Running Head: BEFORE AND AFTER

BEFORE AND AFTER

Mina J. Blazy

California State University, San Bernardino

Dr. Nancy Acevedo-Gil

EDUC 709 Diversity and Equity in Education

BEFORE AND AFTER 2

Abstract

In the following document I will discuss my educational pathway from PK-12, undergraduate, and

graduate school. Throughout the paper I will relate my educational career to personal experience,

professional experience and implications in educational law.

BEFORE AND AFTER 3

I was born in 1971 and grew up in a very diverse neighborhood. It was the norm to see African

Americans, Asian-Americans, European-Americans, and Latin-Americans. I attended a

preschool from the age of three through kindergarten. When I entered elementary school I

attended a parochial school for first grade. Saint James Catholic school left an indelible mark on

me because I was hit on the hand for bringing a Wonder Women doll to school.

After first grade, my mom enrolled my sister and I into the local K-8 public school, Roosevelt

Elementary School. Initially, learning was difficult because I found I had a substantial hearing

loss at the beginning of the school year due to several ear infections. By third grade, I received

tubes in my ear. I could hear better in the classroom but the hearing loss in my right ear was

permanent.

Reflecting on elementary school, it is sometimes a blur but a few memories are still vivid. In

third grade my teacher blamed a few students for stealing candy that another child brought to

school; I was one of the accused. The educator hit three of us with the rubber race track and it

really hurt, I cried but I was more embarrassed because I was accused, convicted and punished

without cause but in those days corporal punishment was acceptable. According to Ingraham v.

Wright in 1977 corporal punishment protected prisoners based on the Eighth Amendment but it

didnt protect students. Trust me I felt it! Later that week it was found that another child, a

friend of mine, took the candy she brought to school and blamed it on three students, including

me. Even the Fourteenth Amendments protection of life, liberty or property didnt stop

corporal punishment (Mahon, 1977). It only protected prisoners; the irony!

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In the 1970s Black Males were four times more likely to receive corporal punishment than white

students (Gregory, 1995). Corporal punishment has been banned in many states, including

California, since 1992. Not all states followed suit but asked for parent permission to paddle

children.

Since I attended a K-8 school I didnt have a middle school experience. I went from enclosed

classrooms to a high school that changed for every class. My biology, anatomy, chemistry and

physics classes were quite engaging for me. Attendance was high and I participated in

gymnastics, the boys swim team, played violin for the band, cheered on the cheer team and went

to every event I could attend. Even though I thrived academically I didnt feel like I was doing

well.

I always knew I would attend college. My mom is an RN and was successful; I just believed I

would be too. I wanted to be a pilot. While my identical twin sister had Michael Jackson posters

on her wall, I had fighter jets. I shared what I wanted to become with my school counselor and

he told me I shouldnt attend college and that I wouldnt be a pilot. I had the ability to take a

persons idea of me not attending college to an, Ill show you attitude. While I had this inner

drive, it nonetheless did affect me because I didnt finish becoming a pilot even though between

my junior and senior year I attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and flew Cessnas

over the summer. I was even placed on the cover of the U of W brochure. It wasnt until later I

realized why I was placed on the cover. I became a poster child for minoritieswhich in some

ways was empowering as it meant I was or could be a role model. But, deep down, I felt

manipulated. Not very many minorities attended this university in Northern Wisconsin.
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During my sophomore year of high school I found that I loved chemistry and I was very good at

it too. Mr. Deddo was my teacher. He treated every student equally, crossed the picket line

during a strike and went above and beyond for student achievement. He is why I became and

educator and a science teacher. He was before his time with Project Based Learning by using

hands on science experiments that made the classroom come alive.

After high school, I attended the University of Dubuque, Iowa. I loved the small college. While

my roommate wasnt too accepting at first and asked me if I wanted to room with a Black

student I made the best of it, my mother is Caucasian so I was comfortable around all races. I

enrolled in the flight program and was certain my dream of becoming a pilot was within reach. I

knew how to do the mathematics but I didnt know how to navigate a classroom of all young

menall young Caucasian men. I was an excellent flight student. I could do take offs and

landings better than my classmates. But the classroom was overwhelming to me. I was stared at

and it made me feel I didnt belong. My husband told me later that Caucasian men stare because

they are too nervous to approach someone that they are attracted to for fear of rejection. I dont

know if this was the case (my husband is convinced it was and he is Caucasian) but it made me

feel like I didnt belong.

