The Albuquerque Journal
Sunday, May 7, 2017
By Bailey Heinz / Journal Staff Writer
lbuquerque -- In his fifth year of teaching, Alejandro Sanchez of Albuquerque, NM, is two places he thought he’d never be: teaching and about to receive The National Teaching of the Year Award in Washington, D.C.
Six days a week, yes six, Sanchez has dedicated himself to the success of his biology students from Albuquerque High. On one to two Saturdays a month, during the school year, Sanchez provides additional instruction for students in his classes. This instruction is optional but students who participate can gain hands on experience to what is covered in his classes. Sanchez described his approach as “a way to actively engage students by showing them real life situations where they could apply some of the topics discussed in class.”
This same attitude seems to be shared with his students. Karla Stafford, a 10th grader, says “The Making Connections section is my favorite part of our textbook and Mr. Sanchez focuses on how stuff can be applied and used outside the classroom.” Another student, Carlos Romero, states that “Mr. Sanchez has motivated me to pursue a career in medicine after I witnessed cutting edge research at UNM’s Cancer Center. I am excited to continue studying biology in college this coming fall.” Alyssa Romero, Carlos’ mother, expresses her pride: “I’ve seen my son eager to go to biology class and I can’t wait to hear what he has learned when he comes home.”
School on Saturday is not the only thing unique about Sanchez’s tenure at Albuquerque High. He has also spearheaded a change in the curriculum by integrating biology with other subjects like history and language arts. “History helps bring a social context to science,” says history teacher Gloria Howard, “and when a student knows that actual people discovered and thought about what is being learned it is appreciated and even retained.” English teachers like Paul Ruiz have partnered with Sanchez in helping students write proposals for grants. “Being able to write well is a skill that both Mr. Sanchez and I want students to have when they leave the classroom, and writing a proposal [for a biology class] brings a higher standard in communication” Ruiz exclaims.
Fittingly, Sanchez will receive his award in the White House Rose Garden on Saturday.
I really like how you are thinking of working with other teachers at the school to create a wider base of knowledge and skills. It is true that we are not a subject in isolation be in order to teach each subject we inherently have overlaps into other subjects so working together to achieve greater understanding is a fantastic idea.
ReplyDeleteI think you are onto something here, making the connection of the subject to the social context is brillant. It will allow students to relate what is being instructed to a real life situation which in turn helps them to internalize it. I am currently using MCI (Making the Connection Intervention) for my student's language arts classes.
ReplyDelete