Teacher Stories: Jessica DePasquale, Teacher at Hillsborough Elementary School
I really enjoy working with kids and being able to see their growth from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. It is really motivating. I feel like teaching is just an easy way to help a lot of people, in a sense, and that’s something that’s really on my heart – helping, encouraging others, trying to kind of make the world a little bit of a better place, and I can do that through teaching.
I had a student who was having a hard time, having a lot of emotional struggles, and it would come across with a lot of acting out and anger. And there was an event we had at the school where all the kids were jump-roping, and he said, “Mrs. DePasquale, why don’t you try jump-roping?” And I said, “Oh, I’m not very good at it. I can only do like two or three in a row.” And he was like, “Well, you should try.” So, I was like, “Okay, I’ll try. I’ll embarrass myself.” Well, I ended up doing it like 30 times in a row for literally the first time in my life, and so I made a big deal like in front of class. So, he inspired me. He reminded me of always working hard. And then our school does a character trait each month. It has awards, so I gave the award to him for persistence – he inspired me to. That obviously made him feel very good.
When I grew up, punitive was the way that teachers addressed acting out in class. That’s not my style. My husband and I foster care, and I feel like a lot of it kind of goes together with teaching a classroom. Acting out or other issues, it comes from somewhere, you know. And it could just be that they were rushed in the morning, or they missed the bus. It could be something little; it could be something big. But generally, most kids want to do well and want to please you. So, I feel kind of like getting down to their level and explaining, “I really can’t let you stand on the chair,” but being kind and logical about it with them, explaining to them that I am helping them to see and it’s my job to keep them safe.
Interview by Gregory Andrus
