Wes: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Teacher Interview podcast.

I'm your host, Wes Creel. I work as Director of Innovation and Instructional Support in Fullerton School District, and we are now in season four of the podcast. Where we get to know teachers better. Our themes this season, our passion, drive and determination. Join me. Today we joined Van n Vong Duck, who teaches seventh grade at Parks, sports, journalism, journalism, English, and Pathfinder.

Join us.

All right, uh, welcome Van Ann. Thank you so much for having me. Great. I'm so glad you're here. Um, we have some quotes from people who, um, shared some information, uh, may Ann. My aunt. My aunt. Mm-hmm. You know what? [00:01:00] And I actually emailed her and asked her if she would pronounce her name for me or tell me how it's pronounced and I forgot to check that.

So I'm embarrassed. My Anne and Min. Mm-hmm. Your brother? Yes. Roo. Who you teach with at Parks. Mm-hmm. And Tracy. So we have some information, uh, to help kind of, uh, season the, the podcast interview. Um, but first, why don't you tell us a little bit about your history. How did you get into teaching? And how long have you been teaching and what, what's that been like?

Van-Anh: Yes. So Ashley, I knew I wanted to be a teacher since second grade. It was very clear to me. Um, so I started, wow. Yeah. So I started in the Fortune school district at Laguna Road Elementary since first grade. Okay. And then I remember just by second grade, I had, um, my teacher, Mrs. Street, and I wrote her a letter and I just told her, Um, in the letter, I was like, you're the best second grade teacher I've ever had.

Well, you're the only second grade teacher I've ever had, but I just wanna be like you. Wow. And from that moment on, I've just always loved teaching. I [00:02:00] love being in the school settings. And then it was towards high school where I figured out I wanted to be an English teacher. Wow. And then from there, I went from Laguna Road to Parks Junior High to Sunny Hills, and then Cal State Fullerton, where I got my undergrad.

And. Um, teaching credential. Wow. Student taught at Troy and then I came, and then my first job was Parks Junior High.

Wes: That's, um, pretty unbelievable. So you went to Parks Junior High? Mm-hmm. And you're teaching there now? Yes. So first tell me, are there any teachers still there from when you were there? Yes.

No, a lot of them, you don't have to name 'em. Yes, yes. But, um, What's that like?

Van-Anh: Oh my God, it's so much fun. I think at first it was quite intimidating because I knew them as teachers and I wanted to prove myself as a teacher, a new teacher, that I belonged there, that I could work alongside them. Yeah. But luckily, like the park staff, they're so supportive.

They were so welcoming when I came in and there's like, you have to call me by your first name. My first name, which was very strange for me. Um, but it's been so much [00:03:00] fun too. Mr. Sonny. One of your teachers? Mr. Sonny was my health teacher. Oh, wow. He makes me call him Mark now. That's funny. Um, which I still can't get through.

I'll always automatically just call him Mr. Sonny. That's funny. Yeah.

Wes: Um, you said something that reminded me of maybe a quote, but are you competitive? I think you said something like, I wanted to prove myself like that I deserve to be there.

Van-Anh: I know, I think I'm competitive with myself. Okay. I'm not competitive in terms of like other people, again, other people, but I always wanna prove to myself that I can do it.

So I'm always challenging myself. Um, Everyone knows I'm like a perfectionist, so I just try to do the best that I can. Okay. I'm gonna

Wes: bring up a quote, and this is from your brother Min, and when I read the quote, I'm like, that'll probably never make the podcast. I don't understand it. Um, but he says you won a chess tournament when, when you were in elementary, and then you pretty much never played after that.

Is that true?

Van-Anh: That is true. I, I don't know how I got into the chess club at [00:04:00] Laguna Road. It was just one day I stumbled into our library. I was like, oh, why not? Um, we get to sit in the library and play and learn chess. And then I just kept going at it. And then I guess it was towards the end of the school year, um, I did our district competition and got a little trophy.

And then from then on I just, I guess, found other hobbies or, that's

Wes: fascinating. Okay. Tell me a little bit, why do you think your brother remembers that? When I asked him this, he put under bonus

Van-Anh: feedback. I don't know. I think it was just. So out of the ordinary for me. Mm-hmm. Because I was so shy. I'm still pretty shy.

I'm now So just you're shy. I am. I'm a huge introvert. I think as like a teacher, I like, I'm able to kind of put myself out there now and kind of Right. Be in front of the students and do what I have to do, but everyone just knows that. I like to just go home with my book or my movie. So just being in like a different club where I've never played chess before.

Oh, okay. And interacting with other students. Yeah. And being in a tournament, which is very [00:05:00] different for me and just, uh,

Wes: been uh, winning.

Van-Anh: Yes. And I think he's just like, how on earth did you win? Did you cheat?

Wes: I was interested to know a little bit more about your brother sister relationship, but uh, We'll come back to that.

Um, so one of the first quotes from men was since we were just kids, van Ann has always had a passion and innate ability for making connections with people. And so what's interesting is you said, use the word introvert. And when you walked into our office just a few minutes ago, I just noticed how you're.

You're like beaming and exuding energy, and so I find this quote seems really, really true. Tell me something about making connections with people, like what does that mean to you?

Van-Anh: Yeah, so I think being a teacher has definitely helped me kind of come out of my shell in terms of my shyness. But I think everything that's always grounded me is just making those connections so that I can feel comfortable and feel grounded wherever I am.

So even though I was super shy going into my first year [00:06:00] at Parks, I really wanted to develop those relationships with those other teachers. Mm-hmm. Make friends, make mentors so that I could. Feel like I have a support group around me in case I just get too into my head and everything. So I think that's why like connections are so crucial to

Wes: me.

