0:00:07.197,0:00:10.467 Good morning class. 0:00:12.846,0:00:14.526 First of all, just an honor. 0:00:14.526,0:00:16.536 Thank you for having me, I[br]appreciate this. 0:00:16.536,0:00:20.496 A couple of years ago, I had the honor[br]of attending a panel, 0:00:20.496,0:00:24.366 a conference at The Science Leadership [br]Academy in Philadelphia. 0:00:24.366,0:00:27.686 A black male educator by the name of[br]Derek McCoy, 0:00:27.686,0:00:30.566 was asked a question around [br]sustainability, 0:00:30.566,0:00:34.816 and what are the things that constantly [br]keep him sustained as he's working. 0:00:34.816,0:00:38.387 And without missing a beat, the first[br]thing he said was, 0:00:38.387,0:00:44.027 "Have you read Jose Vilson's blog?[br]His posts just keep me going." 0:00:44.027,0:00:47.727 "Excuse me?" I was shocked, I didn't know[br]what to do. 0:00:47.727,0:00:50.677 I was just there at the panel, I didn't[br]even know he was there, 0:00:50.677,0:00:53.887 and I hadn't met him. It was the first[br]time I'd met him. 0:00:53.887,0:00:57.097 It's thousands and thousands of miles[br]away, and here he is saying, 0:00:57.097,0:00:59.687 I've inspired him by my posts [br]and through my blog. 0:00:59.687,0:01:02.807 And so, when I talk about teacher voice[br]out there, 0:01:02.807,0:01:06.087 I'm always thinking about[br]what it means to actually be a teacher, 0:01:06.087,0:01:07.213 a full-time teacher. 0:01:07.213,0:01:10.083 I'm a full-time math teacher in Washington[br]Heights, New York, 0:01:10.083,0:01:12.263 and I'm proud to represent that. 0:01:16.285,0:01:17.845 And I also know because of this, 0:01:17.845,0:01:21.135 I need to be very thoughtful about [br]the things I say and do out there. 0:01:21.165,0:01:25.035 Because there's a lot of people who say,[br]"Well, teachers shouldn't be speaking up. 0:01:25.035,0:01:28.235 There's no reason for them to talk when [br]we can do all the talking." 0:01:28.235,0:01:31.695 "Um, excuse me? Okay, so then we have some[br]work to do." 0:01:31.695,0:01:34.145 Teacher voice. 0:01:34.145,0:01:37.615 The individual and collective expression 0:01:37.615,0:01:43.375 of meaningful professional opinion based[br]on classroom experience and expertise. 0:01:43.375,0:01:46.915 Now, these are the four guiding principles[br]when I talk about teacher voice 0:01:46.915,0:01:49.615 there are four pieces that I always [br]concentrate on, 0:01:49.615,0:01:51.415 when I'm talking about teacher voice. 0:01:51.415,0:01:54.055 The first is the individual element. 0:01:54.055,0:01:59.935 When people say, "The way you create true[br]change is by starting with the individual" 0:01:59.935,0:02:02.915 our identities, our cultures, our ways of[br]being, 0:02:02.915,0:02:06.440 inform our pedagogies and the cultures [br]that are in our own classrooms 0:02:06.440,0:02:10.600 and so we have to constantly be thoughtful[br]about the ways we interact with our kids, 0:02:10.600,0:02:13.835 in order for us to be the best [br]practitioners as possible, 0:02:13.835,0:02:16.965 and in order for us to have a real teacher[br]voice about this work. 0:02:16.965,0:02:19.205 And also, please keep in mind, 0:02:19.205,0:02:22.745 we don't always have to be the best [br]speaker in the classroom, 0:02:22.745,0:02:26.375 because we ought to be the best listeners. 0:02:26.375,0:02:29.785 Now, the second element is this collective 0:02:29.785,0:02:32.745 because I can't think about my own[br]profession, 0:02:32.745,0:02:35.655 without thinking about the person that is[br]outsdie of my walls, 0:02:35.655,0:02:39.415 not just the person next door, but [br]across the hallway 0:02:39.415,0:02:42.885 and perhaps across the city, across the [br]state, across the country, right? 0:02:42.885,0:02:44.495 And you think about this. 0:02:44.495,0:02:47.065 If you're a good teacher, [br]you know who you are. 0:02:47.065,0:02:49.175 Even when you don't speak [br]the same language, 0:02:49.175,0:02:51.175 or you don't always have[br]the same cultures, 0:02:51.175,0:02:53.555 there are touchpoints about [br]all of our experiences 0:02:53.555,0:02:56.705 that allow us to be good teachers[br]for each other and for ourselves. 