1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,800
Speaker 1: I view it as very colonial, the idea that everybody

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,600
Speaker 1: needs to be able to do this by this time,

3
00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,520
Speaker 1: so that way everybody can bablah I understand the philosophy.

4
00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:10,280
Speaker 2: Right, we want our children to be prepared.

5
00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,520
Speaker 1: But if we're not actively investing in our students being

6
00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,320
Speaker 1: prepared for the actual condition in life that they're going

7
00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,520
Speaker 1: to live, then we're just giving them all these tools

8
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,319
Speaker 1: in the skill set and nothing to hang it on,

9
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,040
Speaker 1: nothing to apply, nothing that actually really matters.

10
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:32,040
Speaker 3: From Futromedia and PRX, It's Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa

11
00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:38,680
Speaker 3: today teaching Chicano history now and then two Chicano educators

12
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:48,879
Speaker 3: in conversation more than twenty five years ago, Nadine Cordova,

13
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,040
Speaker 3: along with her sister Patsy, made history.

14
00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,160
Speaker 4: For years, they were considered outstanding teachers at the Tiny

15
00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,440
Speaker 4: School in vond New Mexico, until they were suspended for

16
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,760
Speaker 4: refusing to teach the prescribed curriculum. More specifically, they didn't

17
00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,959
Speaker 4: want the sisters to teach Chicano history.

18
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 3: This is a news clip from a local Albuquerque television

19
00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,840
Speaker 3: station in nineteen ninety nine. Although they later became known

20
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,320
Speaker 3: for teaching Chicano history, Nadine and Patsy only learned about

21
00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:21,720
Speaker 3: the movement as adults.

22
00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:23,680
Speaker 5: They read about the struggles.

23
00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,959
Speaker 3: Mexican Americans faced and the fight for labor rights, land

24
00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,320
Speaker 3: and a political identity in the United States during the

25
00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:37,760
Speaker 3: nineteen sixties and early seventies. The Chicano Movement, as it's

26
00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:43,119
Speaker 3: called changed how Patsy and Nadine thought about themselves and

27
00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,880
Speaker 3: their history, and both teachers wanted to share that with

28
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:48,200
Speaker 3: their students too.

29
00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:50,960
Speaker 6: I grew up being very ashamed of who I was,

30
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,040
Speaker 6: being a Mexican American or at Chicana identify as at Chicana,

31
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,280
Speaker 6: and I refused at that point to do to my

32
00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,960
Speaker 6: students what had been done to me in the public system.

33
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 4: Nadine, did you feel the same way.

34
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,400
Speaker 7: I feel that way. I feel like our language, our history,

35
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,440
Speaker 7: and our culture that's our foundation. And without our foundation,

36
00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,560
Speaker 7: you know, we just cannot we cannot succeed.

37
00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,080
Speaker 3: After that, they were fired. The school administration claimed that

38
00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,359
Speaker 3: the Court of Us Sisters, especially Nadine, we're teaching quote

39
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,480
Speaker 3: racial intolerance and promoting quote a militant attitude in their students.

40
00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,160
Speaker 3: Looking back, almost three decades later, Nadine still remembers what

41
00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:34,720
Speaker 3: a difficult experience.

42
00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,680
Speaker 7: That was all the accusations and all the hateful things

43
00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,520
Speaker 7: they say about you when you know you're doing a

44
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 7: good job and you know you've given so much because

45
00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,600
Speaker 7: teachers give so much, and then to be treated like that,

46
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:45,400
Speaker 7: it's not easy.

47
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,560
Speaker 3: Still, the court of our sisters fought back. They filed

48
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,960
Speaker 3: a lawsuit against the school district, and eventually they want

49
00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,440
Speaker 3: more than a half a million dollar out of court

50
00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,960
Speaker 3: settlement and the option to be reinstated to their jobs.

51
00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:06,079
Speaker 3: Nadine and Patsy both declined to go back, but they

52
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,239
Speaker 3: didn't stop teaching. They moved to Albuquerque and recently retired

53
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:17,040
Speaker 3: after a long career as public school teachers. But this

54
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,760
Speaker 3: is not a story that has stayed in the past.

55
00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,400
Speaker 3: Educators who choose to teach as Nadine and her sister

56
00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:28,160
Speaker 3: did are still facing consequences. Last year, in Denver, Colorado,

57
00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:32,440
Speaker 3: Tim Hernandez went through something similar. His contract wasn't renewed

58
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,640
Speaker 3: at North High School after teaching Chicano history and literature

59
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:37,600
Speaker 3: to his students.

60
00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,000
Speaker 2: I didn't just want to teach English. I have my

61
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,480
Speaker 2: degree in English, right, but I wanted.

62
00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 8: To teach ethnic studies, and I wanted to teach Latino literature,

63
00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,240
Speaker 8: to go right back to my community and give an

64
00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,320
Speaker 8: educational experience that's rooted in pride and empowerment that I

65
00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:57,000
Speaker 8: never got in school, and more importantly, that kids today

66
00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:58,760
Speaker 8: are still not getting in school.

67
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,960
Speaker 3: So we asked Tim and Nadine more than four hundred

68
00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,960
Speaker 3: miles apart, if they wanted to meet virtually to talk

69
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:12,800
Speaker 3: about their shared experiences.

70
00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,400
Speaker 7: Hello, my friend, Hey, how are you mean?

71
00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:15,560
Speaker 9: Guy?

72
00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,520
Speaker 2: It's so good to see you here from you.

73
00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:18,400
Speaker 7: So good to talk to you.

74
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 3: Also, after hearing about each other's stories, they had an

75
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,920
Speaker 3: instant connection and began corresponding.

76
00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:29,840
Speaker 7: I've been talking to my sons about you, Duah.

77
00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:31,720
Speaker 2: I've been talking to my kids about you. I've been

78
00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 2: talking about all kinds. I've been so hyped for this.

79
00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,039
Speaker 7: Oh that's great. That's great.

80
00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,480
Speaker 3: Today, on our show, Tim and Nadine share why Chicano

81
00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,960
Speaker 3: history is still relevant for kids, and they reflect on

82
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,520
Speaker 3: the struggles they've faced and the lessons they've learned. Here

83
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:55,279
Speaker 3: are Nadine Cordova and Tim Ernandez in conversation.

84
00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,000
Speaker 7: The way I see the system loves the teachers that

85
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,680
Speaker 7: stay in their place, don't make any waves, don't create

86
00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,400
Speaker 7: any issues or don't ask for too much. And I

87
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,080
Speaker 7: just don't think that's fair. It's not fair to our

88
00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,840
Speaker 7: students because it seems like teachers, we should teach from

89
00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 7: our heart and we should be giving them knowledge that

90
00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:19,359
Speaker 7: it's for their heart and for their soul.

91
00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:21,520
Speaker 1: I mean, like to be blunt with you, Nadine, like,

92
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:23,920
Speaker 1: that's why I was placed on administratively right, Like, I

93
00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,880
Speaker 1: was told I wouldn't be returning to North High School

94
00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,720
Speaker 1: they openly at a five minute meeting. After teaching there

95
00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:31,599
Speaker 1: for a year and a half, they said, Hey, you're

96
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:32,560
Speaker 1: not coming back next year.

97
00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:33,120
Speaker 2: I'm sorry.

98
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,719
Speaker 7: Wow. The school that I worked at was mostly immigrant students,

99
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,200
Speaker 7: and I remember I was taking some I was taking

100
00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,640
Speaker 7: some classes for ESL and I don't remember exactly where

101
00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,480
Speaker 7: I was, you know, learning like all these quotes from

102
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,440
Speaker 7: the Mexican Revolution and Milliano Zapata and I love the quota.

103
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,560
Speaker 7: You know, I'd rather die on my feet than live

104
00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,280
Speaker 7: on my Kneesa. So my husband's from Chiwuahu, and I

105
00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,120
Speaker 7: was so excited. I you know, I'm going to do

106
00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:57,040
Speaker 7: all these quotes.

107
00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,279
Speaker 10: I'm going to do this about Milliano Sapata and there

108
00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,839
Speaker 10: because you know he had he experienced all the racism,

109
00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,680
Speaker 10: and h for his whole life experienced the racism.

110
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,000
Speaker 7: He told me they were going to fire me, and

111
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,160
Speaker 7: I thought I had the role. Would they fire me?

112
00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,720
Speaker 2: Oh wow? I started.

113
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,400
Speaker 1: My first day in North High School was in January

114
00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,840
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, and I was so excited. I grew

115
00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,560
Speaker 1: up a couple of blocks down the street, and so

116
00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,560
Speaker 1: I was all excited and jazzed up that I got

117
00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,600
Speaker 1: there and the kids were like half asleep, and I

118
00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,120
Speaker 1: was like, oh man, this is everything I did my

119
00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,400
Speaker 1: degree for, right, right exactly?

120
00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:34,839
Speaker 2: What about you, Emiga?

121
00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,920
Speaker 7: I think when I first started teaching, because I decided

122
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,240
Speaker 7: to go into special education and just regular education, I

123
00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:44,680
Speaker 7: think I did a lot of the traditional things. You

124
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,680
Speaker 7: know what most teachers do, you know, the textbooks and

125
00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,080
Speaker 7: this and that. It took a long time for me

126
00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,800
Speaker 7: to feel comfortable when I started including more topics that

127
00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,200
Speaker 7: were relevant, and I would get response from students in

128
00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,280
Speaker 7: the writing, how creative, how passionate they were about their

129
00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,760
Speaker 7: writing and what they were doing, and how involved they were.

