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My name, Jo-Ann Rose Mercado, is a combination of both sides of my family. The origin of my first name is from Spain. And in Hebrew, Joann translates to "God is gracious". Some words that describe my first name are, bright and vibrant, disciplined, hardworking, patient, and trustworthy. My first name, Jo-Ann, was chosen by my mother in memory of my Great Aunt. She died the year my mother was born. The story behind the spelling of my name is, my mom wanted it to be different than my Great Aunt's, whom she thought spelled it "Joanne". My mom decided to spell my name "Jo-Ann", but it turned out that my Great Aunt spelled it the same way. My first name stands out because it is spelled differently than most other Jo-Ann's. But because of this, I can never find a souvenir with the correct spelling. Although both of my sisters have long flowing names (Alessandra and Gabriella),  I love my name and wouldn't ever change it. My name is Jo-Ann Rose Mercado.

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My favorite characteristic of myself is my quirkiness. My quirkiness is my favorite characteristic of myself because I love to keep things random and have fun. I love to dance around and just be goofy. My quirkiness sometimes makes potentially boring situations more silly or it just makes things awkward which is interesting too. My quirkiness brings smiles and laughs. This picture below was taken on my birthday this year. I went out to dinner with my family. In this photo, is my sister and me.

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An object that carries a lot of relevance for me personally is cards. Throughout my life, I have been given a card from my family members for all occasions. From Halloween cards to Easter and birthdays! My Grandma would send a card and inside would be a thoughtful note for just me. My mom kept my cards from when I was little and I still have some birthday cards from over the years. Going back and reading these cards helps me remember all of the support and love I have from my family. Below is a card from my Aunt this Halloween.

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My privilege is being supported by my family growing up. I lived in a small apartment with my mom. In the apartment below us was my grandma, grandpa, uncle and aunt. Next door was my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I chose this privilege because being raised with my family nearby allowed me to have many opportunities and a lot of support. I was able to run downstairs to my grandparents house whenever I needed them. I was also able to go next door to my aunt's house to play games and hang out with my cousins. I was also able to attend dance classes, after school programs, and play sports because everyone was always there for me.
This picture represents my privilege of being supported by my family. I played basketball from the ages of 6 to 12. I loved the sport and my family was always there cheering me on. This photo was taken in 1999. It is a photo of me and my mom.

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I find my biggest cultural bias is toward people in the upper class. The elementary and middle school I attended in New York was mainly attended by children from upper class families. I loved attending the school, but I was not like my classmates. I came from a poor family and we didn't have all of the fancy things they did. My stereotype of upper class people is they do not work hard and appreciate all they have.

This picture represents my bias towards upper class people. In this picture, I am on my best friend's boat with a group of our friends. My best friend's family is very wealthy and I know they work hard for all they have. But I feel as though some other wealthy families are just handed things and do not always work hard.

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In New York, people ride the trains and subways all the time. Riding the train without an adult wasn't something I was accustomed to. I had always gone places in the city with my family members. The first time I rode the subway on my own, I was with my little cousin Christopher. We were headed to meet my Aunt in Brooklyn. We swiped our Metro North cards and ran to catch the subway. I felt as though we would get stares because we were teens, but all around us, there were adults, teens, and children with their parents. A situation that caused fear and discomfort for me, was the norm in this big city. The picture below is my cousin Christopher, Aunt Chrissy, Leia, and I in Brooklyn.

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I have inherited the cultural value of respecting traditions from my family. One of our traditions is for the entire family to get together for either Thanksgiving or Christmas every year. The picture below is from 2015 at Thanksgiving time. We all met in Boynton Beach, Florida. Another tradition we have while we are all together is for my cousin and I to perform songs. He plays the guitar and I sing. This respect that I have for traditions I hope to pass on to our future generations.

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The literacy practices I engage in my life are reading and listening to music. I enjoy reading mystery and suspense books, although I don't get to read as much for leisure anymore. I am always listening to music at home and in the car. I love listening to pop, hip-hop, and alternative. I love singing along, so I usually learn the lyrics to my favorite songs. Below is a picture of my sister Gabby and I singing along to Selena Gomez.

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The literacy practice that I like to engage in the most is playing games with my family. When I was young, I would go over to my aunts house and raid her game closets. There were two giant closets that towered over me, completely filled with board games. Games like operation, chutes and ladders, and connect four. My family and I have continued this game tradition and have a collection of our own. This is a picture of some of our collection. Through board games, we share laughs and fun with family and friends.

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When I was in elementary school, I would come home and read with my grandma. As she read to me, she would bring the books to life. One of our favorites to read together were the Magic Tree House books. She knew I loved them so much, so she bought me the entire series. It was because of her that I developed my love for reading.
This is a picture of one of the books from the Magic Tree House series. These books are very important to me and they hold memories I will always cherish.

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My Strength with Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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My Strength with Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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My strength in teaching culturally diverse students is my ability to be flexible and adapt to situations at school. In my last field placement in a third-grade classroom, I taught a few lessons that I realized the students just weren't understanding. Through these experiences, I was able to see where my error was and quickly change the structure of the lesson to better instruct the students. My ability to be flexible will help me better reach my future students.
This picture is my third grade class from last semester. The majority of the class was Spanish speaking. I was able to learn more about myself and teaching diverse students through this field placement.

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My Struggles with Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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My Struggles with Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

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My struggle with teaching culturally diverse students is how do I integrate each of their values and beliefs into the classroom. In my current field placement, there are such diverse students. We have students who need much more support because of gaps in their learning, ELL students, students with disabilities, and various cultural backgrounds. How do I integrate and support all of my students' values and beliefs while still teaching all of the standards? This is a picture of my classmates and me at an event at GGC. We all come from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultural values.

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I am Jo Mercado

I bring quirkiness
I have so much support from my family
I respect our traditions
I am flexible
I am reading and learning
I am a future educator
I am Jo Mercado

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I see myself as a happy, loving person who always has a smile. I love joking around but also working hard. I try to keep a positive outlook on life and just go with it!