran with all of your beautiful and challenging experiences, right?

Luz Muñoz: (24:19)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (24:19)
They've made you the teacher that you are. With that being said, we're gonna leave the turtleneck and the cold part out of this now. Because I remember when we kind of talked a little bit prior to the call, you're like, "Ana, I didn't even know where to find clothes, or how to get clothes." And I think that I'm making the connection of why you strongly feel that your coworkers are family. Because you had coworkers really help you navigate some of those things and some of those challenges that you had. You said something, and I was gonna segue right into this Luz, I wish I would've had someone to help me navigate some of the joys of it. Like, "Hey, I had textbooks and materials, but I didn't know how to use that stuff." So that was great, but you didn't know how to use it. What kind of mentorship did you have?

Luz Muñoz: (25:11)
I remember they assigned me a mentor, but the mentor didn't speak Spanish, and I didn't speak English. So it was hard, because there was not communication between us. She tried, I tried, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. But in my school, there were other teachers that have experience. And they were like, "OK, this is how you do this. Let me help you with this."

Ana Torres: (25:40)
So you had teachers pretty much volunteer their expertise to you?

Luz Muñoz: (25:48)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (25:48)
Now, Luz, you've taught in many different settings. And again, I'm reminding listeners that Luz even in Puerto Rico taught in five different schools, realized that second grade was where she kind of fit and felt really good with with her babies. What do you think having these types of different experiences, being a teacher in Puerto Rico, and obviously now being a teacher here, in Illinois, what have those experiences taught you about the teaching profession as a whole?

Luz Muñoz: (26:19)
That you need a lot of love for your students. Doesn't matter where you are, you need love for your students. And understanding that tomorrow you're going to get better.

Ana Torres: (26:31)
I like that.

Luz Muñoz: (26:31)
Because, especially the first month of school every year is really tough. You don't know them. They don't know you. You are teaching how to follow instruction. What are your expectations? And they're coming first from summer and then from another teacher that maybe had different expectations than you. So, keeping in mind that every day is going to get better. And by March or April, they are perfect. They are what you want. You are used to them. They are used to you. And then they switch groups .

Ana Torres: (27:05)
That's the part I never liked either, yeah. Oh no, my babies are leaving me, I just built my community with them. No, I totally understand that.

Luz Muñoz: (27:14)
And I have the opportunity to teach two groups in kindergarten, and then see those two groups in second grade again. And I love it. It was like, "Oh my God! I know them. They know me. I know their families, and the opportunities to know this kid is low in this area, but I can help. Because I know how to help, because I saw it before.

Ana Torres: (27:36)
Yeah, I always loved looping, just because you didn't spend that first six to eight weeks establishing rules. You could get right to teaching. And I love that! Do you wanna share any lessons that you've learned? You've got folks listening, thinking, "Luz, any lessons that you learned from making that transition?"

Luz Muñoz: (27:59)
I think being positive, every day. When you transition, especially from one country to another country, that you don't have any family, every day you're going to wake up and you need to solve everything by yourself. It'ss tough. But you grew up as a person, you become more independent. And you make more friends. And you get more deep connections with everyone around you, because those are the people that you count on. If something happens, every day you don't have to think, "Who is going to help me, because my family is not here. So who's going to help me?" Your coworkers. So just being positive. And knowing that this day you have a GPS. When I arrived, I didn't have a GPS . and I love getting lost. That was my motto. Eventually we found my place . And sometimes just try new things. Be brave, and courageous, and say, "You know what? Even if I'm going by myself, I'm going to try this new place, or this new thing." And eventually you will find what you like in a different place, in a different culture, but with more friends and more mind opening than before.

Ana Torres: (29:21)
Wow! I mean those are some wisdom nuggets.Miss Luz. Staying positive. And I liked what you said with the GPS. You're going to eventually find your way. I feel like you eventually found your way, right?

Luz Muñoz: (29:37)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (29:37)
Five different schools. I feel like that is who you are. Positive. That should be kind of a hashtag , you're eventually going to find your way. If you could give any piece of advice to your younger self, remember Luz when she first started teaching, what advice would you give yourself?

