could to get transferred into a regular class. I had the ability to do the work but I did not
want to be there. Until I was in ninth grade, I did the minimum amount of work necessary to
pass my classes. My best friends never went to school. They still do not have their diplomas.
In ninth grade, I joined the school baseball team and started to go out with Ruth who was
in the 9SPE. Being with Ruth made it cooler to be smart and being on the team grounded me.
Ruth helped me in math and we would get together and do homework. I was still absent from
school a lot and cut the day we filled out applications for high school. Because I was not
there I did not get into the school where I wanted to play ball. When they did not accept me,
it was the worst day in my life. I went to the neighborhood high school instead and planned
to transfer as soon as possible, but after joining the football team, I decided to stay.
From my earliest youth, sports provided me with male role models, gave me something to
do that kept me out of trouble, and shaped my goals. Because of team sports, I had some-
thing to look forward to each day, responsibilities to live up to, and a foundation for my life.
In high school, I played football and baseball and ran track. I was a starter and a captain so
people looked up to me.
In high school, I had teachers who saw that I had ability and wanted to learn. I was placed
in college-bound classes. I did not care about Arista and the honor’s society, but teachers in-
troduced me to these things. My English teacher encouraged me to join the debate team and
even called my house to recruit me.
Their idea of caring about students is what shapes me now as a teacher. When I walk into
a classroom I tell the class, “I do not care if you are the best student or the worst student, it
is my job to care about each and every one of you.” I insist that every student have a note-
book binder, paper, and a pen. I get mad if they do not do their homework. I give them a
hard time when they are late. I call home and speak with parents over the smallest things.
Because I care, some of them complain that I am too mean.
As a high school student, I did not want to disappoint people who felt I could do better. I
remember I passed the standardized math final exam with a 68. My teacher expected me to
score more than 90 and I felt bad that I let this teacher down. When teachers care about stu-
dents they try harder because they do not want to let you down.
The teachers that students considered good when I was in high school were the teachers
that made the class interesting. I believe when a teacher makes the class interesting, stu-
dents will want to learn. Someone may not be a “rocket scientist” in every subject, but if a
student enjoys class, he or she will grasp the main ideas and become a better student.
I try to use the introduction to a lesson to connect the subject matter with the lives of stu-
dents in my class. We may start out talking about the way people are treated because of
their race, gender, sexuality, or beliefs, and suddenly we are learning about conditions for
slaves in ancient Rome.
I became a dean because it makes it possible for me to deal with a larger number of students,
not just the ones in my classes. I want to turn the school around. I am tired of seeing Black and
Latino students not succeeding in school and in life. No one seems to understand why these kids
cannot read. No one seems to understand why they do not want to come to school. But I do
know. I know we can read and will attend if teachers and schools care about us.
I Did Not Want to Be Another Hispanic Statistic
By Ruth Santos
My mother moved us around a lot when I was a little girl. We lived in the South Bronx until I
was in second grade, moved to Baychester for a couple of years, and then to the Edenwald
area near Samuel’s family. My mother had me and my older sister by her first husband and
two children by her second husband. My mother did not graduate from high school because
236 CHAPTER 9