demanding students test their teacher's resolve - best projector for classroom

At the beginning of each class, Ricardo Akuna reads silently for 15 minutes.
It was his only moment of calm.
His students picked the paperback from the shelf on the back wall.
When they read, Ricardo played John Cortland in a small black box. Or Mozart.
Or Beverly's holiday.
Sometimes it's the Buena Vista Social Club.
One day, Gusto Jimenez, 15, announced to the class that he had never read the whole book.
"I 've never done that, and I don't think I'll ever do it.
Everyone laughed.
Ricardo replied: "You will read a book if you are in my class.
That night Ricardo read his own books carefully and lined up the shelves on the wall of the living room.
He gave up the Beatles anthology and the native son, and the car chase: a motorcycle ride to find the legend of Guevara.
Instead, he chose Malcolm X's autobiography.
The next day he handed it to me cheerfully.
Gusto refused.
He said he would prefer to read Latin American books.
So Ricardo went to the school library and read a book about Cesar Chavez.
A month later, Gusto read two chapters.
He gave a half-hearted speech, but it included a poster about what he had learned.
The poster shows a Latino couple dancing and says, "freedom.
Ricardo sees this as a victory.
But Ricardo gave him a B-
Encourage him.
Ricardo remembers what he thought.
This awareness reinforces his confidence in the coming ordeal.
Ricardo lire Akuna, 34, changed his job.
He is a fledgling writer, and creation is still very important to him.
But now, as an intern at the Los Angeles Unified School District program, he is a teacher, and the program is aimed at career changers and college graduates who do not have educational training.
His five English classes at Los Feliz Marshall High School were outside of the challenges he encountered.
His three students were particularly demanding about his time, his patience, his energy and, most importantly, his idealism.
In different ways, everyone is like him: no one is rich, two are Latino, and one is very smart.
They and other students, especially those who are lethargic, stubborn and unruly, exhausted him.
The bureaucracy, paperwork and internship sessions in the evenings and weekends frustrated him.
His most trusted mentor was his wife and a teacher, but his difficulties affected their relationship.
Writing is still waving.
But so did his students.
Ricardo Akuna was torn.
* Discipline the clown corner of the class and avoid work.
He is a clown and energetic.
He disturbed the class with jokes and clever words. On Oct.
2003, Ricardo tried to explain all the nouns.
He's wearing loose pants, white Nike shoes and an oversized Ecko infinity T-shirt.
When Ricardo asks for an example of a noun, he blurts out any noun.
What are the nouns?
"This is the class in our class.
Then he turned to a student nearby.
He said: "This is the territory of Jose.
"So far, the attention of the class is still very confusing.
The antics of gusto are important.
On the information card of the Ricardo file, he wrote it with a tag, which is a jagged letter for street graffiti.
When he chose to do his homework, he also wrote some homework in tag.
He often does so that Ricardo learns how to read the tag. By mid-
In October, however, Gusto's interject had become a serious disturbance.
No one else can concentrate at all.
Ricardo asked him to stay after class one day.
After that, they said that their conversation was going on like this: First of all, they were interested.
"Come on, Akuna, I will miss my bus.
Ricardo replied, "Look, it only takes a few minutes and we need to talk.
"There is a smell of wandering close to the door.
Damn it, man, he recalls.
I have to go home for dinner. . . .
I only stay for five minutes and then I get stuck in traffic.
Ricardo looked at him.
"Raise your hand if you have a problem or you need to talk about something.
When you start talking to someone while we should read, you mess with them.
"Gerstowe gave it here. we-go-again look.
"Why don't you relax?
Why do you always wear a tie?
Why are you so nervous?
"I want to be a good example for you.
I don't think it would be cool if I showed up in loose pants or sportswear.
"Gusto said he couldn't see any problem with wearing these two models.
"What do you want to do when you grow up? Asked Ricardo.
"I won't leave my hood.
"Hood is known to all interested people.
Gradually, he began to relax.
He slowly walked out of the door, then sat on a table, facing Ricardo.
In other cases Ricardo will tell him to sit at the table correctly, but he doesn't want to interrupt.
