TEACHING

“I touch the future…I teach.” – Christa McAuliffe

Teaching is a calling, a vocation, a passion.  For the past five years, I have been blessed to call Mission Oak High School in California’s Central Valley my educational home.  Mission Oak is a family of approximately 1,600 students from three cities: Tulare, Tipton, and Pixley, CA.  Tulare, CA stands as one of the most productive agricultural cities and counties in the world, producing dairy, citrus, fruit, and vegetable yields that supply much of the United States and the world.  As such, the students of Mission Oak High School represent a mix of the agricultural industry.  Some of the students come from dairy and farm families that span generations of agricultural success.  Other students are sons and daughters of the farm and field workers, and the students often speak of working in the fields themselves during the summer months, or even after school.  Finally, a third group of students representing both the professional and working class families of Tulare populates Mission Oak. 

Thus, the school is a unique and diverse place.  As a member of the faculty, I strive each and every day to create a welcoming, caring, studious, and fun atmosphere in my classroom—whether it be through share-outs such as a “just like me” or “would you rather,” brain-break karaoke, or simply greeting each student with a smile and a handshake as they enter the classroom.  Presenting relevant and engaging lessons stands as a most important element in my teaching, and this is the challenge each day.  Projects such as creating a mechanical hound in the spirit of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, engaging students in a discussion of high-school life and the #MeToo movement in analyzing Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, and challenging students to create an Olympic stadium design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stand as examples of my classroom work.  The classroom is a rich and exciting place, and it is where I do my best work.  Indeed, it is home.  

Yes, as Christa McAuliffe so eloquently expressed, “I touch the future…I teach.”  This is the hallmark of what I do, and, as each student passes through my classroom door, I remember these words in embarking upon my life’s work and my day’s objective, ever mindful of the power I hold and the example I set each and every moment of the day. 

 

Photo – Yokohl Valley Road, Exeter, CA

Timothy Ducey, December 2005