Teaching: First Generation

Students
By: Katie Hernandez Mendoza
Dominican University of California
 Project Overview

During this project I did research on First

Generation Students. I decided to focus on
interviewing teachers that I have had. I also had
the chance to read journals that have to do with
my topic.
 Questions
What made you want to teach?
How long have you been teaching?
What subject did you teach?
Why did you stop teaching? (if the teacher stopped teaching)
What type of students were in your classroom?/If the classroom was diverse how
did you make sure everyone was included?
How did you react when a kid is “falling behind” in class?
Did the pay of this career ever make you question wanting to be a teacher?
What’s one way to keep the kids engaged after a long day of class?
How did parent teacher conferences make you feel?
What’s one of the hardest moments about your teaching career? The best?
What’s one piece of advice you would tell someone studying to become a teacher?
 Teacher One
Mario Sazo

Has Been a Teacher for 5 years

He teaches various content areas in the Social Sciences; US

History, Civics, Economics. I also have experience as an
English Language Development teacher

“My students are a reflection of the socioeconomic and

ethnic diversity of San Francisco.” 

 Teacher Two
Steward Grace

Has been a teacher for 10 years

Has taught college and now teaches high school. He mainly teaches
English in various forms (Writing, Rhetoric, Literature, Creative
Writing, etc.)

“My first classroom experience was during my PhD program at USC.

 The classroom was diverse, and there was a pretty huge span of
socioeconomic backgrounds in the room (students on full scholarship
and first generation in college, kids whose parents paid their way for
$60K year, international students).”
 Teacher Three
Paul Richardson

Has been a teacher for 8 years

Has taught English, Math, Science and P.E.

“Since I teach multiple subjects and grades, each class is different. One
class is all girls. The others are co-ed. To make sure they are included, I
first tried to get to know each student and I try to talk to them all before
we start class. I also try and learn what works best for them and
incorporate that into my class routine. So if there are kids who learn
well by using the whiteboard, or if they do better in small groups, or
with hands on activities, I use the info to organize lessons and units.”
 Teacher’s Answers
“Make sure to find time for yourself ! Teaching can often feel overwhelming in the sense that your work is never really
done; there is always more to grade and a lesson to edit or improve. Take some time each day and week to do
something you love, de-stress and be around those you care about, it helps! Also, find a positive teacher buddy!”

“Teaching was a profession that I had grown up around. Both of my parents are educators and for as long as I could
remember, I have always been surrounded by teachers. Going into graduate school for education, I had worked with
children since I was 14 years old; coaching, managing after school programs, substitute teaching here and there. As
crazy as it may be, I always enjoyed being around students; their energy, passion, and motivation to learn helped
motivate me. It just seemed to fit, naturally.”

“Don’t assume that your students’ performance is a reflection of your ability as a teacher.Think about a teacher you
loved when you were your students’ age -- try to be like them.What you teach is important -- but who you are matters
more.  Students will remember (and be impacted) by the person you are far longer than they can recall any of your
curriculum.”

“I didn’t know that I wanted to teach for a long time -- and even pushed back a bit on people who told me I should, and
explored several other jobs and careers first.  Two things drew me to teaching -- one, that I loved learning and wanted
to continue learning for the rest of my life (and sharing in that learning with others). Two, that I was happiest in the
rare moments I’d already been able to try teaching.  Most of this was not traditional school environments or classroom-
based, but it still provided the human interaction and communication elements of teaching (ski instruction, kayaking
guide, camp counselor, helping train coworkers in office environments)”
 Article One
Large Proportion of the United States

“Yet this population does not perform as well academically as, and persist to graduation at
lower rates than, their peers who have more familial context for the college- going
experience.”

Average earnings a year

36,000

21,000

42,000

No parents had finished a 4-year degree

Which means no family support

 Article Two
Placed in remedial classes - Lack in Academic skills

The classes are to prepare these students to take college classes

Issues:

Longer Time to graduate

Financial Issues

Spend more time in college

Certain classes harder for students

“Career counseling can help underprepared students make educated career decisions
based on their situations.”
 Article Three

Two Trends in college

Who go to campus and enroll in classes

And the ones that never get their degrees

All comes down to money

Rich kids do better on SAT which means better in college

“Many low-income students “undermatch,” meaning that they don’t attend

— or even apply to — the most selective college that would accept them.”
 Things I didn’t know

That most first-generation students lack in certain

academic classes and usually end up being in
lower classes

There are always second doubts in being at the

college of ones choice

Arriving at the dorm with confidence then being

hit with a curve ball
Things I Knew That Were Re-enforced

Teachers have the key to motivate each one of the

students

“It is an ongoing process to try and support

students”
Equity in Education: Empowering First-Generation Students to Succeed

By: Edutopia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwoLKM_ZJo8

Follow up Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHxE5Ylmvzg

What’s It’s Like To Be A First Generation College Student

By: Madison Mills

Asked three first generation students what the label means to them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvGLJfPV3-c
 Reference

Tate, K. A., Caperton, W., Kaiser, D., Pruitt, N. T., White, H., & Hall, E.
(2015). An Exploration of First-Generation College Students’ Career
Development Beliefs and Experiences. Journal of Career Development,
42(4), 294-310. doi:10.1177/0894845314565025
Hughes, A. N., Gibbons, M. M., Mynatt B. (2013). Using Narrative Career
Counseling With the Underprepared College Student. The Career
Development Quaterly, 61(1), 40-49. dio:10.1002/j.
2161-0045.2013.00034x
Tough P. (2014) Who Gets to Graduate. New York Times, 1-20
THE END