Luz Muñoz: (30:00)
Be adventurous. Don't be afraid of trying something new. Because I never would've thought that I would move to the United States. I was like, "No, I have my family. Everything is here." But coming here made me a different person. I think a better person. And in our work, there is a lot of things to discover. Every day there is something new to learn, something new to discover, and a different way to become better.

Ana Torres: (30:32)
We will be right back with much more conversation with Luz Muñoz. And I need you to remember, that after I hang out with Luz, I'm going to check in with my amazing classroom insider, Eric Cross.

Eric Cross: (30:45)
For educators out there who are working with classroom management challenges, and ... gosh, that's HUGE right now. It always is. There are proven, research-backed strategies that you can use to manage classroom behavior.

Ana Torres: (30:56)
That's coming up later. Now, let's get back to my conversation with Luz Muñoz. You and I are, you know, I love to call ourselves very special educators, because we are dual-language, bilingual educators. And there are challenges that we have in our classrooms that are a little bit different.

Luz Muñoz: (31:20)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (31:20)
Whether it be a bilingual setting, like I taught in where my students were native Spanish speakers and I was teaching them two languages. One week we did English, the next week we did Spanish. I was a dual-language teacher, and people always think that bilingual and dual-language are the same. I was literally teaching ... half my class was native Spanish speakers, half were native English. That is a different type of classroom, with different needs.

Luz Muñoz: (31:50)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (31:51)
Any advice you have for newer dual-language, bilingual teachers like you and I who didn't have access to mentor teachers with our experience. What advice would you give them?

Luz Muñoz: (32:05)
I will say maintain your target language. You need to think every day what I'm here to do is to teach specifically Spanish. English is the second language. Your goal is for them to learn Spanish. You maintain your Spanish. They need to have a solid foundation in Spanish to understand English. I teach English every day, but my focus is Spanish. Yesterday I was laughing, because we have this clap your lap, clap your hands, move your finger to switch languages. So when we switch, one of my English speakers says, "Oh, I'm so happy we are learning Spanish now!" And she said it in Spanish. And I just laugh, because you think we are speaking English that they will love the English part, but no. Because they are used to laughing and understanding your jokes in Spanish. So for them it's like, "No, we are here to learn Spanish." And just singing songs. And sometimes when they see me dancing, with Celia Cruz, they are like, "Oh, I know that song! I know this." Remember, I'm here to teach this language and it's not just the language, it's the culture that comes with the language.

Ana Torres: (33:29)
As I'm hearing you speak, that's exactly what I was thinking too, is we are more than just a dual-language teacher, bilingual teacher. It's more than just teaching the language. It's the culture, the traditions, the music, and the food. I know in my classroom that's what really engaged students. Specifically when I was at a Spanish immersion school, where literally 90% of those students were native English speakers. We love more than the language. La comida, we love the food. We love the traditions. We love what you're teaching us about not only loving the language but also loving the culture. And so I think those are unique experiences that we have in our classrooms.

Luz Muñoz: (34:14)
Even the ... I don't know how to say this word in English ... las phrases colo quieres como.

Ana Torres: (34:19)
Colloquialisms. Yes. Idioms.

Luz Muñoz: (34:22)
Idioms. We are using that in the classroom to call the students. Instead of focus, focus, everyone focus, we say , and then you're responding . But what they are learning is a culture. Because sometimes your culture, that's how you speak.

Ana Torres: (34:42)
Right, right. Beautiful, beautiful experiences. I love how you have talked a lot about just making not only connections with your fellow colleagues, but also making those connections with your students. Is there any particular moment like, "Wow, I was in the classroom and I really connected with X student in this way?"

Luz Muñoz: (35:08)
I think with a specific student that I'm thinking, his behavior was really hard in the classroom. And as soon I discovered his triggers, and how to get his attention without him noticing that I was calling his attention, everything's changed for him. He was in my classroom last year, and this year the teacher came and she's like, "Tell me what to do, 'cause I don't know." Just hear him out, and you will find out what he wants. And the other day she's like, "You were so right!"

Ana Torres: (35:47)
But you took the time to make those connections. Build that trust with him. And think about you have now become a mentor teacher to others.

Luz Muñoz: (35:58)
Yes.