130
00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:06,159
Speaker 7: I think that is when I really got into the

131
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,360
Speaker 7: group of how I wanted to teach and what kind

132
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,800
Speaker 7: of teacher I wanted to be and totally non traditional,

133
00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,320
Speaker 7: and that's what creates problems in the you know, with

134
00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:18,120
Speaker 7: Principles and you're totally non traditional, they really expect you

135
00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,480
Speaker 7: to be on this chapter of the literature book by

136
00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:23,920
Speaker 7: this time of the year. And you know, the literature

137
00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,480
Speaker 7: books are crazy. My my sister, she taught high school English,

138
00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,120
Speaker 7: and she would have topics like my life as the

139
00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,680
Speaker 7: Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, my life is a shoe, you know,

140
00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,200
Speaker 7: that kind of thing, when there were so many things

141
00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,560
Speaker 7: going on in their world that would make it much

142
00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,080
Speaker 7: more relevant for them to write about it. So that's

143
00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,040
Speaker 7: why we chose to be non traditional. Yeah, and that

144
00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,640
Speaker 7: is something that they just are not comfortable with and that.

145
00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 2: They're not ready for.

146
00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:52,920
Speaker 1: Last year, when I was at North, I was like

147
00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,480
Speaker 1: every week I would have to justify what I was

148
00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,040
Speaker 1: teaching and why we were teaching this, and there were

149
00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,720
Speaker 1: so many caveats and so many perspectives that people wanted

150
00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,040
Speaker 1: to insert into what I was teaching. We have this

151
00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,560
Speaker 1: hyper standardization and standards and testing and all these things.

152
00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,880
Speaker 7: It's it's bad so many politics involved. You know, the

153
00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,760
Speaker 7: Principles is superintendent. They all have their own ideas as

154
00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,800
Speaker 7: school boards, and then at the state level, you know,

155
00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 7: they want to put this curriculum in and this, you know,

156
00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,680
Speaker 7: more testing, and then now in the higher levels, it

157
00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,840
Speaker 7: is that all these people that know nothing about education,

158
00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,080
Speaker 7: about being in the classroom, no better than us, everybody

159
00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,040
Speaker 7: can do better than us. And it's just it just

160
00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,640
Speaker 7: becomes too political, too much pressure. It's not wanting our creativity.

161
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,800
Speaker 7: All they want is for you to fit their little standards,

162
00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,239
Speaker 7: prove that you're doing this. It's it's just very stressful.

163
00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,080
Speaker 1: I think like it becomes really transactional. And because we

164
00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,880
Speaker 1: view teaching as transactional, I one time had a conversation

165
00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,320
Speaker 1: with a parent who disagreed with what I was teaching,

166
00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,000
Speaker 1: and they said, oh, well, this is what I think

167
00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:56,120
Speaker 1: my students should be taught, right, this is.

168
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:56,720
Speaker 2: What I think.

169
00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,160
Speaker 1: And I remember having like a very clear moment with

170
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,480
Speaker 1: the parent and empathetically right, like I was not interested

171
00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,280
Speaker 1: in making them feel bad, but I said, look like

172
00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,079
Speaker 1: your perspective on your child's education matters to me, and

173
00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,040
Speaker 1: it will never matter more than your child's perspective on

174
00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,600
Speaker 1: their education, right, because I think actually your students probably

175
00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:17,920
Speaker 1: know what they need more than you and I both do.

176
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,839
Speaker 1: Right that right, more than even sometimes I do. And

177
00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,920
Speaker 1: I think when we have an education system that is

178
00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,000
Speaker 1: really based upon adult opinions rather than student experiences, right

179
00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,319
Speaker 1: we yes, of course, we're creating something that our students

180
00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,080
Speaker 1: don't respond to more often than not.

181
00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,360
Speaker 7: Exactly. I remember I used to in my classes. I

182
00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,120
Speaker 7: would ask them, what are the topics that you were

183
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:42,480
Speaker 7: interested in that are relevant to you, Like in our

184
00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:45,200
Speaker 7: community there was a lar teen pregnancy and drugs and

185
00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,520
Speaker 7: alcohol and violence, and we would develop units around that.

186
00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,600
Speaker 7: I'd find as many matures as I could find, and

187
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,400
Speaker 7: we would develop units around whatever interested them, so they

188
00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,280
Speaker 7: bought into their curriculum. I love teaching.

189
00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,040
Speaker 1: Well, and I think it's really how teaching is supposed

190
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,160
Speaker 1: to work, right, Like learning is supposed to It's not

191
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,439
Speaker 1: supposed to be transactional, because learning is relational.

192
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:10,720
Speaker 2: Students are not the hard part.

193
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,320
Speaker 7: Of teaching, yes, exactly.

194
00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,360
Speaker 1: They're not, you know, difficult and complex things that I

195
00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:18,600
Speaker 1: think our education system often makes them out to be.

196
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,440
Speaker 1: I think that students are kids, and kids who are

197
00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,520
Speaker 1: surviving the best way that they can, according to the

198
00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,600
Speaker 1: ways that their family have taught them, according to the

199
00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,320
Speaker 1: resources that they have available. I work with kids who

200
00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,280
Speaker 1: are in house I work with kids who you know

201
00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,880
Speaker 1: have been formally incarcerated. I work with students who you

202
00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,560
Speaker 1: know are working till one am two am every night

203
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,360
Speaker 1: after school because their family needs money. Right, And so

204
00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,400
Speaker 1: when they're in the classroom with me, right, my only

205
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,200
Speaker 1: job is to tell them thank you. And I think

206
00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,400
Speaker 1: a lot of people in teaching, especially nowadays, I think,

207
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,040
Speaker 1: have this idea of like, oh, I have to go teach,

208
00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:56,440
Speaker 1: I have to go teach my kids.

209
00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:57,320
Speaker 2: I have to do this.

210
00:10:57,960 --> 00:10:59,760
Speaker 1: And I remember having a conversation with one of my

211
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,920
Speaker 1: teams and she reframed it for me, and she said,

212
00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:04,480
Speaker 1: you know, like a lot of people say they have

213
00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,199
Speaker 1: to teach, but really it's that we get to teach.

214
00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:07,600
Speaker 7: Right.

215
00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:09,840
Speaker 1: I get to walk into a classroom and I get

216
00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,960
Speaker 1: to work with my students, and I get to teach

217
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,560
Speaker 1: and learn and love and laugh and experience a small

218
00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,679
Speaker 1: part of life for them and for me, but a

219
00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,240
Speaker 1: really formative interaction that I know is going to change

220
00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,200
Speaker 1: me and change them, because it does every time. They're

221
00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,440
Speaker 1: the reason why we go in Monday through Friday. Right,

222
00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,120
Speaker 1: we can't even take a day off of our kids.

223
00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,640
Speaker 1: Are My kids are texting me and calling me and

224
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:31,640
Speaker 1: being like where are you.

225
00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:35,480
Speaker 7: I mean, there are a lot of pressures in the classroom,

226
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,560
Speaker 7: the grading systems, the kind of record keeping you have

227
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,720
Speaker 7: to keep, but the students are the joy. And you

228
00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,720
Speaker 7: do have those students that are going to not like

229
00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:48,840
Speaker 7: what you are teaching, and we'll give you trouble. And

230
00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,200
Speaker 7: you know, I think that they're probably listening to you

231
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,880
Speaker 7: and it was making a difference and sometimes we don't

232
00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,120
Speaker 7: see it at that time, but we'll see it later.

233
00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,880
Speaker 7: It is. I mean, I think as a teacher, you've

234
00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,679
Speaker 7: got to feel passion for teaching. You need to love teaching,

235
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,720
Speaker 7: You need to teach from your heart. And the day

236
00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,920
Speaker 7: that that no longer can happen, then you don't belong

237
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:07,120
Speaker 7: in a classroom.

238
00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,200
Speaker 1: I think it's like teaching is such a gift to

239
00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,880
Speaker 1: be given right to, Like, anybody can be a teacher.

240
00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,560
Speaker 2: I really do deeply believe that now should everybody be

241
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:15,959
Speaker 2: a teacher?

242
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,199
Speaker 1: Maybe not, that's a personal opinion, you feel me anybody

243
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,719
Speaker 1: can be a teacher because I think teaching inherently is

244
00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,319
Speaker 1: about just cultivating and listening to youth and giving them

245
00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,480
Speaker 1: space to become the people that they want to be.

246
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,720
Speaker 2: And when we exist in a system.

247
00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,240
Speaker 1: That hasn't really existed in preserving their hearts and their souls,

248
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:35,600
Speaker 1: and their spirits and their minds.

249
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,640
Speaker 2: I think it's even more radical to center that.

250
00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,679
Speaker 7: Yes right.

251
00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,880
Speaker 3: Coming up on Latino Usay, Nadine Cordova and Tim Ernandez

252
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,080
Speaker 3: dive into the parallels of their stories and talk about

253
00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,880
Speaker 3: what it takes to make changes in the public education system.

254
00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:58,320
Speaker 5: Stay with us nothing, why yes, Hey, we're back.

255
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,559
Speaker 3: Before the break, we were listening to a conversation between

256
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:09,520
Speaker 3: Nadine Cordovat and Tim Ernandez, two teachers who, almost three

257
00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:15,840
Speaker 3: decades apart, were fired after teaching Chicano history to their students.

