PHOTO COURTESY/ Walter Chavez
In the summer of 2016, I stepped into the counseling office with bright eyes and hopes of challenging myself academically.
However, my teachers and counselors had already decided for me that I couldn’t try out for the courses that were open to all students due to my middle school grades.
Going into high school, I expected to be challenged, which I was, but I didn’t expect to have so many people against me.
And when I say “people” I’m referring to the TCHS faculty.
Surprising? Maybe for some. But this school has tested how far I can push myself, mentally and emotionally.
During these last four years, I experienced first-hand just how demeaning and disheartening educators can be towards their students, but it wasn’t until my senior year that I came to fully acknowledge this.
These four years have taught me that not every teacher or counselor is going to have your best interest at heart.
I have had my own educators, the people I’m expected to look up to, tell me to aim lower or I wouldn’t make it.
I’ve seen prospective college students, myself included, seek help from their counselors only to be told they won’t get into the college of their choice.
And while at first I thought that it truly was because of my own shortcomings, over time I realized that the limitations they set for me was a reflection of their own limitations rather than my own.
This made me realize that despite the guidance received, I’m the one in control of what I can and will do, despite what others say. But as a student, it was discouraging to hear.
While I never took to heart “I hope you fail, Chavez” (from a teacher who thank goodness no longer teaches at TC) I know another student might.
And because I didn’t, I got into my top school, University of San Francisco, working towards a program that will help me obtain my goal of becoming a lawyer at a much faster rate.
As each year passed, I presumed encouraging students would be the educators’ ultimate goal, given they put money towards a degree to earn a teaching or counseling credential, which made their ability to put down a student more dumbfounding.
These educators paved their own path, no one else forced them to pursue a career in education; that was their choice.
And yet they feel the need to take their regrets or poor decisions out on me.
There have been too many times that I or my peers have shared stories about an educator humiliating their students for not understanding a complex or simple concept, telling us we didn’t pay attention to the lesson if we don’t get it.
It’s the same story with different names of teachers who rejected the students who sought them out by coming in during RAMS, lunch or after school rather than being receptive and doing their job.
I know to keep my expectations realistic, but at the same time I’m not going to lower myself because someone else feels unsatisfied.
However, there are students who will listen to their teachers or counselors wholeheartedly, which will only result in their downfall.
No teacher should be allowed to discourage students the way I and other students have experienced, and I want the teachers, administrators and staff reading this, not to be sorry, but to be better.
But don’t get me wrong, this year also made me grateful for the handful of educators who truly care about inspiring and motivating their students, which is such a precious trait to encounter.
There are other great teachers and staff who I never got the privilege to have or meet, but these are the teachers who have helped guide and support me throughout my last four years.
So thank you to Ms. Dawn Neufeld, Ms. Vy Tague, Ms. Robyn Selders, Ms. Kristy Kenderes, Ms. Wendy Van Thiel, Ms. Florence Lee, Mr. Savay Lieu, Mr. Richard Lohman and Mr. Ryan Hoague. They are the ones who fulfill and exceed the duty of a teacher or counselor.
And to these teachers and staff members who are genuinely passionate about what they do, thank you, because it’s blatantly obvious when a staff member isn’t for the kids because their attitude begins to degrade their students’ perception of school.
These teachers never stopped caring and didn’t stop at just school when it came to teaching. They taught me valuable life lessons about perseverance.
They pushed me to realize nothing comes easy, but if you want it and are willing to work for it, you can do it. They did their job, and I will never forget that.
Now here I am, an unused cap and gown hanging in the closet, tucked away, and I’m passed being disappointed about the events I won’t be able to experience because COVID-19 gave me time to reflect and realize I deserved better than the education I received.
And while there were moments that I enjoyed, I’m ready to grow beyond what TCHS had to offer.