Ana Torres: (35:58)
Folks are coming to you. And I always love those experiences too. It's like, "Ana, how did you get this student to do X?" And it goes back to connecting with them, and building trust with them. And this is something that it seems like you are masterful at as a teacher, making connections with your students. Now Luz, this has been such an amazing, amazing experience. Sharing your story, being able to actually speak Spanish, and do a little Spanglish too. This has been great . But before we finish, would you like to shout out your district?

Luz Muñoz: (36:36)
Yes. I am a teacher at District 300.

Ana Torres: (36:38)
Whoo-hoo!

Luz Muñoz: (36:39)
In Algonquin in Illinois.

Ana Torres: (36:42)
District 300. She just shouted you out, whoo-hoo! I also have a special treat listeners, exciting news! Luz and I are also recording a shorter but bonus episode of Beyond My Years in Spanish.

Luz Muñoz: (36:58)
Yay!

Ana Torres: (36:58)
She couldn't wait for me to say that part! So if you or a teacher you know would be interested, be sure to check that out in our regular Beyond My Years podcast feed. Will also have a link in the show notes for this episode. Well, I wanna thank you Luz. Thank you for sharing your story, and sharing your wisdom nuggets, your tips, your techniques. Thank you so much for being with us today.

Luz Muñoz: (37:23)
Thank you Ana. It was fun.

Ana Torres: (37:25)
I'm glad to hear that. That was Luz Muñoz, second grade dual-language teacher. Please don't forget to check out my conversation with Luz. It's available now, right in the Beyond My Years podcast feed. There's also a link in the description for this particular episode. You know what's coming up? We're bringing on classroom insider, Eric Cross. Welcome, welcome Eric.

Eric Cross: (38:16)
It's good to see you.

Ana Torres: (38:17)
Yeah, good to see you.

Eric Cross: (38:18)
When I was hearing you both talk to each other, it was just this energy, these sparks going back and forth. It was really exciting! It was really fun to listen to.

Ana Torres: (38:24)
When I'm able to get into my Spanish and code switch, boy, that puts me in an amazing space.

Eric Cross: (38:32)
And I've never heard you code switch before. And when I did, it was like this other version. It was like, "Whew." Just like full Ana. This is me. So, it was fun.

Ana Torres: (38:41)
Yes, and it's not a bad thing. And I think people think that makes you fake. No! It allows me to navigate in different spaces, pretty seamlessly. It's not fake. That's who I am. I'm pretty sure, as a biracial person, you probably gotta navigate different spaces. I'm making assumptions. Maybe, maybe not.

Eric Cross: (38:59)
No, it's an accurate assumption.

Ana Torres: (39:02)
Having the opportunity to speak with a dual-language teacher, that had similar experiences that I had when I was in the classroom, was really impactful for me. I've learned a lot from her. But, what did you think?

Eric Cross: (39:14)
Well, I really listened to it more so as a student, like a student teacher, because you both have background and expertise in teaching multilingual learners by trade. And, I teach multilingual learners, many in my classroom, but I feel like my skill set is constantly growing. And I've taken some classes, and learned some things in professional development, but there are people who are dedicated to this work. And, one of the things that stood out was, and it's something that I've known, but it just brought it to the forefront of my mind, is helping kids get better at their home language translates to boosting their English literacy skills as well. And that was one of the things that Luz said that I thought was really, really important. So, as a teacher, you're like, "Well, how do I do that?" And, there's a model called the "SIOP model." It stands for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol.

Ana Torres: (40:06)
Look at you knowin' acronyms! Wow.

Eric Cross: (40:08)
You know what I'm saying? Yeah. That's going back to my methods course when I got my credentials . But, I use this all of the time. I went back and revisited it, to ensure that I'm doing all these principles. If you're a teacher listening to this and you're like, "What's SIOP?" If you Google "SIOP method," you'll get a whole bunch of information about it, YouTube videos. It's research-backed strategies for supporting multilingual learners. And, essentially, what you're doing is you're making content that you're teaching comprehensible, but you're also supporting academic language development. So, you're doing both.

Ana Torres: (40:36)
Exactly.

Eric Cross: (40:37)
Explaining the water cycle in stages might be part of my lesson, but I might also be intentional about evaporation and condensation, and helping students use that in context.