258
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,760
Speaker 3: Now they reflect on their shared struggles and talk about

259
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,160
Speaker 3: what kind of hope they see for the future of

260
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,080
Speaker 3: public education.

261
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,040
Speaker 5: Here are Tim and Nadine once again.

262
00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,800
Speaker 7: I was born and raised in vond New Mexico, and

263
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,480
Speaker 7: that's right in the center of New Mexico, towards the east.

264
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,840
Speaker 7: And I discovered later in my life that all the

265
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,720
Speaker 7: communities around us were racist. That my brothers and sisters

266
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,000
Speaker 7: would go to basketball games and maybe an hour away

267
00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,880
Speaker 7: in Fort Sumner, Corona, and there were colored water fountains

268
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,560
Speaker 7: and the white water fountains. I grew up very isolated.

269
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,720
Speaker 7: One is very small. It seems like there's no contact

270
00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,720
Speaker 7: with the outside world, and so I didn't know a

271
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:01,480
Speaker 7: lot of things when I was growing up. I do

272
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,080
Speaker 7: remember being very poor. I didn't know we were poor,

273
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,560
Speaker 7: and I just really didn't see the connection with the

274
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:09,800
Speaker 7: life I was living, the life my father was living

275
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,240
Speaker 7: with farm workers are going through and the movement of

276
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,320
Speaker 7: Sister cham is not till later in my life, which

277
00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,960
Speaker 7: is really sad. I was already, like, you know, twenty

278
00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,040
Speaker 7: seven when I started learning Chicano studies.

279
00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:22,640
Speaker 2: No, it's real.

280
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,080
Speaker 1: I mean, I think we're talking about the differences between

281
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:29,160
Speaker 1: urban and rural context of education, right and Chiganismo. Really,

282
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,280
Speaker 1: I think we're talking about like generational differences too, right,

283
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,120
Speaker 1: Like I was raised by people who are Chiganos, who

284
00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,480
Speaker 1: taught me key philosophies and just understanding who I was.

285
00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,640
Speaker 1: I was born in Pueblo, and I grew up in

286
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,520
Speaker 1: kinship family foster care, so I lived with a lot

287
00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,040
Speaker 1: of my different family members. When my biological parents couldn't

288
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:51,480
Speaker 1: take care of me, my biological mother passed, so I

289
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,080
Speaker 1: went to schools literally all over the place. I went

290
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,720
Speaker 1: to eight schools before the seventh grade. We lived on

291
00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,280
Speaker 1: the north side of Denver, which is a really formative

292
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,160
Speaker 1: and historic place for Chicano people.

293
00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:04,280
Speaker 2: For Chicano community.

294
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:06,840
Speaker 1: It was a huge part of the Chicano movement that

295
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:12,360
Speaker 1: swept through in the nineteen sixties in Colorado. When I

296
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,640
Speaker 1: was in high school, I wanted to be a part

297
00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,200
Speaker 1: of that, and I didn't get the chance to go

298
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,360
Speaker 1: to our local public high school because my parents didn't

299
00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:22,680
Speaker 1: trust it because there were a lot of gangs and

300
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:24,880
Speaker 1: there was a lot of violence, and so.

301
00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:26,960
Speaker 2: My parents sent me to a small charter school.

302
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,400
Speaker 1: So when I became a teacher, I knew I wanted

303
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,080
Speaker 1: to go back to my community, but I knew I

304
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,040
Speaker 1: wanted to teach at the public school, and I wanted

305
00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,880
Speaker 1: to do that for this specific reason that my community

306
00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:42,000
Speaker 1: has been extremely gentrified Nadine, and we've seen our community disappear.

307
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,040
Speaker 1: The work that I now actively do in really activating

308
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,400
Speaker 1: a lot of students towards their own identities, whether they're

309
00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 1: Chicano or whatever were they want to ascribe themselves to

310
00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,160
Speaker 1: be right, was the same work that people gave to me.

311
00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,400
Speaker 1: And I think a lot about how a lot of

312
00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,960
Speaker 1: that is rooted to access and education and privilege because

313
00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,679
Speaker 1: learning your history is a privilege and politicizing yourself as

314
00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:09,879
Speaker 1: a privilege from that, right right.

315
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,480
Speaker 7: It wasn't until I learned later in life you know

316
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,040
Speaker 7: who we were, how we came to be, that I

317
00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,560
Speaker 7: decided that I could not do that to the kids

318
00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,119
Speaker 7: that were in my classroom. They had to have some

319
00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,000
Speaker 7: knowledge to give them a framework. To me, I see,

320
00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,480
Speaker 7: knowing your history and being proud of your ancestors is

321
00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:27,400
Speaker 7: like your suit of armor.

322
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,800
Speaker 1: So, Nadine, you went to the community that you were from,

323
00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,399
Speaker 1: and you taught in a really intimate environment, and so

324
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,359
Speaker 1: I want you to walk me through maybe what was

325
00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,680
Speaker 1: that transition, What was that moment? At what point did

326
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,560
Speaker 1: you begin to just very clearly make the decision of like,

327
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,879
Speaker 1: we're not going to do this anymore because it's not working,

328
00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,119
Speaker 1: it's not our students are responding to it, it's not

329
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,439
Speaker 1: what we need right now, and instead I'm going to

330
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,440
Speaker 1: put forth what I know we actually need.

331
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,920
Speaker 7: When I went to Eastern New Mexico University, I took

332
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:00,800
Speaker 7: my first cheko Ono history class and I was in

333
00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:04,679
Speaker 7: a special education program, and I remember a professor saying,

334
00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,359
Speaker 7: if you are not teaching relevant education, then you are

335
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,280
Speaker 7: not teaching, and that is something that I carried with me,

336
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,560
Speaker 7: but I didn't have that much information. I had taken

337
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,119
Speaker 7: that the Chicano Humanities class so I had that one book.

338
00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:20,680
Speaker 7: So I would try to share as much information from

339
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,720
Speaker 7: that one book. And there was you know, it wasn't

340
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,159
Speaker 7: easy to find information. Just all of a sudden, I

341
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,000
Speaker 7: would see an announcement that the Chicano civil rights movement

342
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,320
Speaker 7: was coming out on PBS, coming up next on Chicano

343
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,800
Speaker 7: the History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, And

344
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,040
Speaker 7: I'm saw all that. I recorded them on the other

345
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:43,560
Speaker 7: big VCR tapes. It's okay, yeah, that's how old I am. Okay,

346
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,280
Speaker 7: So I recorded all the Chicano civil rights movement. It

347
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,119
Speaker 7: was a four part series, and I thought, I am

348
00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 7: going to take this to the classroom. We are going

349
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:52,280
Speaker 7: to you know, learn about it. We're going to write

350
00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,399
Speaker 7: about it. You know, we're going to I'm going to

351
00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,080
Speaker 7: expose my kids to this history.

352
00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,920
Speaker 11: And I remember when I was showing the Cessar Travison

353
00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,680
Speaker 11: farm Worker's Movement, do you remember shooting like very sad,

354
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:08,280
Speaker 11: very emotional, but a little nervous. And I knew that

355
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:09,960
Speaker 11: it was going to be so different for them, and

356
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,399
Speaker 11: I used to tell them, you know, I'm not telling

357
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,040
Speaker 11: you that you're Mexican American.

358
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,800
Speaker 7: I'm not telling you you're Chicano. I'm telling you whatever

359
00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:21,000
Speaker 7: you call yourself, if you call yourself Spanish, Chicano, Latino, whatever,

360
00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,000
Speaker 7: this is information that applies to all of us.

361
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,119
Speaker 2: I hear what you're saying, and I know where that

362
00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:25,640
Speaker 2: comes from.

363
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,040
Speaker 1: For me, I poured everything into my kids, and I

364
00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,840
Speaker 1: sought information, and I sought community, and I brought people in.

365
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,679
Speaker 1: I think it's it's really beautiful to hear you express

366
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,360
Speaker 1: a similar sentiment that you didn't do it alone either, right.

367
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,840
Speaker 1: It was kind of a community of folks giving your

368
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:44,640
Speaker 1: resources and information and structures and frameworks that have historically

369
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,840
Speaker 1: worked for our communities, right, Like, I think that that's

370
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,879
Speaker 1: really formative, And I'm really curious, how did that feel

371
00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,879
Speaker 1: for you? How did it feel practicing those things with

372
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:55,359
Speaker 1: students for the first time.

373
00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,600
Speaker 7: I was so passionate about about what I was doing.

374
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,359
Speaker 7: I felt such a passion. It was what they called it,

375
00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,520
Speaker 7: the community members and the lawyers, is that my sister

376
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,280
Speaker 7: and I were over zealous, over zealous, But I think

377
00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:09,960
Speaker 7: all teachers should be over zealous, right, be excited about teaching.

378
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,680
Speaker 2: She oh say that.

379
00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:15,359
Speaker 7: Yeah, so my students, I'd learned all these things. I

380
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,800
Speaker 7: read about a group called Mitcha in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

381
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,239
Speaker 7: So I told my students about this group that they

382
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,080
Speaker 7: were learning about their history and if they did community service.

383
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:25,920
Speaker 7: I asked them if they would like to start a

384
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,760
Speaker 7: group like that, and they were so excited. They chose officers.