0:02:56.705,0:02:59.565 There are things that we know about [br]the teaching profession, 0:02:59.565,0:03:01.015 that we know what that's like. 0:03:01.015,0:03:03.005 And so when I ask you for collective, 0:03:03.005,0:03:06.545 I'm also thinking about not just everybody[br]who's across the country, 0:03:06.545,0:03:08.185 and even across the world, 0:03:08.185,0:03:09.835 but across institutions too. 0:03:09.835,0:03:11.885 So including our prisons and our museums, 0:03:11.885,0:03:13.315 there are educators there too. 0:03:13.315,0:03:16.055 We need to think about all of these[br]educators. 0:03:16.055,0:03:18.845 And then, again, when we come together, 0:03:18.845,0:03:22.035 whether we're celebrating our [br]best and most accomplished teachers, 0:03:22.035,0:03:25.835 or we're protesting together in any [br]number of states, 0:03:25.835,0:03:30.645 when our voices when they come together, [br]they often get to be the loudest. 0:03:30.645,0:03:32.945 The third element is experience. 0:03:32.945,0:03:37.065 And when I talk about experience, it [br]means that our stories matter too. 0:03:37.065,0:03:40.137 When you think about research, policy, [br]practice, 0:03:40.137,0:03:43.997 you best believe that a teacher [br]better be somewhere in there. 0:03:43.997,0:03:47.697 You can't just sanitize us, you have [br]to be able to include us. 0:03:47.697,0:03:52.447 And then, when we're not included, we [br]have to be able to fight back. 0:03:52.447,0:03:53.989 What you see in front of you, 0:03:53.989,0:03:57.709 two years ago, I was given a teacher[br]performance rating of developing. 0:03:57.709,0:04:00.549 My teacher practices were "effective," 0:04:00.549,0:04:03.899 but unfortunately the data that had [br]come out was "ineffective," 0:04:03.899,0:04:06.099 so somewhere in the [br]middle was "developing." 0:04:06.099,0:04:07.429 And of course, mind you, 0:04:07.429,0:04:11.179 four-fifths of my students' data had[br]mysteriously disappeared, 0:04:11.179,0:04:14.469 and it just confounded me, I just didn't [br]know what was going on. 0:04:14.469,0:04:15.379 But even still, 0:04:15.379,0:04:18.729 it kind of hurt to think about the fact [br]that I had put in so much work 0:04:18.729,0:04:23.299 and yet the assessments that were chosen[br]were not reflective of the people we were 0:04:23.299,0:04:25.639 and the work that had been done [br]in our classroom. 0:04:25.639,0:04:28.139 And that's where expertise comes in. 0:04:28.139,0:04:30.849 Because there are things that [br]we know about our students. 0:04:30.849,0:04:33.619 There are things we think about [br]our students on the daily. 0:04:33.619,0:04:37.559 We know how to not just write lesson plans[br]and do-now's and closings. 0:04:37.559,0:04:40.769 We also know how to create communities[br]in our own classrooms. 0:04:40.769,0:04:44.239 We know how to get kids to ask questions[br]and to teach us, right? 0:04:44.239,0:04:46.825 Cause that's an important part [br]of the listening piece. 0:04:46.825,0:04:51.715 We know, we know, and it's okay [br]to say that we know. 0:04:51.715,0:04:54.141 That's an important part of all this work. 0:04:54.141,0:04:58.041 Because everytime I'm talking about[br]whatever it is I'm talking about 0:04:58.041,0:05:00.431 I always think back to my kids. 0:05:00.431,0:05:03.761 I'm always thoughtful about the kids who I[br]have in my classroom. 0:05:03.761,0:05:07.481 Children of immigrants, [br]children of workers, 0:05:07.481,0:05:12.291 children of parents who've entrusted me [br]on a daily basis, and for years now, 0:05:12.291,0:05:14.491 to make sure that their kids are [br]well-educated 0:05:14.491,0:05:17.621 and well-prepared for the world [br]we live in. Human beings, right? 0:05:17.621,0:05:19.311 The picture you see here by the way 0:05:19.311,0:05:23.351 is a picture of my students with the[br]statue of Theodore Roosevelt 0:05:23.351,0:05:25.845 at the American Museum [br]of Natural History. 0:05:25.845,0:05:28.413 Now, at first I didn't really want to take[br]the picture. 0:05:28.413,0:05:30.993 But when I thought about it,[br]I said to myself, 0:05:30.993,0:05:36.363 Well? Imagine if Teddy was having to sit[br]next to people, immigrants, 0:05:36.363,0:05:39.443 who wouldn't want to assimilate [br]into this country? 0:05:39.443,0:05:42.853 Imagine having a teacher who believed[br]in students. 0:05:42.853,0:05:45.723 So when I tell you that a teacher who [br]believes in students 0:05:45.723,0:05:48.853 is core to our democracy, 0:05:48.853,0:05:50.673 this is the picture I'm talking about. 