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Camp Towanda
I would go from being a latch key kid in the NYC public schools to a 8 week summer camp full of rich kids that all looked the same. This showed me at a young age the huge economic gap between groups. I wanted to go into education to try and provide different opportunities to students that may not be exposed to certain things (mostly through sports).

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As first generation, I was always taught that education was sacred, to be valued, and the method to improve life and achieve upward mobility.

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I was visiting my Godson in Virginia Beach. We were at the aquarium in the gift shop, he got in trouble with his mom for touching too many things in the gift shop. He had to put his hands in his pocket as punishment. He was really sad and upset about that so I walked with him. As we were walking to the parking lot he got more upset and was ready throw a tantrum. Bent down to his level to have a conversation with him and this woman sees us in the parking lot. She went out of her way to drive her car around and try to talk to my Godson and interrupt my conversation with him. This woman had no idea what happened or what was happening. This influenced my teaching and view of equity because how often do we make assumptions about our students and their families and what is happening. We often judge them from our lens.

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I attended high school in East Harlem and had an English teacher in 11th grade who taught me how to connect literature to my own experiences. It was the first time that someone explained that I could connect to characters and storylines in a personal way. Something about reading characters as people with real experiences was jarring and exciting for me. Before this, I read because I was told to, it was the assignment, it had to be completed. I was more interested in Math.

As a direct result, I was drawn into reading and being able to share with others how what they are reading can directly connect to their understanding of how the world works. I have been fortunate to work with students at the high school level, teaching them how to connect what they are reading to their real life experiences.

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Evan
I worked at an international school in Cochabamba, Bolivia, from 2010-2012. As a foreign teacher, I was paid $1600 per month. Teachers hired in Bolivia were paid $250-$450 per month. Non-teaching staff were paid $100 per month. On top of that, the management of the school deducted pay from Bolivian staff members for small infractions and the board members of the school were taking a profit from the operation. It was an oppressive system that caused a lot of frustration and animosity. For me, this put in raw relief the dangers of hierarchical systems where many lack power and have few opportunities and the few with power are able to take more and more. These harmful dynamics are sometimes harder to recognize in the U.S. where the economy opportunities are much broader and deeper, but they still exist in a profound way. This is what I am working against when I work toward equity with our students.

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I began teaching, substituting, during the 1989-1990 school year in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. It was a time of tremendous racial conflict due to the Youseff Hawkins murder. It was my community, the one I grew up in, and I was embarrassed and ashamed of how closed minded, angry and racist many of my neighbors were. I didn't realize it at the time but that is when I began to form my why. I felt I had a responsibility to change the way people in my community felt about, talked about, interacted with people who did not look like they did. I wanted to make sure that the students I was teaching treated each other with respect and did not judge people based on skin color. Over the years I have often thought about whether or not I have had an impact on kids in that community or even the kids in our community.

Robert

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Brooklyn NY - District 19
I grew up in a family of 7 in the East New York section of Brooklyn. My parents came here from Jamaica in early 1979. Growing up, it was a known fact that my school district was one of the poorest in the city. As a result of that, there were not a lot of programs, opportunities, or resources for students who went to school in District 19. However, I was able to navigate through the challenges of my neighborhood to be where I am today. My experiences as a young black girl, growing up in Brooklyn to parents not from the US fuels my passion for the work I do today. I believe all students, regardless of their life circumstances are worthy of a quality education and all the joys that come along with it. I truly do believe that what I do is not just my job, but it is my life's work.

---Nicole Henningham

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Cookson-
When discussing college and graduating high school  in a 9th grade mathematics class a student said, " My parents didn't graduate high school so it is going to be hard for me to go to college."  I pushed back and explained that my father didn't graduate high school either, but was able to successfully complete college.  Since then I have learned that although at first glance our experiences were similar, there were many other factors and privileges that led to my path being a little more direct than hers may have been.

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The public school that I went to in Canada was 50% first and 2nd generation immigrant population.  My classmates were from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Carribbean, West Africa to name a few locations.  I remember the language services and the screening for dyslexia that we all got.  Also, My father believed very deeply in a public school education  and was the first in his family to go to college.  He became a professor and never had to pay a dime for his education.  These are some of my experiences that formed my ideals around how important a free and equitable education is for a healthy nation. --Isabella

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Jeremy:
I went to Guatemala twice to study Spanish.  In part, this was to better communicate with some of my students and families in the LES. Also to better experience culture in NYC.  I also learned about the tortured history of the US intervention in 1950s-80s, Reagan supporting genocide of indigenous, which is rarely taught in schools.