385
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:31,560
Speaker 7: They had their plan. They were going to read to

386
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,800
Speaker 7: the young, they were going to put up dominadias, they

387
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,640
Speaker 7: were going to go clean the cemetery. They just wanted

388
00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,760
Speaker 7: to do all this community service. They were just so

389
00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,320
Speaker 7: pumped and it was just so beautiful to see that.

390
00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,639
Speaker 7: And then when we came started the school year, I

391
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,879
Speaker 7: believe it was in ninety seven, the officers got up

392
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,520
Speaker 7: to do a presentation on Mitcha. They wanted to include

393
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,320
Speaker 7: more students. They told them they were going to do

394
00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,120
Speaker 7: they were going to read books, they were gonna get points.

395
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,960
Speaker 7: So what happened is that one of my officers she

396
00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:00,600
Speaker 7: as they were going to sit down, you let out

397
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:05,359
Speaker 7: of everyone and usu a viva chicando. You could have

398
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,840
Speaker 7: heard a pin dro And that's what started the attack

399
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:14,640
Speaker 7: on my sister and I.

400
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,439
Speaker 1: I don't know, I think a lot about how like

401
00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,359
Speaker 1: it wasn't anything that you openly and doctrinated the kid, right, Like,

402
00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,600
Speaker 1: we're in this weird kind of political state of education

403
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,840
Speaker 1: where people don't believe that kids know it's best for themselves, right,

404
00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 1: So like for kids to respond to that and then

405
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,160
Speaker 1: to like embody that right and to ultimately step into

406
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,719
Speaker 1: it and say right and to shout it, it comes

407
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,040
Speaker 1: like at a that's a very clear challenge to a

408
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,560
Speaker 1: system that might not be working for students, right.

409
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,159
Speaker 7: I mean, we're not going to change everybody, but we

410
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,159
Speaker 7: are going to change some of those.

411
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:45,480
Speaker 2: Students, even if it's one.

412
00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:47,520
Speaker 7: Yes, even if it's one I.

413
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,320
Speaker 1: Think that we think that we know what's best for kids,

414
00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:51,480
Speaker 1: when really they know, right.

415
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:51,639
Speaker 2: Like.

416
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,600
Speaker 1: I also facilitated met chat club, right, and that's one

417
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,760
Speaker 1: of the reasons I was fired, right Like, And if

418
00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,560
Speaker 1: kids are in a club, right and they're all actively

419
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,440
Speaker 1: showing up after school, I mean we did all kinds

420
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,160
Speaker 1: of stuff, Like kids were going hungry, so we raised

421
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,639
Speaker 1: money in the community and had a community fridge. We like,

422
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,600
Speaker 1: we facilitated the club based upon what the students said

423
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,760
Speaker 1: that they wanted, whether that was political or material or whatever. Right, like,

424
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: and giving students agency like that is radical, right in

425
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,199
Speaker 1: an education system that is much more interested in clipping

426
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,640
Speaker 1: their wings right than teaching.

427
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:25,840
Speaker 2: Them how to fly.

428
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,399
Speaker 1: I don't know, man, I get kind of emotional thinking

429
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,879
Speaker 1: about how everybody believes that education needs to be this apolitical,

430
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,199
Speaker 1: like neutral thing, and here you came and you said, hey, actually, like,

431
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,639
Speaker 1: according to my students' needs, according to the communities that

432
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,440
Speaker 1: we live in, according to the ways that our community

433
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,200
Speaker 1: is trying to lead us, this is actually the politics.

434
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,720
Speaker 2: That we need, right, And.

435
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,439
Speaker 1: I'm curious, like, what are you what are your thoughts

436
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,119
Speaker 1: on you know, the political things that you did in

437
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:55,840
Speaker 1: the classroom.

438
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,400
Speaker 7: Well, I I remember that I was being attacked once

439
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:04,199
Speaker 7: once my one student let up that via Chicano. You know,

440
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,920
Speaker 7: they started really you know, watching me and not agreeing

441
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,439
Speaker 7: with what I was doing and not wanting me to

442
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:12,840
Speaker 7: do the Metro group. But no matter what they told me,

443
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 7: I kept on. I was under attack, but I kept

444
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 7: on and what I believed in. And I remember that

445
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,440
Speaker 7: at that time too, a Newsweek magazine article came out

446
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 7: about the Latino March on Washington, and I think My

447
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,840
Speaker 7: students were like eighth grade. They read the article and

448
00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,680
Speaker 7: they had to put what they thought about this, and

449
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,600
Speaker 7: you know why were they marching? And you know why

450
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,840
Speaker 7: it was important? And the essays that they wrote were beautiful.

451
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,679
Speaker 7: Robert Rodriguez wrote in there that a march is a

452
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,680
Speaker 7: prayer in motion, and some of the students would put

453
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,120
Speaker 7: that in the writing. I thought, Wow, this is amazing,

454
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 7: and I decided that I was going to take some

455
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:54,200
Speaker 7: students to Washington. And I took five students to Washington

456
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,040
Speaker 7: dec for the march. Wow, and that really did not

457
00:23:58,160 --> 00:23:59,680
Speaker 7: sit well with the school board.

458
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:00,160
Speaker 2: With the top.

459
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:08,480
Speaker 7: I just can't understand why. That was just an unbelievable experience. Yeah,

460
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:10,520
Speaker 7: but it wasn't that much longer. I believe it was

461
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,760
Speaker 7: in March that they suspended us.

462
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 1: What was it like the day that you were placed

463
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 1: on administrative leave?

464
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:21,159
Speaker 7: It was very strange. I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

465
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 7: But I had already been speaking to my ACLU attornings

466
00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:25,720
Speaker 7: how they wanted to shut us down, how they didn't

467
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,160
Speaker 7: want us to do the Mitcha and I had already

468
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,720
Speaker 7: started to collect information because I believe, you know, I

469
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 7: really thought they were going to fire me, and they did.

470
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,240
Speaker 7: I knew I needed everything documented because they were going

471
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,400
Speaker 7: to deny what they told me. And I would send

472
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,240
Speaker 7: the superintendent letter and I would ask, can I announce

473
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,320
Speaker 7: my MITTA meetings on the intercom? Can I send out flyers?

474
00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,520
Speaker 7: Can we put up posters and everything? He said no, no, no, no, no,

475
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,240
Speaker 7: he said no. But guess what they could announce catechism.

476
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,199
Speaker 7: They could have announced baby showers on the intercom. But

477
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,880
Speaker 7: I couldn't announce my group on the intercom or could

478
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,480
Speaker 7: have posters. They were just just attacking it, of course,

479
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,400
Speaker 7: and we tried to hang on for as much as possible.

480
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 7: But during the Christmas break, the Custodian told us they

481
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,720
Speaker 7: did this. They were dropped off there. They went into

482
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,360
Speaker 7: our classrooms to search because see they were accusing us

483
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,679
Speaker 7: of teaching racism, of teaching militancy, of teaching them to

484
00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,800
Speaker 7: forget they were American. First they were making all these accusations,

485
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:22,640
Speaker 7: but then they had to go into the classroom too,

486
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:24,960
Speaker 7: so that they could find something to prove, to prove

487
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,119
Speaker 7: that we were doing these things. And they could find nothing.

488
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,560
Speaker 7: They found the Chicano Studies poster termed the Chicano Movement

489
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,359
Speaker 7: and it's got graduates, it's got families, it's got farm workers,

490
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,600
Speaker 7: it's a beautiful postion. At the bottom, it's got like

491
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:40,920
Speaker 7: a silhouette of graduates with the diploma. So they videotaped

492
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,760
Speaker 7: that and they took that out during depositions. They were

493
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,439
Speaker 7: deposing my sister and they asked her, what is this.

494
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,320
Speaker 7: You know this poster can tell us somebody. Yeah, they

495
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 7: got graduates and got the vidic and the Guadalupitz got

496
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,639
Speaker 7: farm workers. And she went on and talked about the

497
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,359
Speaker 7: poster and the attorney said, and what is that silhouette

498
00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,240
Speaker 7: at the bottom, And she said, it's the graduate it's

499
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,159
Speaker 7: holding their diploma. And he says what and he zoomed

500
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 7: in the VCR tape and there's the graduates coming in

501
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,320
Speaker 7: with the diploma. They've really thought that silhouette had weapons,

502
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:13,200
Speaker 7: so that it was whips that they were holding in

503
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,679
Speaker 7: their hair. That's how crazy they got with their accusations.

504
00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,560
Speaker 7: And so when she said it was the graduates and

505
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 7: he zumed it, then he turned off the TV and

506
00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:24,639
Speaker 7: we never heard about that poster again.

507
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 2: Can I ask a real quick question.

508
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,240
Speaker 1: I know that you went through this and it was

509
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:35,639
Speaker 1: really hard and emotional. How was it going through it

510
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:36,280
Speaker 1: with your sister?

511
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,240
Speaker 7: Yeah, that was very helpful. Yeah, I mean I think

512
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,200
Speaker 7: that's what kept us strong. I mean, not only being

513
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,640
Speaker 7: proud of who we were as women, as chi ganas

514
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:51,080
Speaker 7: being together and traveling together and speaking together. It was Yeah,

515
00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 7: it made it much easier. It would have been really

516
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:55,280
Speaker 7: lonely to do this alone. So I can imagine. I

517
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,439
Speaker 7: mean for you, I.

