‘The Upstander’ by Tommy Ayala

This piece was part of the Ánimo Voices Competition, which invited students to write about innovators, upstanders, visionaries, or rebels that have made a difference in their local or broader communities. The competition was an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through writing and art.

The Upstander

by Tommy Ayala, 9th grade, Ánimo Leadership Charter High School

What is an upstander? An upstander can be someone notices an act that is despicable and does something about; who else is more deserving for that title than my English teacher, Mrs. Coorsh, whom has made a difference to my community by deciding to work at Animo Leadership. One day, Mrs. Coorsh had a conversation with me where she explained why she chose to become a teacher in a low socioeconomic community. She said she could not tolerate how many teachers work in low-income communities and do not care about their student’s education. Teachers that don’t attempt to interact with their students to help improve and further their education, the teachers that use handouts and call that the lesson. Mrs. Coorsh wants to help students who have struggled and have been mentally discouraged by others to not reach their full potential in their education. She does not see the label teacher as an occupation to collect a salary at the end of the month, but as a mentor for student’s career choices and goals. In order to disprove people who see students from low-income homes as failures, Mrs.Coorsh became a teacher in my community.

Mrs. Coorsh grew up around a middle-class area, an area that consisted of many well-educated parents and children. When she was thirteen, she decided to tutor kids when she signed up for a program called Hillsides Home for Children. This program is where she tutored a girl named Alquisha, who was the same age as Mrs.Coorsh at the time. Alquisha shocked Mrs.Coorsh when she pulled out a multiplication worksheet and a third grade level book. Ms.Coorsh thought Alquisha had a mental disability, but she soon realized that this was not the case. She was horrified and angry at the broken education system for allowing students to move forward to the next level without fully understanding the concepts from prior years. This very moment, she realized that something needed to be done and it would start with her. Mrs. Coorsh would be the difference. Realizing that not everyone grew up with the same opportunities as she did or was not as privileged as her, she decided to pursue teaching as her career in order to help those who struggle.

Mrs.Croosh is an intelligent teacher. One of her qualities I admire is her ability to communicate with her students on a personal level, which helps make her students feel confident and comfortable when speaking to her. Mrs. Coorsh has mastered the concept of effective communication between a teacher and a student. She understands comprehensive issues on topics will rise in which students will isolate themselves from the class due to the thought of feeling embarrassed or less intellectual than other classmates. Mrs. Coorsh encourage students on positive talk whether there is disagreement between certain beliefs and cultural differences. This helps students feel comfortable sharing thoughts because they know negative comments are non existent in Mrs. Coorsh’s class. In addition, her positive attitude encourages students to be motivated and excited for her lessons. Her powerful and confident tone of voice inspires her students to challenge themselves and learn without feeling like they cannot ask for help. Mrs. Coorsh productively finds ways in which students can ask for help in and out of her classroom. When I see her outside of class, she always asks students what they want to be when they grow up. This creates some activity in student’ brain to start thinking what the will do in the future. Mrs. Coorsh is not being nosy, but wants to help students build a foundation for their goals early on and reminding students she wants to focus on providing the best education for her students. When she said this belief, she sounded entirely genuine in her idea that we all deserve a better future.

Animo Leadership is not in the best neighborhood. Approached by gangsters for money, being a witness physical altercations, and students my age smoking weed. Although these activities never caught my interest or define who I am, Mrs.Croosh saw potential in me. Mrs.Coorsh inspires me when she expresses the desire to be involved with my growth as a student, especially when she comes by my seat to give me advice to improve my writing. My neighborhood circumstances pushes me to fight through adversity and become something much greater especially because of where I grew up in. I cannot say that my previous teachers have treated me like how Mrs. Croosh has valued my education. By talking to Mrs. Coorsh, I realized that many of my former teachers did not care about how my education developed successfully. Mrs.Coorsh wants to optimistically change education. She consults with teachers from private high schools on writing strategies/ techniques in order to help us( the students) receive the same education as rich people. Not many teachers will do that, they will often go home and rest, they wouldn’t spend their free time asking other teachers from communities with a higher education for strategies they use so they can incorporate in their upcoming lessons, but Mrs.Coorsh does. Not only does she care about my future education, she also cares about my personal life. I grew up without a mother, however my older sisters were always there for me and I see Mrs. Croosh as a mother I never had. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to help myself have a better education. I want to go to a private university to get my bachelors degree and then further my education to get my PHD in education. But why does it matter that Mrs.Coorsh is involved in my community? Her inclusion helps students climb back from the depth of discouragement and aid students and myself feel confident in achieving my future goals.