Teaching: A journey of its own

By Navi G

Most students can't wait to get out of high school and move far far away from the district they grew up in, or maybe even go out of state. That wasn't the case for Raina Park, who came straight back to the district to teach English 3 & ERWC (Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum) at Yerba Buena High School in the East Side Union High School District. Not too far off from the school she graduated from: Santa Teresa High School!

Park had mentioned that when she was growing up, her parents had worked with a non-profit organization, Friend's Hand in Hand, which taught/worked with kids on the autism spectrum.

Miss Park: “I kind of grew up in the education section so my parents were both involved with a non-profit that works with students on the autism spectrum, so that's kind of something that I always grew up with. So I’d always been involved, always done tutoring, you know, teaching, helping out with Academy's, helping out with that program.”

This was only the beginning of Park's journey to becoming a teacher. Randy Tyler, Park’s former teacher, definitely played a huge positive role in Park's journey to becoming a teacher. He worked at Bernal Intermediate, where Park attended school and helped his band class. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years back. The impact it left on her never faded or left her. He had opened doors for Park that were previously closed; under his belief, Park entirely changed.

Miss Park: “He gave me a lot of opportunities that I don't think a lot of other teachers would have given me and I totally transformed under his belief. So I went from someone who was feral, like feral and absolutely wild, to someone who by the end of the year, was musician of the year. I was the first person to win in the Mary Sasaki award for volunteering, participating in debate club, learned chess, had friends—he turned me into a human being.”

After graduating, she went straight to college. To be more specific, Park attended UC Berkeley. Then Park began experimenting with jobs that eventually led her here to Yerba Buena High School!

Miss Park: “I wanted to make sure that I wasn't picking teaching because education was what I was comfortable with or that's what I thought I should do. I wanted to make sure that I was doing it because it's what I wanted to do. So I actually ended up doing a lot of other jobs—you know, graphic design, writing, copywriting, marketing, instructional design—and every single time I found that it's intended to center around education. So then I ended up circling back and I decided that yeah, teaching is what I actually want to do.”

Here at Yerba Buena, her experience as an actual teacher has made her realize a couple things and a couple things maybe she still needed to learn from us.

Miss Park: “I used Canvas in college as a student but I didn't realize how hard it was to use as a teacher and I feel so bad for all those professors that I thought were just technologically inept up until this point; but it turns out that they're not technologically inept and I'm just as technologically inept as they are.”

Even though technology has been a struggle, it doesn't stop her from being an amazing teacher, though her values may be different from teachers who have taught for years. Park does have a different standpoint on teaching.

Miss Park: “This is just as much your guys' educational experience as it is mine, and so I want to make sure that my students have a voice, right? That's why I allow you guys to vote for a lot of things and I always try to check in with you guys about like, is this okay? Does this sound fair? You know, is there something I need to change? That's why the question box is there, so you guys could give me feedback on what isn't working. You guys are only going through this experience once, and so you have a little bit of say in your educational experience. That being said, we're adults. We should be setting boundaries and guidance and make sure that you learn what you need to learn. But especially as you guys, who are upperclassmen, you guys know the value of your education—you know how to take charge of your education. We should be able to impart a little bit of control on your end. Right, so listen to students’ needs, listen to what your students have to say. I think that's what teaching in American Education in general could improve in.”

Even though she's barely a first year teacher here at Yerba Buena, Park never stops helping her students write their college essays or help them in other classes that aren't English or ERWC. Park does more than she's expected to and she prepares her students for the real world, gives them time, and the patience that they may need to succeed.