He began to tell his brother slowly. He was 23. On Aug.
11. there are still two weeks to leave school. on the second day of Gesto's birthday, someone knocked at the door and fired six shots at his brother.
Two shots of his neck, one shot of his head, one shot of his stomach, one shot of his left leg, one shot of his right hand.
His brother survived.
But it reminds us that it's not easy to get out of the hood, Gusto said.
It was in Echo Park, a tough block in what he called "family school.
"He said he could not hang out on certain streets or in the park because he might be shot dead.
Ricardo replied: "When you are here, it will give you a way to get out of there.
"You don't understand. you can't go out. I'm made. "Made?
Ricardo thought of the "mafia family" where the mob was led into the Mafia.
"No," gusto said. "He's not a gang member.
But he's the crew.
Gang is killing.
The crew are referring to loose pants, Nike, labels and battles.
He said he lived according to the rules of the street. Ruthlessness.
Ricardo felt a burst of fear, even interested in himself.
He said: "I may not have grown up in your neighborhood or experienced what you have experienced, but that's how we started. I grew up poor.
I grew up like you and the only thing I ever thought about was trying to figure out how to get out of this situation.
I was told that education is a way out.
The conversation lasted for an hour.
But the last sentence is Gusto.
"Look, you don't know where I'm from.
We come from different worlds.
"Later, he was curious about why he opened the door.
I never spoke to the teacher like I spoke to that fool.
Ricardo left the classroom and took off his tie after driving half a mile.
"I need to breathe," he recalls . "
Usually, he turns on KPFK-FM.
This time, he drove in silence. He agonized.
I didn't get in touch with him.
I don't understand.
In a sense, he is right.
I come from a different world.
Ricardo feels like an Bourgeois idealist.
He wants to go home and burn his Banana Republic pants.
At Eagle Rock's home, his furniture is fashionable. he is a frequent visitor to an Internet cafe on the street. Ricardo never worries about gangs.
He leaned against the counter in the kitchen and watched his wife Marvilla Cook picadillo.
"I don't care about interest anymore," he told her . ".
"I don't care if he doesn't care about his life.
She knows better.
He has been talking about interest.
He even dreamed of him.
* Learn adaptive first
Time teacher, I am grateful that Mayra knows something about her condition, she is a serious student and she keeps reminding me of the need to revise and adapt.
I also feel that she is able to become mainstream with the rest of the class, even more than most of her classmates, which is admirable. --
Meira Ramires, 14, is legally blind, so she needs as much help as possible.
But she is very independent and hopeful.
On Halloween, she came to class in a vet costume: beige trousers and a white, brown and black puppy-covered shirt.
The two boys teased her and asked, "Hey, Meira, what's wrong with the dog shirt?
"When Ricardo handled it herself, she was about to step in.
"I like dogs," she said . "of-factly.
At the age of 9, Mayra was diagnosed with Stargardt, a degraded eye disease.
A doctor told her parents that she might be completely blind.
Her teacher often ignores or forgets her special needs. Her sixth-
The grade social studies teacher is an exception.
She is a gentle woman who zooms up Mayra's workbook assignments on the copier, teaches her to type, and sometimes lets her lie down and rest.
One day, the teacher announced to the class that she was leaving.
She didn't say why. Mayra cried.
But it's Ricardo now.
When the other students did not pair with her on their homework, he offered to be her partner.
She's shy and gentle.
Talk, but not awkward.
She has a clear desire. she looks confident and even motivated.
She wants to go to a four. year college.
She told him that she gained strength from her cousin who died of cancer four months ago.
Mayra said she was alive to please him and added, "I don't want to feel like I'm not successful just because I have a disability.
Ricardo admires her strength.
He noticed that there was a picture of Eminem on her binder, and she liked such a outspoken rapper, which impressed him.
He will remember that he is an extraordinary student.
Wow, that's why I'm here.
Every day, he stops by the copier in the main office to expand her homework.
He read to her and explained everything she could not see.
In a mythical unit, he amplified the characters: the gods of the underworld, the gods of the underworld. . .
Poseidon sea god. . . .
One day he brought Mela a book by Francis Hodgson Burnett: Little Princess.
