Thinking of teachers
Regardless of whether they carry that name
Inside our schools and far away from those rooms
Who every day
See our full humanity
Show their own vulnerability
Name the realities of inequality
Unmask erased histories
Deconstruct prevailing ideologies
Build spaces showing another way
Inspiring us to continue another day
gilda l. ochoa is a professor of Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies at Pomona College. She is the author of three books, including Academic Profiling: Latinos, Asian Americans, and the Achievement Gap, which has received several awards. Most recently, she has turned to poetry to more personally convey her thoughts on identity, schooling, and immigration policies.