Ana Torres: (40:46)
So, as you can hear, Eric's already giving us his first takeaway, right? Helping kids get better at their home language actually boosts their English skills too. And, as a student who was a multilingual learner, when she actually, and I'm talking about myself in third person but, when I came to this country, that literally was not there for me. Meaning, looking at my abilities as an asset, because I didn't know English. I think from what you're saying, this is an asset. That they know another language. And they can use that language to leverage the new language that they're learning.

Eric Cross: (41:22)
Yeah, absolutely. I tell my students, "I'm still trying to get English right. I've been working on it my whole life. And some of you have 2, 3, 4 languages in your head, which is amazing."

Ana Torres: (41:31)
Thanks for that takeaway. I know you have more.

Eric Cross: (41:35)
Yeah. Maybe I had my professor hat on when I was listening to this podcast, because there's two strategies that really stood out to me. This is a big one for educators, but Luz talked about the importance of understanding student triggers, and managing behaviors positively.

Ana Torres: (41:49)
Yes.

Eric Cross: (41:49)
And that's easier said than done. And I can just say from my own experience, my classroom management skills, I've developed them. And if you come into my classroom, the classroom seems like it's running smooth. But let me tell you something, oftentimes, in my career, if someone comes and sees it, they attribute why my classroom is managed well to strategies that have nothing to do with what I've actually done. They've attributed it to who I am. And that's frustrating!

Ana Torres: (42:13)
Yeah.

Eric Cross: (42:13)
I'm a tall male, with a voice that that can project. And, even though that's helpful, I actually use research-backed strategies in the classroom. And Luz talks about this. And, for educators out there who are working with classroom management challenges, and ... gosh, that's HUGE right now. It always is. There are proven, research-backed strategies that you can use to manage classroom behavior. I just pulled out one because Luz alluded to this. It's called a "Functional Behavior Assessment." Essentially what it is, it really helps you contextualize the behavior that you're seeing. And there's this "ABC Model". So "A" stands for Antecedent. It's the thing that happened before the behavior in your classroom. Oftentimes, as educators, we start AT the behavior, but it helps you take a step back and see what TRIGGERED that behavior.

Ana Torres: (42:59)
Exactly.

Eric Cross: (42:59)
"B" is Behavior. That's the action. And then "C" is the Consequence. What's the event that happened afterwards? When you write these things down, it gives you a framework for seeing this entire start to finish process. And helps you develop a good strategy for how to respond to it.

Ana Torres: (43:15)
Agreed.

Eric Cross: (43:16)
Students are always telling us something with behavior.

Ana Torres: (43:18)
Exactly.

Eric Cross: (43:18)
I mean, adults are too. Let's just be honest. Behavior is always communication. It's just not always the best form of communication, depending on the situation. But, there's this acronym called, "EATS," or I guess you can say it as, "SEAT." Usually when you have behavior in the classroom, it's one of these four things. One is Escape. A student's trying to escape an undesirable activity. Another one's Attention, so social interaction. I had a situation just yesterday with a student who was overly social, so much so that it was a distraction for other students. So I sat her down after school, said, "Hey, we have to have a conversation with parents." Student kind of became emotional a bit and said, "My parents are very strict, and I don't get to talk to friends or see friends at all. I only get to see them at school." And so, I get really excited, it completely changed how I was seeing things.

Ana Torres: (44:03)
I bet.

Eric Cross: (44:03)
Now, we still gotta act right in the classroom, BUT what you're communicating to me is, "Hey, you need time to be able to connect and see your friends." So maybe if I can give some structured time for that, there'll be that kind of give and take. Next is tangible. These are like foods, and fidgets, and toys. You know, if I'm hungry, I didn't eat breakfast, I'm probably not gonna have the best day. And then the last one is Sensory. They need to get up, they need to move around. There's some kind of sensory experience that they're telling you that they need. When we can recognize that, and understand that, "Oh, that's the behavior, but what they're telling me is that there's a sensory thing," we can do things to get ahead of that. Having time for them to get up and move around.