518
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 2: Think it's really powerful to hear you talk about that.

519
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: When I think about why that you got movement worked, right,

520
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 1: I think there's you and I both know there's a

521
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:03,200
Speaker 1: lot of failures of that.

522
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 2: You kinta movement too, But when I think about what worked.

523
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:08,800
Speaker 1: That's what I think about is the most transformative part

524
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,960
Speaker 1: is that's what it was about. It was about people

525
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 1: doing things together. That's all it was.

526
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:13,399
Speaker 2: It was.

527
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,160
Speaker 1: It was gompetinos in the fields talking to each other

528
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,800
Speaker 1: and deciding that they wanted to be paid fairly. It

529
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,159
Speaker 1: was Chicano's in San Luis and these other places in

530
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,399
Speaker 1: Tierra Maria, right, and getting together and doing something together,

531
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:28,720
Speaker 1: whether it's taking back land or fighting for a fair

532
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,920
Speaker 1: contract or fighting for better schools. Even when we think

533
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 1: about key philosophies, right, that really create the foundation of

534
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,440
Speaker 1: that chkinda movement. All it is is it's an expression

535
00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,160
Speaker 1: of who we are together. I think it's really formative

536
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,880
Speaker 1: to hear you kind of talk about that, because although

537
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,320
Speaker 1: I do think I'm going through this kind of by myself,

538
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 1: and you know, I wish tell your sister if she

539
00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 1: wants to come help out.

540
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 2: She welcome to you.

541
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,600
Speaker 1: Feel me, I think it's something that I'm still coming

542
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 1: to terms with and I'll have to really figure out

543
00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,359
Speaker 1: for myself. But it is really refreshing to hear how

544
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,439
Speaker 1: integral community was to the experience that you had. I

545
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,159
Speaker 1: don't know, I think a lot about what happened to me, Nadine,

546
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: and it makes me really emotional because I hearing what

547
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:11,840
Speaker 1: happened to you and hearing that you're on the other

548
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: side of things from what you experienced and the legal

549
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:20,360
Speaker 1: battles that you went through. It's wild to hear that.

550
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,080
Speaker 1: You know, we didn't talk before all this, right, like

551
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,240
Speaker 1: you weren't coaching me throughout the entire year, but we

552
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,919
Speaker 1: ended up in the same place for the same reasons, right, right,

553
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,679
Speaker 1: Because the system doesn't work. It's not you, it's not me.

554
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,800
Speaker 1: I ultimately was placed on administratively for my school district

555
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,080
Speaker 1: because I didn't stay in my place if I started

556
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:40,959
Speaker 1: speaking out about it.

557
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 2: I went to the press. I said, hey, here's what

558
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:44,280
Speaker 2: happened to me.

559
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what we can do about it, but

560
00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:48,560
Speaker 1: I do think that you and I both know, Nadine,

561
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,800
Speaker 1: that we're not the first, nor the last, nor the

562
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,720
Speaker 1: only Chicano Black, Indigenous Asian teachers who are forced.

563
00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:56,320
Speaker 2: Out of the classroom.

564
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 1: Right when I was fired, there were student actions that

565
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:00,920
Speaker 1: developed and took place.

566
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 2: Our METROC club began organizing protests.

567
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:03,840
Speaker 7: Wow.

568
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: When I came back, Natine that next week, there was

569
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,080
Speaker 1: already a week of student action.

570
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 2: Kids had it planned.

571
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,240
Speaker 1: They did an art demonstration on Monday where they printed

572
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:17,240
Speaker 1: out four thousand of these wanted posters where they put

573
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,680
Speaker 1: their own face and it said wanted teachers who look

574
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:20,080
Speaker 1: like me.

575
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,240
Speaker 7: Oh wow, well that is little awesome.

576
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 2: And they threw them off the balcony.

577
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:25,600
Speaker 7: And like goodness.

578
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 1: And I was not allowed to communicate with them.

579
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 2: I was not helping them organize. I was not given

580
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:32,040
Speaker 2: any information.

581
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: I was just hearing from other teachers who were like,

582
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 1: did you know this is happening? And I was like, well,

583
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 1: I'm not in the loop with anything.

584
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 2: And on that Friday, I knew the walkout was happening.

585
00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:47,840
Speaker 1: My students walked out at the beginning of the day,

586
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,240
Speaker 1: right when school started, and hundreds of students went to

587
00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,200
Speaker 1: the park across the street from our school. And I

588
00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,680
Speaker 1: was sent to a meeting for my first period and

589
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 1: they put it on the other side of the building

590
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,000
Speaker 1: so that I couldn't see the kids from the window.

591
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 1: And when I was walking to my second period class,

592
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:08,560
Speaker 1: students had been out there for about forty five minutes chanting.

593
00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:18,280
Speaker 1: As I was walking back, I remember I was walking

594
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:20,640
Speaker 1: towards my room and I saw outside and I saw

595
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: the students for the first time, and there were hundreds

596
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:30,280
Speaker 1: of them and they were outside in the park. And

597
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,400
Speaker 1: I had no intention of walking out. My legal counsel

598
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 1: had advised, please don't walk out. You will not be

599
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: able to get a job. Do not walk out. Do

600
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,240
Speaker 1: not walk out, and I had told them that I

601
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,440
Speaker 1: wasn't going to. But at that moment, I got a

602
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,840
Speaker 1: phone call from Jasmine Gandharia, who is a really really

603
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 1: formative mentor of mine I met when I was student teaching.

604
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 1: She said, Hey, I just got a phone call from

605
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:58,520
Speaker 1: doctor five gone, and she said that you have to

606
00:30:58,560 --> 00:30:59,000
Speaker 1: walk out.

607
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:00,800
Speaker 2: We have to do this.

608
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,840
Speaker 1: And she's like, I'm here, I'm at the protest, and

609
00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:04,760
Speaker 1: I think that this.

610
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:06,560
Speaker 2: Is something that you really need to listen to.

611
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 1: And so I walked into my classroom and I said,

612
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: I'm leaving.

613
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 2: And so I walked out and.

614
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,440
Speaker 1: I met my students on the corner of Federal at Spear,

615
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 1: in the middle of the street, and we marched.

616
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:54,720
Speaker 2: Immediately.

617
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,760
Speaker 1: When I got back to the school, right they put

618
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,800
Speaker 1: me on administrative leave. I was escorted out by security

619
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 1: and I was told like I would not be able

620
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,520
Speaker 1: to be on school property and all these other things.

621
00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,360
Speaker 1: And so it became really formative to me, and more importantly,

622
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,520
Speaker 1: I think really speaks to your point that, like, I

623
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,600
Speaker 1: was not placed on administrative leave for not servicing my kids.

624
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 7: I don't know if a tim if I told you this,

625
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,160
Speaker 7: but for my firing. I'm let me go back a

626
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,080
Speaker 7: little bit. And this is how backwards they were in Vaughan.

627
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,920
Speaker 7: Is that the mayor of the town he actually called

628
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,880
Speaker 7: the National Guard on this be there for the firing.

629
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 7: Oh man, he just whipped it. The town like into

630
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,160
Speaker 7: a frenzy because I was suspended in March and then

631
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 7: we got fired in July. And I remember that we

632
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 7: our attorneys advised us not to be at that hearing,

633
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:46,239
Speaker 7: you know, when they were going to decide if they

634
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,400
Speaker 7: were going to fire us. And from Albuquerque they brought

635
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,560
Speaker 7: a bus. The director of Chicano Studies and also the

636
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,920
Speaker 7: leader of the Sisar Chavis Foundation, and a preacher and

637
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 7: professors and all kinds of people came down for our

638
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 7: firing just and they did a prayer circle and they

639
00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 7: did you know, they were there, but we did. We

640
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 7: weren't there to see it, oh man. And I thought

641
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:08,920
Speaker 7: that was beautiful too, that they were there to support

642
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 7: our kids. But they had to come from Albuquerque, and

643
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,160
Speaker 7: I know some parents were there, but I think in

644
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:17,680
Speaker 7: the small town like one, they were kind of like

645
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,120
Speaker 7: kind of scared of what was going on, and they

646
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,520
Speaker 7: just didn't understand, you know.

647
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 2: Of course, yeah, the majority.

648
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 7: Of the community had their children in our classrooms and

649
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:27,880
Speaker 7: all that, and they trusted us, but they just didn't

650
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 7: understand why all this was going on. And I don't

651
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:31,800
Speaker 7: think they really knew what to do.

652
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,640
Speaker 1: But I will say what stands out is I mean,

653
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:39,160
Speaker 1: like I think about your match O club. Hearing the

654
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,320
Speaker 1: ways that you taught students about who they were, and

655
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,480
Speaker 1: I deeply believe right now, right like it's a huge

656
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,480
Speaker 1: part of my life. But to hear the world that

657
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,920
Speaker 1: we have in the state of education for our students

658
00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,160
Speaker 1: is not working, is not performing in the way that

659
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:56,880
Speaker 1: we need to for our students. So to hear the

660
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,280
Speaker 1: similarities in what we're doing and how we both openly

661
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:04,760
Speaker 1: challenged and were fearless in the ways that we confronted

662
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,440
Speaker 1: a system that is not yet ready to change and

663
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,000
Speaker 1: become what it needs to be for our students, it's

664
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,719
Speaker 1: an affirmation to me that.

665
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:16,280
Speaker 2: We have to be on the right path.