It was about an orphan who found strength in her heart and imagination and survived the difficulties.
"Thank you," she said . "
She was glad he thought of her and she read part of it every day.
Otherwise, he treated her like he did to everyone else.
"I think I'm normal. . . . That's what Mr.
One day she said to a classroom visitor, "Akuna taught me . ".
"He gave me the same job as everyone else.
He taught me to be the same person just because I am disabled doesn't mean I can't do the job.
Ricardo keeps a diary for everyone.
This means at least one writing task per day.
Mela wrote poems about friends, family and love.
She wrote about her love for cupcakes: they are "as sweet as your future husband.
She wrote her nasty little brother, her best friend, her close friendknit family.
One day she wrote a poem about her cousin: We all have an angel Guan Dan, but I have two Angels Guan Dan and my Angel of Love.
My dear angel is dead, but protect me from it.
My loved one saw him die and I saw him come back.
I can feel him, but I can't see him.
My beloved angel appeared in my mind.
I recorded his voice in my heart.
All our conversations are recorded in my heart.
I want my angel back.
Please come back to me.
Ricardo told Mera that she was very talented and that while he could not ignore her spelling mistakes, he did not want to dissuade her.
So instead of marking the page of her diary with his red pen, he reached an agreement with her.
He will help her with spelling and grammar, and within a year, by October 2004, she will spell 80% to 90% of the words correctly and use the complete sentence.
"Yes, my spelling is not very good," she said . ". "Don't worry. You can do it.
"* Trying to get an intellectual involved, there was a student who really talked about the author and grabbed the idea of the author's name attached to the chair. I thought he [too]
Is the reason why I teach high school.
This is when students form ideas and they need to be guided.
It will be a great class and Jeremy will be a great student. --
Ricardo interviews * 17-year-old Jeremy sendance with T-Che Guevara-
Shirt, No Mercy on his problem.
Despite Ricardo's efforts to encourage him, he will not do his homework.
He often just looks at flowers.
One day, while reading silently, Ricardo noticed Hunter's fear and disgust in Las Vegas. Thompson.
Ricardo was surprised and happy.
"It was a university --
"He said.
Jeremy boasted this to his parents.
A few days later, he came to Riccardo and read aloud the passage from Owen Wales's novel, The maraboo Stoke nightmare, about an illusion in a coma.
"He's out there. of-
"The physical experience of entering this heavenly world," said Jeremy.
"I hope I can get into my brain where this can happen.
Then he brought in another Welsh book discovery train, a book about a group of desperate addicts.
Jeremy said: "When they are in high spirits, they go into areas that most people want to enter.
Ricardo told him: "You can achieve this when you are awake.
Weeks have passed and Ricardo has brought in other books that he thinks Jeremy might like.
Che Guevara's motorcycle diary.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
Oscar Zeta Costa's resistance to the cockroach.
In silent reading, he asked Jeremy to play Bob Marley.
Jeremy read the chapter "resistance of cockroaches".
"Funny," he said, "but when he returned to school the next day, someone borrowed the book and Jeremy didn't get another one.
Ricardo wants to know what will challenge him and keep him working.
Maybe his homework is too advanced.
He might be bored.
Finally, Ricardo asked Jeremy to meet him after school.
He and Jeremy recalled their meeting like this: "You are a smart child," Ricardo said at the beginning.
"I know you can do a good job in this class.
"Does he want to go to college?
"No," answered Jeremy.
Ricardo replied, "you will like going to college . "
Jeremy said he had heard of many relatives.
University Lecture.
He said he wanted to be a musician, a photographer and work in a skateboard shop.
"What if you're tired of it? " Ricardo said.
He can do all these things and go to college.
"I will never get tired of it.
"Why would such a smart young man refuse to go to college?
Ricardo wants to know.
There is nothing good about talking.
Jeremy did not hand in his daily diary homework for weeks in a row.
"I don't write a diary," he said to a visitor . "
"I don't like to write about the day.
I want to keep it in my memory.
One day is a personal matter for a person. "On parent-
On the night of the meeting, Ricardo told Jeremy's mother that her son got D purely because he would not do the job.
