Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Mina J. Blazy
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,
I was born in 1971 and grew up in a very diverse neighborhood. It was the norm to see African
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
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.
BEFORE AND AFTER 5
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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).
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,
BEFORE AND AFTER 8
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.
BEFORE AND AFTER 9
Work Cited
Celoria, D. (2016). The preparation of inclusive social justice education leaders. Educational
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.
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.
Reis, N. M. (2016). Keeping our eyes on the prize: the role of fieldwork in preparing social
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1094411