666
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,680
Speaker 7: And I think about how powerful these materials is poetry,

667
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 7: the literature, the stories are to our students. I remember

668
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,000
Speaker 7: when my Mitcha students met with the school board members

669
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,239
Speaker 7: and the superintendent because you know, they wanted to know

670
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:32,320
Speaker 7: why they so, you know, it was important to learn this.

671
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,920
Speaker 7: And I remember I had one one metcha member. He

672
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,360
Speaker 7: was a young student. I'm not going to mention names,

673
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,880
Speaker 7: but he he told him it's really important for us

674
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,480
Speaker 7: to learn this, and he was quoting the quirky Gonzales

675
00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:46,920
Speaker 7: poem do you know, he said, we cry the same,

676
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:47,960
Speaker 7: we laughed the same.

677
00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:49,000
Speaker 2: News, you the same.

678
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,560
Speaker 7: Yeah, and for that one student, you know, it was

679
00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:55,719
Speaker 7: important to have this, but we got ripped out, and

680
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,479
Speaker 7: I wonder how it hurt. There's some of our.

681
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:02,200
Speaker 1: Students think about that almost every day. I mean, I

682
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,120
Speaker 1: hear from my Norse students every week. They call me,

683
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,080
Speaker 1: they text me still right like we're still in good communication.

684
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,320
Speaker 1: I talk to them about what their school and experiences

685
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,759
Speaker 1: are like now, and it's really hard and we cry

686
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:14,320
Speaker 1: every time.

687
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:16,759
Speaker 7: So what are you going to do? Tim, Are you

688
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:18,319
Speaker 7: really going to fight to go back? Because what's going

689
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:20,400
Speaker 7: to happen with the connections you've made at your new school.

690
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,879
Speaker 1: Role. Eventually, I would like to go back to North

691
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:23,359
Speaker 1: High School.

692
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:24,399
Speaker 2: And I'm not sure at what rate.

693
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:26,080
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if it's a couple of years, right,

694
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,640
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if it's at the end of my life, right.

695
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:30,120
Speaker 2: But I do think.

696
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,640
Speaker 1: I want to be able to experience walking back into

697
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,680
Speaker 1: that school and telling my students that if we fight

698
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:41,000
Speaker 1: for the right thing, we will win. When we fight,

699
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:43,200
Speaker 1: we will win one hundred percent of the time.

700
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:44,120
Speaker 2: It's not a question.

701
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:46,759
Speaker 1: I think I would like to go back to North

702
00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 1: High School eventually, and I'd like to go back and

703
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:53,600
Speaker 1: really just hug my students.

704
00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,960
Speaker 2: And tell them how much I miss them, and tell.

705
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 1: Them that even though it's really hard, that I know

706
00:36:02,239 --> 00:36:03,439
Speaker 1: that it's going to be worth it.

707
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:06,360
Speaker 7: I think that I think that'd be good because you

708
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,560
Speaker 7: have a large community support and a large student support

709
00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,480
Speaker 7: for me. Because it was such a small community that

710
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:16,960
Speaker 7: it was just it would have been a hostile environment.

711
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,600
Speaker 7: Community members that had made it look so scary, and

712
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:23,000
Speaker 7: I just felt like it was going to be a

713
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,399
Speaker 7: hostile environment for me and my sons, and I just

714
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,440
Speaker 7: I couldn't go back. I could have gone back, that

715
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,600
Speaker 7: was part of the settlement, but I just couldn't do it.

716
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:35,120
Speaker 1: I'm in litigation with Denver Public Schools right now, and

717
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,719
Speaker 1: to hear that even even if I don't go back

718
00:36:38,719 --> 00:36:41,160
Speaker 1: to so North High School, that it's still worth it,

719
00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:44,880
Speaker 1: I think is really grounding. I think it makes me

720
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:48,839
Speaker 1: feel very just really affirmed. I think it's probably one

721
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:50,680
Speaker 1: of the clearest messages I hope I've received it a

722
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:52,440
Speaker 1: long time. To be honest with you, Thank you so

723
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:53,360
Speaker 1: much for speaking with me.

724
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:54,480
Speaker 7: Nadine welcome.

725
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:56,920
Speaker 1: I know that if we fight, we will win. But

726
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 1: to talk to somebody who has openly fought in the

727
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,880
Speaker 1: same ways that I I'm planning on fighting, It's just

728
00:37:03,239 --> 00:37:05,719
Speaker 1: it's really powerful. I don't think I'm ever going to

729
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 1: forget this conversation with you.

730
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:09,200
Speaker 7: I'm never going to forget the conversation with you, Tim,

731
00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:12,399
Speaker 7: because you inspire me and you give me so much

732
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:14,879
Speaker 7: hope for our future and for our young people. Because

733
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 7: there's not teachers like you, then I have no hope.

734
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,160
Speaker 7: What I believe is that we continue marching, we continue speaking,

735
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:23,959
Speaker 7: and we cannot back down.

736
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,839
Speaker 1: Every teacher has a story of this, either happened to them,

737
00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,520
Speaker 1: or it happened to a black or brown teacher that

738
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:34,719
Speaker 1: they knew. It makes me feel kind of daunted sometimes

739
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,960
Speaker 1: that we're trying to change the system, and it also

740
00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:40,960
Speaker 1: makes me feel very affirmed that in no way am I.

741
00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:42,800
Speaker 2: Going to have to do this alone or by myself.

742
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,640
Speaker 1: I'm twenty five years old, right like, I've got a

743
00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:47,160
Speaker 1: lot of years of being a teacher left.

744
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:48,520
Speaker 7: Oh that's wonderful.

745
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:50,040
Speaker 2: I'm really excited for that.

746
00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:52,319
Speaker 1: And I know that what happened to me was really

747
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,440
Speaker 1: painful and really hard, but I'm also very glad that

748
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,360
Speaker 1: it happened publicly, because the next time a school in

749
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:00,960
Speaker 1: Denver Public Schools fires a black, brown teacher without a

750
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,800
Speaker 1: good reason, I hope that they think twice.

751
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,560
Speaker 2: I hope that they have to. I just want to

752
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,000
Speaker 2: thank you so much for choosing to fight in a

753
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:10,200
Speaker 2: way that gives me hope.

754
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,799
Speaker 7: I thank you too for you know, missing to your

755
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,360
Speaker 7: amazing and I'm so proud you know that we have

756
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:17,800
Speaker 7: gone to know each other and that we know abody

757
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,360
Speaker 7: to the story and your story continues, and I'm just

758
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:22,399
Speaker 7: really very proud of what you've done and what your

759
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:31,000
Speaker 7: students did, and it just gives me a lot of hope.

760
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,960
Speaker 3: We reached out to officials at North High School and

761
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:40,760
Speaker 3: the Denver Public Schools District in Colorado requesting a comment

762
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:46,959
Speaker 3: on Tim's dismissal last year, but they didn't respond. Coming

763
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,480
Speaker 3: up on Latino US say we hear from two of

764
00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:54,400
Speaker 3: Nate Deane's and Tim's former students, stay with us, not

765
00:38:54,600 --> 00:39:51,279
Speaker 3: by yes, Hey, we're back. Before the break, we heard

766
00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:55,440
Speaker 3: the story of Nadine Cordova and Tim Ernandez to teachers

767
00:39:55,719 --> 00:40:00,600
Speaker 3: from different generations and different states who each got fired

768
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:05,799
Speaker 3: because they taught Chicano history throughout their conversation. We heard

769
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,800
Speaker 3: how Nadine and Tim both believe in centering the experiences

770
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,680
Speaker 3: of their students in their classrooms and how important it

771
00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:17,360
Speaker 3: is to listen to student voices, so we wanted to

772
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 3: do the same. We're gonna hear now from Nadine's former

773
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:27,400
Speaker 3: student Regina Luna and Tim's student Nayelli Lopez.

774
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 12: My name is Niellie Lopez. I'm fifteen years old, a

775
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:36,680
Speaker 12: sophomore in Denver North High School.

776
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,160
Speaker 9: My name is Regina Luna. I'm forty three years old.

777
00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:41,880
Speaker 9: I live in Edgewood, New Mexico.

778
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:46,040
Speaker 12: So the first time I met Tim Well, mister Hernandez,

779
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,600
Speaker 12: I like the coem was like a reopening of West

780
00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,439
Speaker 12: High School. I remember I barely started my freshman year.

781
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,720
Speaker 12: I was the only North student there. I remember feeling

782
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:59,200
Speaker 12: a little out of place. The next thing you see

783
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:03,320
Speaker 12: is Tim and like a group of students and another

784
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,800
Speaker 12: teacher come in and they have this big old banner

785
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:09,799
Speaker 12: and it says from North to West Chicano Power. Chick

786
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,600
Speaker 12: got next Power. I thought that was like the coolest

787
00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,360
Speaker 12: thing ever. And it's like, oh my god, he's a

788
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,520
Speaker 12: teacher at North. I want him to be my teacher.

789
00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,440
Speaker 9: The first time that I met Nadine I was an elementary.

790
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:26,360
Speaker 9: I mean we always knew them, her and her sister,

791
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 9: but the first time I really really interacted with her

792
00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:33,000
Speaker 9: was probably in fifth grade, so I was maybe about

793
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:38,080
Speaker 9: ten or so. It was probably about nineteen eighty eight

794
00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:41,759
Speaker 9: eighty nine. And then I had them off and on

795
00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:44,680
Speaker 9: until I was a senior, which was in nineteen ninety seven.