0:05:50.673,0:05:53.573 I think about all the teachers [br]who are passionate about this, 0:05:53.573,0:05:56.703 who've sacrificed their livelihoods,[br]who've sacrificed their lives 0:05:56.703,0:06:00.243 to make sure that our students feel social[br]justice within their classrooms, 0:06:00.243,0:06:03.113 their neighborhoods, who've been [br]out there on a daily basis, 0:06:03.113,0:06:06.733 who've visited the churches, gone to[br]parent meetings, who know what it's like 0:06:06.733,0:06:11.693 to be directly affected by so many [br]of the policies that don't work for us. 0:06:11.693,0:06:14.606 I work for them because they [br]keep me on my toes. 0:06:14.606,0:06:16.356 They are the best educators. 0:06:16.356,0:06:20.556 And speaking of which, the best [br]educator in our house 0:06:20.556,0:06:23.346 also happens to be not just [br]in the audience 0:06:23.346,0:06:28.236 but also, the best mother she could[br]possibly be to our son, Alejandro. 0:06:32.623,0:06:35.353 And when I think about Luz, when I think[br]about Alejandro, 0:06:35.353,0:06:38.303 they teach me lessons everyday.[br]They teach me constant lessons. 0:06:38.303,0:06:40.443 And so I'm always thinking about,[br]"Oh my gosh, 0:06:40.443,0:06:44.223 How am I gonna be a better teacher, when[br]they're already so much better than I am 0:06:44.223,0:06:47.323 at whatever it is that I'm trying to do.[br]But they keep me grounded 0:06:47.323,0:06:49.003 even when my voice shakes. 0:06:49.003,0:06:51.483 I think about the thousands [br]and thousands of students 0:06:51.483,0:06:53.963 who I've had the pleasure, [br]the honor of teaching 0:06:53.963,0:06:56.683 over thirteen-going-on-fourteen years now. 0:06:56.683,0:06:59.773 A career that has spanned so [br]many lifetimes it feels like. 0:06:59.773,0:07:02.393 And whenever I look at these students, [br]I'm always like, 0:07:02.393,0:07:04.153 "Oh my gosh, I've taught you!" 0:07:04.153,0:07:06.843 So many of my kids have gone to so[br]many different places. 0:07:06.843,0:07:10.873 And even when they don't go to places[br]that I necessarily am happy about? 0:07:10.877,0:07:14.427 I know that I've done everything I [br]possibly could in my being 0:07:14.427,0:07:18.387 to make sure that they felt like human [br]beings in my classroom. 0:07:18.387,0:07:19.867 And that is the work. 0:07:19.867,0:07:22.717 And it keeps me up at times. 0:07:22.717,0:07:25.427 I know that when I go to my desk, 0:07:25.427,0:07:29.117 and I wake up, and I think about failing [br]and winning and failing and winning, 0:07:29.117,0:07:32.887 I also know that I've created lesson[br]plans that can engage my kids 0:07:32.887,0:07:34.977 and bring them in, and I say good morning. 0:07:34.977,0:07:37.277 And when parents come in, I'm always like, 0:07:37.277,0:07:38.817 "A su orden." 0:07:38.817,0:07:44.427 Which means, I'm at your service, I'm here[br]for you, I'm here to teach kids. 0:07:44.427,0:07:46.277 How welcoming is that? 0:07:46.277,0:07:48.487 These are the things that [br]keep me up at night, 0:07:48.487,0:07:51.577 these are the things that keep me[br]up early in the morning as well. 0:07:51.577,0:07:52.967 This is the love work. 0:07:52.967,0:07:54.867 This is the thing we're [br]constantly striving for, 0:07:54.867,0:07:58.907 So when I say Teacher Voice, it's not [br]just about being the loudest. 0:07:58.907,0:08:02.347 It's about using our actions and [br]aligning them to the work we're doing 0:08:02.347,0:08:03.797 and that we say we're doing. 0:08:03.797,0:08:06.017 We want our kids to be reflected in[br]curriculum, 0:08:06.017,0:08:07.927 in our practices, in our pedagogy, 0:08:07.927,0:08:10.997 and we want them to feel like [br]they have a belonging somewhere. 0:08:10.997,0:08:14.967 What is it like to feel like you [br]have a home? 0:08:14.967,0:08:16.997 Not just your actual home. 0:08:16.997,0:08:19.717 For so many of our kids, [br]they may not have one. 0:08:19.717,0:08:25.057 What is it like to actually create that[br]and have the power to be able to do that? 0:08:25.057,0:08:28.587 I don't know, but I know [br]what I know. 0:08:28.587,0:08:35.227 And furthermore, I also know, that I'm[br]willing to do this forever and ever. 0:08:35.227,0:08:40.037 I'm so passionate about this, I gotta keep[br]going. 0:08:40.037,0:08:42.651 Are you gonna join me?