My name is Mary Hernandez. I’m an English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Carbondale Middle School.

As I reflected on my earliest memories of desires to educate, I remembered that as a young child I found ways to subject my adoring little sister to lessons in makeshift classrooms so that I could write on a chalkboard. I remember these “lessons” ranged from concocting strange recipes to running a neighborhood carnival.

When I was 10, we moved mid-school-year. I was extremely shy and quiet, and I experienced quite a bit of bullying in my new school. So when I started 6th grade, I was relieved to be welcomed by a warm and gentle Mrs. Mitchell. Throughout the year, she nurtured me by asking me to help her with after school projects and she corresponded with me in handwritten letters decorated with smiling suns. I was, that year, firmly inspired to teach. I shared my aspirations with her in my letters, and I remember expressing my biggest concern that, very soon, human educators will be replaced by robots! I worried, will I even have a chance to become a teacher?

I smile as I remember it now, as my biggest concern is always the daunting task of meeting the complex needs of each student, moment by moment, and day after day. After confronting this challenge head-on as a young teacher in training, I ran. I buried my head in the more mundane careers of banking and property management until I just could not continue to ignore that nagging in the back of my skull to teach. Specifically, I envisioned myself supporting immigrants in their quest for skills in a new culture, so I jumped back in.

Teaching is never, ever boring. Never. It can be at once exhausting, invigorating, frustrating, and rewarding, but never boring. My daily experience of teaching middle school is like surviving a tornado while peering into a beautiful and ever-changing kaleidoscope. Students demand my best, and they constantly challenge me to somehow rise above my weaknesses and deliver what they each need. I believe that it’s actually one of the most impossible and unsustainable careers to do well, and yet, many of us can’t stop ourselves from returning after a few weeks of recovery each summer. Why? Well, for me, I’m inspired by my daily interactions with these amazing young humans. It IS a privilege.

The bulk of my time is dedicated to newly- arrived immigrants. These children have just walked away from everyone and everything familiar, crossed thousands of miles, and are overcoming vast barriers to build a new life. Their resiliency is absolutely astounding to me. I take my job as one of their first allies in the process extremely seriously and, to this day, I often feel ill-equipped. But we teachers persevere to find ways to dig deep and learn more in order to give kids the tools and care they deserve.

I cherish the small glimpses I get into their fascinating creative minds and am rewarded when I realize that in a particular interaction, I was able to provide a child with exactly what they needed at that moment. My best days at school start with the questions, “What am I thankful for? What can I give?” and “What can I learn from my students?” I have already learned far more from them than I can ever hope to impart to them.

I find great support in my colleagues, who are the most incredible professionals I have found in any field. Magic happens for me in the midst of educator collaboration. We “get” one another. We have a special bond, and it produces a spark in me that I lacked in my other professions. Teaching at Carbondale Middle has made me a better human, as my students and colleagues have permanently shaped me.

As I look into the impending sunset of my 20+ years as a classroom teacher, I find myself feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the privilege of being a part of each life, each family, each colleague, and the Carbondale community. And… I appreciate you for reading my story.

Mary Hernández is an English Language Development teacher at Carbondale Middle School. She has taught English to immigrants in the Roaring Fork Valley since 2007, and in 2017 received the Colorado Association for Bilingual Education’s ESL Teacher of the Year award. She is passionate about supporting newly immigrated students in their transition to life in the United States.