796
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,320
Speaker 9: They were a strong influence on us right from the beginning.

797
00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:51,880
Speaker 9: They just they were different, they did things different.

798
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,480
Speaker 12: I remember like the first time walking into his classroom,

799
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:04,239
Speaker 12: I instantly felt at home. I saw LIKEAVO hung up.

800
00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,920
Speaker 12: I saw a big old poster of like as the calendar.

801
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,080
Speaker 12: I saw like the UfW flag that was hung and

802
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:15,279
Speaker 12: I was like, I've never ever seen that in a

803
00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 12: school setting.

804
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,920
Speaker 9: What I remember most about being in Nadine's class was

805
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,520
Speaker 9: learning a lot of useful things that we would take

806
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,640
Speaker 9: with us in everyday life. In her class, she was

807
00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:30,400
Speaker 9: teaching us a lot of how to deal with emotions,

808
00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:32,799
Speaker 9: how to deal with life in general, how to deal

809
00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:35,200
Speaker 9: with situations that it would arise.

810
00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:39,080
Speaker 12: Mister Hernandez was definitely the youngest teacher that I've had,

811
00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:42,680
Speaker 12: and a lot of people think that's not that important,

812
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:45,200
Speaker 12: but it is because, especially when you're in high school,

813
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:50,080
Speaker 12: you can connect with your teacher a lot better. Last year,

814
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,759
Speaker 12: I used to always wait after school and we had

815
00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:57,200
Speaker 12: a community fridge. After school, all the students were hungry,

816
00:42:57,280 --> 00:43:00,200
Speaker 12: especially me. I was really hungry, so I would go

817
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,840
Speaker 12: to his classroom right when the bell rang and I

818
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:05,879
Speaker 12: would grab a snack and sit down and I would

819
00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:08,920
Speaker 12: tell him about my day and just use that space

820
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:11,839
Speaker 12: to just decompress and go over my day.

821
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:15,160
Speaker 9: I was always the type of person that was just

822
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:18,920
Speaker 9: interested in doing something different. So when the Mecha club

823
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,960
Speaker 9: came about, it was like, oh, wow, what's this. You know,

824
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,240
Speaker 9: this is actually something different. We've never heard of this before.

825
00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:32,319
Speaker 12: I was in Metcha last year. So Mecha stands for

826
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 12: movie Mintos to Chicanolan in English. It means Chicano student

827
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,680
Speaker 12: Movement of Aslan. Aslan being like the land, the homeland

828
00:43:43,760 --> 00:43:48,000
Speaker 12: of the Aztecs, the Michika before they migrated down to

829
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:49,800
Speaker 12: Mexico will present day Mexico.

830
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,440
Speaker 9: We hear about this club that we could start that

831
00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:56,359
Speaker 9: was actually about our culture, about our race, which at

832
00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:58,799
Speaker 9: that time we didn't really know of anything like that,

833
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:02,240
Speaker 9: as you know, especially where we live. So just being

834
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:05,080
Speaker 9: a part of that club when it first started and

835
00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:09,520
Speaker 9: then reading more about our culture, I mean, it felt good.

836
00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:12,200
Speaker 9: It felt you know, like, why don't we know more

837
00:44:12,239 --> 00:44:18,000
Speaker 9: about this? When you have a teacher bringing in this

838
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,160
Speaker 9: organization and starting this club, and you have all your

839
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:24,160
Speaker 9: peers around you wanting to learn the same thing and

840
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:28,879
Speaker 9: wanting to know the same thing, it hits different. It's like, Okay, well,

841
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:32,840
Speaker 9: you know, I'm gonna actually learn about myself with my peers,

842
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:35,000
Speaker 9: with my friends, and I'm gonna be able to talk

843
00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:37,840
Speaker 9: to people my age about how I feel and about

844
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:42,319
Speaker 9: what I think. I feel like I probably gained more

845
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:45,600
Speaker 9: confidence in myself I feel I did.

846
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,880
Speaker 12: I mean, I was already so shocked and like excited

847
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:53,600
Speaker 12: that there was a Metcha at my high school. So

848
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:58,080
Speaker 12: just like stepping into his class and meeting him was very,

849
00:44:59,200 --> 00:44:59,920
Speaker 12: very empowering.

850
00:45:00,719 --> 00:45:04,680
Speaker 9: When Nadine was starting to face dismissal, I remember feeling

851
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:09,080
Speaker 9: the tension. Not only did I feel tension from being

852
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:11,719
Speaker 9: in that classroom around that time, but just being in

853
00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:15,760
Speaker 9: the school in general. Nothing really scared Nadine and Patsy.

854
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:18,600
Speaker 9: It seemed at the time, it just seemed like they

855
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 9: were fearless. They continued to teach us how they started

856
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:24,920
Speaker 9: at the beginning of the year, and it almost felt like, maybe,

857
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:28,600
Speaker 9: you know, we were doing something wrong, like we're not

858
00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:29,759
Speaker 9: supposed to be learning this.

859
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,120
Speaker 12: That day, we we knew that mister Nandez was going

860
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:39,839
Speaker 12: to hear news about his interview before about coming back

861
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:45,319
Speaker 12: to work at North the next year, so me and

862
00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:47,840
Speaker 12: another student went to his classroom after school.

863
00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:48,719
Speaker 2: He had to go.

864
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:54,279
Speaker 12: Into the meeting, which was like directly behind his classroom.

865
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 12: We wanted to wait in the classroom just to hear

866
00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:58,560
Speaker 12: the news and hopefully he was good news and we

867
00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:01,920
Speaker 12: can celebrate with him. But when he went to the meeting,

868
00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:08,000
Speaker 12: what was five minutes, felt like thirty seconds. Next thing

869
00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:11,120
Speaker 12: you know, he comes through the door. The only word

870
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:16,640
Speaker 12: he says is no, and then he walked out again

871
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:23,759
Speaker 12: and started taking everything down from the walls. I wasn't disbelieve.

872
00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:26,200
Speaker 12: I couldn't believe that our school would do that to us,

873
00:46:26,440 --> 00:46:30,160
Speaker 12: not just to him, but to the students, to our community.

874
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 12: I got my backpack and I left the classroom and

875
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:39,000
Speaker 12: I went.

876
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:41,760
Speaker 2: To my mom's car. I was so upset, I just cried.

877
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:45,279
Speaker 12: I came back to school the next day. I was

878
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:47,960
Speaker 12: just like bummed out. I didn't want to do anything.

879
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:51,719
Speaker 12: I wouldn't feel productive, I didn't feel motivated. And that

880
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,840
Speaker 12: was the same for a lot of other students, Like

881
00:46:54,920 --> 00:46:59,920
Speaker 12: he wasn't just a great form of representation for a student,

882
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:04,040
Speaker 12: but also he was a teacher that we could trust,

883
00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:08,600
Speaker 12: and kids would get up every morning the only reason

884
00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:11,000
Speaker 12: they were excited to go to school was because of

885
00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:12,200
Speaker 12: him in his classroom.

886
00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:17,280
Speaker 9: When I learned that she was being dismissed, I felt

887
00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:20,640
Speaker 9: pretty confused. I was going through a lot at that time.

888
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,600
Speaker 9: I was pregnant with my first child. I was a

889
00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:26,560
Speaker 9: senior in high school. Nadine, you know, she would help

890
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:28,480
Speaker 9: me out a lot. She was always there for me

891
00:47:28,560 --> 00:47:31,520
Speaker 9: to talk to. When she got dismissed, I was like,

892
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:33,879
Speaker 9: I just don't get it. I don't understand why this

893
00:47:33,920 --> 00:47:34,440
Speaker 9: is happening.

894
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:47,680
Speaker 12: My friends were in class. It was his LATINX literature class.

895
00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:53,200
Speaker 12: When they walked into an empty classroom, and most of all,

896
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:56,480
Speaker 12: when they saw that their teacher was not there, they

897
00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:59,920
Speaker 12: all walked out of his classroom. I remember running into

898
00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:01,400
Speaker 12: to my cousin who was.

899
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:02,239
Speaker 2: In this class.

900
00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:05,720
Speaker 12: She was like, where's mister Hernandez, Like where's our teacher?

901
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:08,239
Speaker 12: She was, She looked like she was very upset. She

902
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:12,520
Speaker 12: was trying to ask like this counselor where's our teacher.

903
00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:15,960
Speaker 12: He's like, oh, I mean, I don't know, but you

904
00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:18,320
Speaker 12: have to go back to class. Can I get you anything?

905
00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:22,359
Speaker 12: Do you need anything? And she goes, yeah, mister Hernandez.

906
00:48:23,040 --> 00:48:26,560
Speaker 12: I think that was like a very funny but true moment.

907
00:48:27,680 --> 00:48:30,600
Speaker 9: We didn't know, you know, how to really speak up

908
00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:32,920
Speaker 9: and stand up for them like we probably should have,

909
00:48:33,440 --> 00:48:36,680
Speaker 9: but it's a small town and you just really don't

910
00:48:36,719 --> 00:48:37,759
Speaker 9: want that retaliation.

911
00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:38,799
Speaker 1: You know.

912
00:48:38,840 --> 00:48:41,680
Speaker 9: Whenever I did finally graduate high school, I had my baby.

913
00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:45,040
Speaker 9: She was like three months old. I ended up being Solidatorian.