She said she was not surprised at all. he was an disobedient person.
"We tried everything," she told the visitors afterwards.
Jeremy's father added: "If he says he doesn't want to do [homework]
No one convinced him anymore.
A few days later Ricardo found out that Jeremy handed a note to a girl.
Recalled afterwards, Ricardo asked her if she wanted to "go out with a white boy ".
"No," replied the girl.
"I like Latinos.
"Ricardo copied the note, marked Jeremy's name and the girl's name, and put the note on the projector for each of his classes to read.
He took an English lesson with it.
He corrected the punctuation and spelling.
He turned white into white and black into African-American.
"Hey," said Gasto.
"I know who the white boy is.
"Everyone soon understood.
The girl blushed and Jeremy tried to figure this out. "Caucasian? " he said.
"Who wrote it like this?
Ricardo said: "What I want to say is not to upload notes in class.
"Jeremy has started to skip school, and now he often does.
He would later say that because he found a good pizza shop, he cut it and he had better things to do: playing drums in the rock band.
But Ricardo was worried that everything he had done to the note had driven him away.
When he told mavera about Jeremy, she encouraged him.
"This is the kind of student you can help.
He was confused, depressed and uncertain. I go . . .
One day, one week. --
One day in November, Ricardo walked around the classroom and picked up the wrapping paper and other newspapers.
His students violated his rules, including: "Leaving your workspace and the surrounding area is cleaner than the way you found it.
He listed 17 students in detention.
It's nothing good, though.
Not only do they skip classes, but some people skip classes.
His four-hour internship every Monday night made him feel heavy.
In order to keep up with the progress, in addition to preparing for the class he is teaching and scoring the student's paper, he must also read books and write memos.
He didn't write anything creative. -
There is no script, no short stories, no poetry.
He has neither time nor energy.
He was impressed by his internship.
There is no practical answer to his question.
Some of his students have not improved.
They said, "boring . "
"Who cares about God?
Too many words.
"There are too many words," Ricardo corrected.
A friend's intern complained that her students were unruly.
He urged her to stick to the end, at least until Christmas.
Then she left.
She "left screaming," says Christine Siraj, the English Department chairman.
The principal asked teachers to improve their academic performance index.
What does this mean?
Ricardo recalled.
I can't let these children read a book.
How do I improve their scores?
In the past, he could seek answers from a mentor.
The year before, Marshall had five senior teachers, each of whom was paid extra to help up to four interns like Ricardo.
But guidance has been canceled due to regional budget cuts.
Some schools don't.
Marshall found the money to pay for two experienced teachers in the summer, working with interns and other new teachers, but Ricardo and three other teachers came too late.
This has allowed interns to consult with up to four teaching coaches.
But they have taken the responsibility to help the other 197 teachers in the school.
Also, one of them only helps the math teacher.
Two of the other three visited Ricardo's class and only visited it once in a while.
New identities can be confusing, so Szilagyi is always asking for advice from Ricardo.
She gave him the phone number at home and urged him to call day and night.
He will be very embarrassed.
He will later say that even as a new teacher, he should know how to solve his problem.
Besides, he doesn't want to be a complaining person.
He turned to marvila.
His work has strained their relationship.
Again and again, she asked him to take her to the movies, or to visit her mother with her, or to take a walk in the park with her and their dog Ringo.
"No, I have a job," he said . ""I have work. I have work.
"If it doesn't work, it's money. L. A.
Unified wrote that of the 40 courses he studied at Columbia University, only three would work when determining his salary.
This means that his ranking on the salary level will decline.
He has earned less than $35,000 a year.
Why do I go to these schools?
Why am I paying these debts?
If all I write is memos, why should I study literature and screenwriters?
In the evening, he woke up and stared at the wall of the bedroom.
He shook mavera.
"I dream of working.
"It's just a nightmare," she said . "
He returned to the same dream.
Jeremy smirked and slid his face towards him. It disappeared.
Then his face. Then Mayra's. . . .
"I'm starting to resent it," Marvilla told a tourist . "
This is never ending.
He's not that talkative.
He's not the same freedom-
That's why I married him.
