Chapter 41: Make Allies

Dear Elena,

So, you’ve decided you want to be a teacher! I was thrilled to get the news from your mother. Given your intellect, your sensitivity, and your commitment to young people, I know you will be magnificent!

As you know from your mom, I’ve worked with teachers for many years. I started my own career as a middle school teacher, and then went to teach at Public School 25 in the Bronx, the first bilingual school in the Northeast. From there, I was an instructor in the Puerto Rican Studies Program at Brooklyn College. Things were really hot back then as we struggled to define a place of dignity and respect for Latinos in this country. At PS 25, we worked day and night, literally, to create a school that would affirm and develop students’ bilingualism and build their ethnic pride and sense of responsibility for the community. At Brooklyn College, we worked tirelessly to demonstrate that Puerto Rican studies as a field of study and research was worthy of having a place in the academy.