Ana Torres: (44:38)
Again, it's looking at the child, and not always the behavior. I think, sometimes, that can get away from us. It's how do we address the behavior, and what can be triggering that. Some of the things too that we have to also recognize is we don't know what traumas our students come to school with. There are other things going on in children's lives besides school. I really appreciate that you took the time with that student to figure out what's happening with her, and she communicated with you. And you worked a plan to address those needs. So, my philosophy was always, yes, the behavior may not be the behavior that I want, but I always wanted to get to the root of why that behavior was happening. So that we can come to some common ground about time and place for everything. And those were teachable moments. Thanks for sharing that. Now, is there something specific, something that Luz has mentioned, that you are going to try?

Eric Cross: (45:34)
Well, I want to go back to helping develop the home language to boost English literacy skills too. I'm about to start a new unit. Oftentimes we think, like, we're good. I've got everybody covered. The class is running smoothly. But, I need to go in and really assess how I'm teaching. Are my walls visually rich? Right now I'm looking at my walls as I tell you this. And they are not as much as they could be. Am I giving my students a multilingual glossary? I have one. Am I being intentional about printing it out? Helping them, making sure they have those things? And, I kind of got inspired. I need to get back into my Spanish.

Ana Torres: (46:15)
You gotta get back.

Eric Cross: (46:15)
I need to set my Spanish game back up. You're gonna have to gimme some grace in this, but I kind of wanna do some of my lessons in Spanish.

Ana Torres: (46:21)
OK.

Eric Cross: (46:22)
It's gonna feel super vulnerable. Like, just a portion of it.

Ana Torres: (46:25)
Try it!

Eric Cross: (46:26)
But I think my students would be really encouraged, and they would love to be able to help me work through it. I want to build up that muscle, because I think it's really gonna help me be become a better teacher.

Ana Torres: (46:35)
And isn't this what this is all about? And really what our podcast is about? Is giving folks access, including you and I, to these veteran teachers that are bringing some things back to the forefront. And, I do think a common thread too, that I've heard you mention, is being really intentional and purposeful. Great strategies, but let's be intentional and purposeful integrating those strategies. Even as you're mentioning right now. You're in your classroom, and you're looking at your walls thinking, "I could do a little bit better." So no folks. Yes, Eric is actually in his classroom as we speak right now, . And so Eric, let's remind listeners, again, that we wanna hear about a seasoned educator who's an impacted their life.

Eric Cross: (47:19)
Yeah. There's so many amazing educators out there doing magic that's unseen. We want to hear about 'em and celebrate them. Who are they? Tell us. We wanna know.

Ana Torres: (47:29)
Let us know. Tell us about that mentor teacher, or a piece of advice that's made an impact on you. Go to amplify.com/DearAna, and if you submit something, you'll be entered to win from our first batch of Beyond My Years swag, 'cause I know I love swag.

Eric Cross: (47:51)
I love swag too.

Ana Torres: (47:52)
I know, I mean, don't we all! I think all educators love swag , especially those little jean coupons and those fun things that we would get. Right Eric?

Eric Cross: (47:59)
I like the phone chargers.

Ana Torres: (48:00)
The phone chargers, tes. And don't forget to check out and share my conversation with Luz in Spanish. In Español. It's also in the Beyond My Years' feed. And Eric, I do wanna applaud and thank you for all of the amazing things you do with your students every single day. Thanks Eric.

Eric Cross: (48:22)
Thank you. Have a great day.

Ana Torres: (48:23)
You too. Thanks for listening to Beyond My Years, from Amplify. I'm your host, Ana Torres. Our classroom insider is Eric Cross. Our music is from Andrew Smolin. Now, next time on Beyond My Years, we're switching things up a little bit. I'm going to be talking to a seasoned superintendent! Yes, I'll be joined by the one and only Dr. LaTonya Goffney to hear about her journey, and her words of wisdom for newer educators.

LaTonya Goffney: (49:00)
The best way to get the next job is to do a good job where you are. Positions will follow you before you can even apply. You'll be tapped for it.

Ana Torres: (49:08)
That's next time. You can get that episode as soon as it drops by subscribing to Beyond My Years on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you are liking the show, please share it with a few educator friends. We'd also appreciate it if you left us a rating, and also a review. Until next time, please 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.