Tensions erupted one night.
Ricardo came home from his intern class and said a coach told him he failed because he didn't finish enough homework.
"I went to the best school.
How can I fail? " he said.
I became my own worst student.
"It's not worth it.
Malvera urged him to stick to the end.
"Let me help you," she said . "
She offered to help him with his homework.
"What's the point if I don't do it myself? " he said.
She felt helpless.
"Well, maybe you should resign.
"This is a challenge.
She thought it might turn him around.
"You can't handle it.
"* Part of the reason I became a teacher in the face of the problem is because I wanted to get in touch with the students and find something for them that interests and excites them.
With Jeremy, I just want to give up on him over time. --
Ricardo interview, who often skipped classes * Jeremy showed up one day with a root beer.
"Don't drink," Ricardo said, taking it away.
He heard laughter as he turned to drop the bottle.
Jeremy later said he felt hot and thirsty.
He opened another bottle of beer and was taking a big sip.
"You don't take my drink," he said with provocation . "
Ricardo will not forget these words.
His tie is tight.
His cheeks are getting hot.
He squinted and frowned.
He said, "You're f---
Ready for everyone.
He was surprised himself.
He said it again. "You're f---
Ready for everyone.
"He glanced at Jeremy and said cheerfully.
He will always remember that any of them is thinking.
Either Jeremy or enthusiasm.
"You go," he told Jeremy loudly . ""Just get out.
Jeremy grabbed his backpack and skateboard.
He went out for a walk with his beer.
Ricardo's nostrils opened.
He clenched his teeth.
He followed Jeremy out of the door with his eyes and stared at him.
* Gusto interruptions become more frequent. He chatted. He joked.
He stopped doing his homework.
He will not sit still.
During class, he twisted his body and walked around.
Ricardo pulled Gasto's desk to his desk.
Every day, he sat in front of his classmates with his back in front of Ricardo.
But it doesn't work.
He turned and whispered until he was noticed.
Then he joked again.
He refused to read.
Ricardo told him he would fail.
He said he didn't care.
He thought, I will fail anyway. Why even try?
"He doesn't like me anymore," gusto told a visitor afterwards.
"I often pester him.
I'm in trouble.
Too boring.
"I can tell him that he really doesn't know how to manage his class.
His tie or something is too professional.
Mera is the highlight of Ricardo.
She struggled with vision, spelling, and grammar, but she responded when he helped her.
Somehow, despite her blurred vision, she recognized him among the students and teachers in the crowded corridor, and she always said, "Hi sir.
She prayed to God to bless him every night. *(
Start text of the infobox)
About this series, Hayasaki ka observed more than 40 hours of lessons in Ricardo Acuna.
She interviewed him many times and visited his home.
Her story also comes from observations and home visits and interviews with his wife Marvilla Bonilla and students Gusto Jimenez, Mayra Ramrez and Jeremy Sentance.
Their actions, words, thoughts, and emotions are either witnessed by zaizaki or directly described by them.
Hayasaki visited and conducted five interviews at the Los Angeles United School District intern summer training program.
She also interviewed Jeremy's parents, David and Carla santans;
Meira's mother, Migiro ramami
Bob Grakal, teaching coach at Marshall High School;
Catherine O'Connell, assistant principal of Marshall High School;
Kristen Siraj, head of the English department at Marshall High School;
Beth Irizarry, Marshall's intern
Irene Winter, an intern at Wilson High School; Mary H.
Louis, director of Los Angeles. A.
Unified internship program;
Project mentor Susan Serry and Nancy Bell;
Arnie Weiner, project director;
A workaround for Emily feistrizer and National Center.
Linda Darling.
Hammond, professor of education at Stanford University.
Acuna provides scripts, poems, diaries, lesson plans and intern assignments that reflect his thoughts, concerns and workload.
A number of students, including Ramires, also provided diaries, poems, and class assignments.
His first semester is coming to an end tomorrow, and Ricardo Akuna is distressed by whether he has really helped his students and whether his lack of experience has done more harm than good.
Is his appearance in the classroom meaningless?
He wants to know if there is a better way to change the status quo.