914
00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:48,800
Speaker 9: When I was doing my solidatory speech, I was told

915
00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:52,120
Speaker 9: not to mention Nadine and Patsy, and of course, you know,

916
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:55,560
Speaker 9: I went up and did my speech and mentioned them anyway,

917
00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,560
Speaker 9: which I got a few dirty looks for. I got

918
00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:00,600
Speaker 9: some cheers too, you know, there was cheers that I

919
00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:06,040
Speaker 9: actually mentioned them.

920
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:08,840
Speaker 12: We started to organize. We met up at my friend's

921
00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:12,160
Speaker 12: house just like four of us, five of us, and

922
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:14,839
Speaker 12: we just started talking about next steps. And we were

923
00:49:15,120 --> 00:49:17,680
Speaker 12: talking about, Okay, when are we going to walk out.

924
00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:19,719
Speaker 12: We know we're gonna walk out for sure. What are

925
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:25,560
Speaker 12: we gonna do? Wednesday was a sit in. Thursday we

926
00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:29,640
Speaker 12: threw off flyers from the balcony, and Friday we walked

927
00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:33,160
Speaker 12: out the flyers that we made it was a picture

928
00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:35,440
Speaker 12: of like students, So we got like a bunch of

929
00:49:35,480 --> 00:49:37,960
Speaker 12: students take a picture of themselves and like kind of

930
00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:40,080
Speaker 12: make them look like they were in a mugshot, and

931
00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:45,160
Speaker 12: it said wanted teachers that look like us. We slide

932
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:49,400
Speaker 12: the flyers under the doors and like teachers are supported,

933
00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:53,440
Speaker 12: would hang them up. We threw off the flyers from

934
00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:57,000
Speaker 12: the balcony and we did a chant, specifically the Chicano

935
00:49:57,080 --> 00:49:59,640
Speaker 12: Power Chant. It was a call and response chance, so

936
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:02,880
Speaker 12: the call is Chicano and then people would spawn powered.

937
00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:13,359
Speaker 9: I identify as Chikana definitely. To me, being at Chikana, it's

938
00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:17,160
Speaker 9: not just about where my ancestors were from. It's who

939
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:20,600
Speaker 9: I am, It's how I was raised, it's our traditions,

940
00:50:20,719 --> 00:50:23,760
Speaker 9: it's our culture, it's how we live every day. It's

941
00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:26,240
Speaker 9: kind of makes you feel more empowered, it really does,

942
00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:28,799
Speaker 9: you know, And it's kind of a strong word to

943
00:50:29,040 --> 00:50:32,239
Speaker 9: use because people are afraid of people being empowered.

944
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:36,680
Speaker 12: I grew up around some people from the Chikana movement.

945
00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:41,680
Speaker 12: When I saw that being represented at North I felt

946
00:50:41,719 --> 00:50:48,120
Speaker 12: like way more empowered and I finally knew what it

947
00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:52,200
Speaker 12: truly meant to be Chikana. I mean, my dad would

948
00:50:52,239 --> 00:50:56,000
Speaker 12: always say what he says, like to be Chicana means

949
00:50:56,040 --> 00:51:00,839
Speaker 12: to struggle, and I kind of understood that more and

950
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:03,720
Speaker 12: I definitely identified myself more as a Chikana.

951
00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:07,360
Speaker 9: I think what I learned from Nadine does impact my

952
00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,719
Speaker 9: life today. I said this in a Facebook post when

953
00:51:09,719 --> 00:51:12,680
Speaker 9: I was acknowledging them one day. I can't even begin

954
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:19,239
Speaker 9: to appreciate and acknowledge all our heroes for all these movements.

955
00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:23,040
Speaker 9: I can't begin to acknowledge them if I don't think

956
00:51:23,320 --> 00:51:27,320
Speaker 9: Nadine and Patsy first, because they're the ones that really

957
00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:30,600
Speaker 9: started it for me. It's like, anytime I think about

958
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:32,719
Speaker 9: how proud I am of who I am, I go

959
00:51:32,840 --> 00:51:33,439
Speaker 9: back to them.

960
00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:37,240
Speaker 12: I Mean, not only is mister Hernandez just a great teacher,

961
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:39,840
Speaker 12: but he's a really great mentor. He was one of

962
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:44,960
Speaker 12: the few teachers that truly represented me and that truly

963
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:48,479
Speaker 12: represents the North Side. The school doesn't feel the same,

964
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:52,320
Speaker 12: so I'm definitely still healing, and the person that I

965
00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:57,480
Speaker 12: went to for everything isn't at school, and I don't

966
00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:01,840
Speaker 12: have a classroom where I feel like I truly belong,

967
00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:04,920
Speaker 12: And I know it's crazy. It's almost been a year

968
00:52:05,200 --> 00:52:07,279
Speaker 12: now that i'm thinking about it. It's almost been a year,

969
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:11,040
Speaker 12: and I'm still feeling a little out of place at

970
00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:12,800
Speaker 12: school after everything that happened.

971
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:16,560
Speaker 9: I think the last time I talked to Nadine and

972
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:20,400
Speaker 9: Patsy was it's probably been a few months. I didn't

973
00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:23,520
Speaker 9: believe it was just a conversation about how we're doing,

974
00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:26,080
Speaker 9: how my son's doing, how our families are doing. But

975
00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:30,040
Speaker 9: I remember feeling really good to know that my teachers

976
00:52:30,680 --> 00:52:33,839
Speaker 9: since I was in great school, still followed me and

977
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:37,000
Speaker 9: my life to this day now that I'm forty three

978
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:40,760
Speaker 9: years old. We don't talk often, but when we do talk,

979
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:45,440
Speaker 9: we still have that strong connection. They're just genuine, caring people.

980
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:51,919
Speaker 12: The biggest lesson mister Hernandez taught me is probably activism

981
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:56,040
Speaker 12: is not a game of passion, but a game of patience.

982
00:52:56,760 --> 00:53:01,120
Speaker 12: And that phrase just stuck with me. Even if you

983
00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:04,080
Speaker 12: have all the passion in the world and it drives you,

984
00:53:05,080 --> 00:53:07,440
Speaker 12: it's not the thing that's going to get you to

985
00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:10,400
Speaker 12: what you want, but you have to be patient and

986
00:53:10,440 --> 00:53:13,040
Speaker 12: it takes a long time. We're not going to see

987
00:53:13,239 --> 00:53:18,360
Speaker 12: big change overnight. It's baby steps. Even if we just

988
00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:26,520
Speaker 12: make a little progress, that's still a victory.

989
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:51,360
Speaker 3: That was Regina Luna and Nielli Lopez. This episode was

990
00:53:51,360 --> 00:53:55,719
Speaker 3: produced by Victories Trada and Elizabeth Lenthal Dorris. It was

991
00:53:55,840 --> 00:54:01,239
Speaker 3: edited by Daisy Contreras and mixed by Julia Caruso JJ Grubin.

992
00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:05,680
Speaker 3: The Latino USA team includes Andrea Lopez Grusado, Marta Martinez,

993
00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:10,320
Speaker 3: Mike Sargent, Renaldo Leanos Junior, Patricia Sulbaran and Julia Rocha.

994
00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:11,400
Speaker 5: With help from Raoul Berees.

995
00:54:11,719 --> 00:54:15,640
Speaker 3: Our editorial director is Fernandes Santos. Our director of Engineering

996
00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:19,160
Speaker 3: is Stephanie Lebau. Our associate engineer is gabriel A Byez.

997
00:54:19,560 --> 00:54:23,160
Speaker 3: Our marketing manager is Luis Luna. Our theme music was

998
00:54:23,160 --> 00:54:26,320
Speaker 3: composed by Sanguet Roubinos. I'm your host and executive producer

999
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:28,840
Speaker 3: Mariango Hoosa. Join us on our next episode and in

1000
00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:31,920
Speaker 3: the meantime, look for us on social media, act Latinousa

1001
00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:35,719
Speaker 3: dot org and remember not Demayes.

1002
00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:44,640
Speaker 13: Joao Latino USA is made possible in part by the

1003
00:54:44,719 --> 00:54:48,640
Speaker 13: Annie Casey Foundation. Creates a brighter future for the nation's

1004
00:54:48,719 --> 00:54:53,879
Speaker 13: children by strengthening families, building greater economic opportunity, and transforming

1005
00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:59,800
Speaker 13: communities Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden and funding for Latino

1006
00:54:59,840 --> 00:55:02,640
Speaker 13: You USA is Coverage of a culture of health is

1007
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,080
Speaker 13: made possible in part by a grant from the Robert

1008
00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:06,320
Speaker 13: Wood Johnson Foundation.

1009
00:55:10,360 --> 00:55:11,920
Speaker 2: Actually, this is like a fun fact.

1010
00:55:12,080 --> 00:55:14,720
Speaker 1: I was born on February twenty fifth, nineteen ninety seven,

1011
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:18,759
Speaker 1: and three days later Fatsy and Nadine were on administrative leaves.

1012
00:55:18,760 --> 00:55:20,520
Speaker 1: So I don't know like you feel me, Like I

1013
00:55:20,560 --> 00:55:23,239
Speaker 1: really feel old now I'm twenty four, really feel old,

1014
00:55:23,280 --> 00:55:23,799
Speaker 1: deaf and so

1015
00:55:26,640 --> 00:55:27,320
Speaker 7: Not hilarious.