Cristina Zapata is a 2021 Rio Grande Valley Teach For America corps member, journalism and 11th grade English teacher at Preparatory for Early College High School in Rio Grande City.
What motivated you to apply to join Teach For America and choose to teach in the Rio Grande Valley?
My curiosity to join Teach for America snuck up on me, and it wasn’t until I felt a pull from the Rio Grande Valley that I felt confident in my decision to apply. As someone who spent most of my life in Southern California, it was hard to picture myself moving to a new state alone. In the months approaching my college graduation, I was confident that my path would lead me back to school for a master’s program in clinical psychology. My brother, a 2018 TFA Idaho alumnus, gave me the gentle push to consider testing the skills I gained as a journalism and psychology double major in a new setting. Despite my very real resistance in the beginning — I couldn’t picture myself standing in front of a classroom full of students — the opportunity to join TFA aligned with my core values of service, empathy, and commitment. The Rio Grande Valley was my top choice because I knew I could connect with the community as a Hispanic immigrant. My family and I are from Peru, and I found comfort in knowing that my Hispanic roots would come alive in a place as culturally vibrant as the Valley. I also knew that my TFA cohort would be small, and it was important to me to find a second home in other corps members since I was moving so far away from my own.
What has been one of the most surprising things you’ve come to learn about education during your time as a classroom leader?
I had this expectation that becoming a teacher would be a sharp divergence from my original plan to pursue clinical psychology after college, but now that I have two years under my belt, I see that the two are linked in many ways. To be a good educator goes so far beyond just teaching curriculum. In many cases, I have had to also take on the role of a counselor, mentor, mediator, and advocate. I realized that my favorite part of this job is when I’m having authentic conversations about real-world topics with my students, however that may look. Sometimes those conversations happen during in-class discussions about The Great Gatsby, and others when they just need someone to listen. It has been humbling to realize that I need those conversations just as much as they do!
If you could change one thing for your students, what would it be?
I would make them take greater pride in where they are from. It’s quite often that they ask me why I left Southern California to come to the Rio Grande, like it’s an unbelievable thing to do. I sound like a broken record whenever I respond, “Are you kidding? There is no place on earth like the Valley!” And they don’t buy it. To be raised in a region where two cultures come together seamlessly is something that many of them can’t appreciate until they venture far from here. On top of that, their roots run so, so deep here. The history of the people in The Valley is precious, and I wish that they could see that there is so much power in knowing where they and their ancestors came from.
What lessons are you learning now that will help you continue to work toward educational equity in the future?
I have noticed how a foundation in educational equity has immensely impacted my teaching style. My guiding principle has always been, “They who do the work do the learning.” In an effort to make learning more fruitful in my classroom, I do my best to minimize lecturing and instead give my students the space to teach themselves and each other through discussions, activities, and presentations. The goal is to raise student-leaders who know how to communicate efficiently and have respect and admiration for each other’s differences. My hope is that future educators will continue to make student-centered learning a priority so future generations can learn to collaborate with one another and advocate for themselves.
Can you share an anecdote or personal experience from your classroom or school?
Over the summer, my Dean of Instruction informed me that they wanted to introduce a new elective, Journalism, and they wanted me to teach it. It was a rush of excitement as I thought back on how much fun I had working on my high school newspaper, so I instantly began planning the year almost exactly like my high school journalism class. Much to my chagrin, my goals and expectations were drastically different from those my students had when they signed up for the class. They weren’t excited to make a hard-copy newspaper; they wanted to create media students could consume as frequently as social media. I was forced to set my ego and planning aside in order to make room for my students to express what they needed from the class. As hard as it was to let go of my preconceived ideas, I soon realized that it was the best thing I could do to mold them into student leaders. This transfer in agency made way for them to refine their vision of what student-focused communication means, in addition to helping me “get with the times!”
Teach for America (TFA) is the national nonprofit organization committed to the idea that one day, all children will attain an excellent education. To this end, the organization partners with communities to inspire the next generation of leaders to address unequal educational opportunities that fall along the lines of race and class. They begin this lifelong work with an initial two-year commitment to teach in some of the nation’s most underserved schools. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, 61 corps members work in seven districts across the region.
