Alex Ornelas is a 2020 Teach for America corps member teaching ninth-grade AP Human Geography at IDEA Mission CP.
What motivated you to apply to join Teach For America and choose to teach in the Rio Grande Valley?
What motivated me most to apply to Teach For America was simply that I knew I wanted to teach as soon as I could out of college, and that I wanted to work with students that were similar to me in many different ways. One of those ways includes being from an economically disadvantaged area and background such as myself. I also asked to teach in the RGV specifically since the demographics of the area are extremely similar to those where I grew up. I’m from Bakersfield, California, which is a city in California with tons of diversity; the specific area that I grew up in however was predominately Hispanic, so I was always surrounded by other people who shared a similar culture and upbringing, and I loved that I would have a similar experience in the RGV. TFA also gave me the chance to work with students who were almost all going to be the first in their families to go to college, which is my experience as well, and felt like I could connect with these students in an additional way because of our shared experience.
What has been one of the most surprising things you’ve come to learn about education during your time as a classroom leader?
The most surprising thing that I’ve come to learn is that when you are a classroom leader, it is extremely hard to remind yourself day after day that you are indeed a classroom leader. The myriad of tasks that teachers are expected to complete daily can easily wear out even the toughest of people who choose to go into teaching. Combine that with grading, meetings, commutes, deadlines, webinars, and to top it all off, a pandemic, I have found myself, multiple times, reminding myself that my students look up to me as a teacher, and that everything I do will affect them in one way or another. Everything that I say and do has a direct impact on the lives of my students, and a teacher has to do their best to keep that in mind 100% of the time they are in the classroom. The educational system that we currently have in the United States is one that does not necessarily promote the growth of our students in the healthiest ways possible. It also doesn’t make it very easy for teachers to be the classroom leaders that they perhaps envisioned themselves as before entering the classroom. Inequities exist all throughout the educational system, and as a classroom leader, you have to do everything in your power to fight these inequities even when you find yourself brought down by the very system you grew up believing to be the solution. However, with the help of my amazing fellow teachers in my grade level that I lean on every single day, we get through it and push ourselves to always strive to make the best impact we can on our amazing students.
If you could change one thing for your students, what would it be?
One thing that I would change for my students would be the factors that make it impossible to reach each student 100% of the time. Commuting issues, border crossing issues, social, economic, or political issues can all get in the way of a student being able to devote themselves fully to their education. If all students truly had an equal opportunity to receive an education, it would be the most beneficial in every way possible. It’s proven that education, specifically a college education, is one of the biggest factors in helping students and families climb out of a lower socioeconomic standing and broaden their horizons which will help shape the future generations for the better.
What lessons are you learning now that will help you continue to work toward educational equity in the future?
One lesson that I have learned is that a lot of the time, the problems that arise in school happen simply because of a disconnect between the people who are doing the work in schools, and the people whose job it is to make decisions that control the entirety of these operations. In my experience, both students and teachers often have the same views on the issues that stem from a lack of awareness of what the actual school climate is currently like. COVID policies are an example of this — many students and teachers are concerned about their health and the health of their families, but for now we’re being asked to keep school buildings open. Situations like these can subsequently spiral into more disorganization and an unhealthy work environment for teachers as well as an unhealthy schooling environment for students. I hope in the future students can have their voices heard by those who are in charge of making decisions that directly affect their lives instead of simply being another test score or attendance number that schools rely on for funding.
Can you share an anecdote or personal experience from your classroom or school?
I love my students. I wish that when I was in ninth grade, I could have been more like them. All of my students are extremely talented, joyful, funny, supportive, and proud in every way imaginable. Right before winter break, I had a talent show for all of my periods in which students were showing off their talents for a chance to win some prizes. Every time a student went up and showed their talent, all the other students were extremely supportive and proud of their classmate for being brave enough to go up and “show what they got.” Being in the classroom with these students every day truly makes me feel like I am playing a positive role in their lives, and brings me joy that I’m not sure I could find anywhere else.
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.