While walking back to the dorm one day I was called a nigger. I couldnt believe it; I called my

mom in disbelief. She told me you cant control what others do, you can only control what you

do. Throughout that year one of the Black professors had a cross burned in his front yardin

1989! This wasnt the deep south and it certainly wasnt the 60s either. At the end of the school

year I didnt go back. I enrolled in a community college for a year and within a few years ended

up at Northern Illinois University (NIU).

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At NIU I thrived in Education and Biology. I was a bit older and knew that I could succeed. I

did quite well and became a middle school science educator. I was part of a team that opened a

new middle school in a predominantly White neighborhood with Asian-Americans and Middle-

Eastern Americans. During my first week of school one of the parents, a medical professor from

the University of Chicago, told me that he didnt think I was capable of teaching his daughter.

There was no explanation for why he felt this way but there was no mistaken the implication. His

daughter just looked down. He and his family were from India. His wife walked behind him and

his daughter and wouldnt dare say a word. I graciously stated I understand and would love to

learn from you. I offered to give him the TEs (teacher edition) and observe him for a week. I

still smile at my answer because he never took me up on this offer. I guess middle school

children were too much for him. His daughter smiled in the background as well. She became

one of best students and went to the Illinois State Science Fair winning a 2nd place award. I was

so proud of her. I even noticed that the students mother was a little more assertive at the end of

the school year. I am all for Womens Rights!

In 2006 after living in Westerville, Ohio for 5 years, my husband accepted a position in Palm

Desert so we moved out to the west coast. My husband had to start his position in January and

we waited until the school year was complete to join him in June of that year. He encouraged me

to apply for a teaching position in the valley because there was an article that stated that there

was a shortage of science teachers. I visited in March and interviewed for a science position.

Within five minutes I was signing a contract.

By June of 2006 we were headed to Palm Springs; two flights, four children and a few cats on a

plane. I thought I was going to die of heat stroke the moment I got off the plane.
BEFORE AND AFTER 7

I began my career in a totally different environment; 80% of my students were Latino, 6% Black

and the rest other. For the first time I had culture shock. I had to take a step back and learn

everything I could about the Latin culture. I was well received; SDAIE was a new concept for

me. I am grateful for the six years I had with the Palm Springs Unified School District.

After receiving my masters in educational leadership I received an AP position at Silverado High

School. High School in itself is an entirely different group compared to middle school. I learned

the perspective of gang members, gifted students, special education students and high school

parents and teachers. From there I helped open a STEM 7th 12th grade school. I was able to

work with students that wanted to pursue careers in STEM. By March of 2014, I was a new

principal opening a STEM school.

My experience from elementary school, high school and as an adult has shaped me into someone

who pursues equality and equity in education. My degree from NIU prepared me to value

equality and equity and intrinsic belief systems held by different races and socio-economic

status. Social Justice isnt just a buzz word for me but a leadership style that I fully embrace

(Celoria, 2016).

As an administrator I am fully aware of my role in the community. Social Justice is a practice

that I will continue to research and apply at my school site. I am an instructional leader that is

present in the moment with a continued growth mentality (Reis, 2016). We honor different

cultures throughout our programs and events during the school. I want students and parents to

feel like the elementary school is a safe place where children thrive academically, socially and

emotionally and I am succeeding. In just two years, aided by what I learned from my experiences

and education, my school test scores are some of the highest in the area. Engagement,
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commitment and two-way dialogue has created and fostered a true learning community that has

businesses, universities, other schools, parents and teachers working toward a common goal,

educating young minds to become tomorrows engineers, doctors, teachers, and leaders.
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Work Cited

Celoria, D. (2016). The preparation of inclusive social justice education leaders. Educational

Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, 27, 199219.

Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1094414

Gregory, J. F. (1995). The crime of punishment: racial and gender disparities in the use of

corporal punishment in u.s. public schools. Journal of Negro Education, 64(4), 45462.

Retrieved from http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ537036&site=ehost-live

Mahon, J. P. (1977). Ingraham v. wright: the continuing debate over corporal punishment.

Journal of Law and Education. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ169711

Reis, N. M. (2016). Keeping our eyes on the prize: the role of fieldwork in preparing social

justice school leaders in a public university program. Educational Leadership and

Administration: Teaching and Program Development, 27, 163171. Retrieved from

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1094411