Yeah. So it's, it's a survival technique. It's, it's a way that you kind of ground yourself. Yes. Um, so give somebody who's maybe not naturally disposed to making those connections. Maybe they feel a little. Uh, isolated in their, uh, work team. Like, what's a strategy that you could say to somebody else? Here's a way to make connections with people.

Like, what do you find yourself doing in those situations?

Van-Anh: For me, it was all about taking small steps. Instead of just going to like a huge social event with all the staff members or in the lounge, like I started really small, like choosing like one English teacher that was next to me, like my next door buddy to get to know and having lunch with her and then slowly branching out into building that community.

And then later [00:07:00] on it was, I was able to make more connections with other staff members, be a part of like the English department. See other people from other departments. So I think for me it's just starting small, not getting too overwhelmed or pushing yourself too much and just doing what you're comfortable with and then slowly you'll grow from there.

Wes: Yeah, yeah. Good advice. Do you find, uh, yourself noticing students who are introverted and what is that like? Cuz if you identify with that, do you find yourself pushing them or respecting their boundaries? Like how do you as a teacher engage with. Students who are introverted.

Van-Anh: Yeah. So I always tell my students the very first day of school that I want them to feel safe and welcome and comfortable in my classroom.

And that's for all personalities. Mm-hmm. So I'm never going to try to, I'll always try to challenge them academically, but I never wanna push them into a com out of their comfort zone to the point where they're fearful mm-hmm. Of going to my class. So whether I see students who love working with other people and they're social and, um, they love [00:08:00] collaborating, then I'll have 'em work in groups.

But then sometimes I'll also offer student choice, where if they prefer to work independently mm-hmm. Or just with one other partner that they know, I'm completely fine with that. And then hopefully with time I can encourage them maybe by not the first week of school, but maybe by the second quarter they'll be comfortable enough to.

Sit with a different group of students in class or present in front of the class and not be too scared.

Wes: That's great. So kind of in a way earning trust by not forcing things. Mm-hmm. But offering choice. Mm-hmm. Which I think is a big buy-in for students, uh, to help create trust. Um, that's great. So talk to me a little bit about.

When I did your introduction, you were teaching four preps? Yes. Okay. So how did you start at parks? Were you teaching all those subjects to journalism, sports, journalism, Pathfinder

Van-Anh: and English? No, I wasn't. So every year has been a little bit different, and my first year was 2019, so when we shut down, oh.

Was my first year as a teacher. Wow. So I started off, [00:09:00] um, full English, so seventh grade and eighth grade, um, ela. And then I was, um, helping with the co-taught. Model for our English Yeah. Um, department. So that was really fun. I've done that the last couple of years. So teaching, co-taught for ELA seven and then ELA eight.

Mm-hmm. But then this year they, um, and oh, last year and this year they really wanted to like revamp the pathfinder elective course as well as journalism and sports journalism. So, um, our principal was like, would you be willing to not only teach Pathfinder English this year, but try journalism and sports journalism as well.

Okay. So I was like, Of course, like I'll try it. I'll do the best I can. I don't know much about sports, but I'll have the students help me and they'll teach me to, and we'll do it as a collective class. But I told told her like, I'm so grateful to teach at Parks. Yeah. And to be in Fullerton School District.

Whatever you throw at me, I'll just, I'll try my best. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll

Wes: go for it. I'll give it a shot. Yes. So you said you, um, sports maybe wasn't, uh, like a passion, but what about journalism [00:10:00] in your like, uh, bachelor's degree in English? Is that right? Yes. So did you have journalism as a background

Van-Anh: or No, I didn't.

Okay. No. So it was still a new thing for me. So this year I've learned a lot and kind of by trial and error Yeah. As well. Figuring out, um, how to teach the students what curriculum worked with journalism and sports journalism. So I love it. Now. It's like a brand new course that I'm. Learning myself. Yeah.

Um, which is fun. And I still get to teach like those writing techniques and strategies. Mm-hmm. Um, but just in a different way than English.

Wes: Yeah. What's the biggest differentiation? Because journalism, of course, is gonna be writing. Mm-hmm. But what's the biggest, uh, difference you see between your English course?

And it could be the students who are in it. I don't know how students get into a journalism course. Mm-hmm. But what's the biggest difference you see between your English course and a journalism

Van-Anh: course? Yes. So I think. It's so different between English and journalism as well as journalism and sports journalism.

Okay. So, um, I would say just [00:11:00] like the group of students for journalism, it's um, very, I have like 14 kids, so it's a really like closeness small group. And they love writing. You know, they wanna push themselves. They're always writing their own stories as well as articles for our newspaper. Ah-huh. So I've see, I saw that passion mm-hmm.

From the start where maybe for English is required. You know, we, we wanna encourage them, we wanna motivate them and see where they're at. Yeah. In terms of what they like in terms of writing and reading, and then going along with that. Whereas I feel like journalism, they're writers already. Wow. Which for me, I was never.

A natural writer growing up. So I was like, that's amazing. Um, and then sports journalism, it was very different because they, they're all very, um, passionate about sports, but maybe not so much of writing. Wow. Or a lot of 'em came in like, what is journalism? Yeah. So that was like a different way that they had so much background knowledge on sports, but then I had to start kind of from scratch of what journalism is, what writing articles is about.

Yeah. So it was just very different.

Wes: [00:12:00] Wow. It sounds, um, it sounds challenging and each class would be challenging in kind of a different way. Mm-hmm. Do you have, not that your students are gonna hear this, do you have a favorite subject to teach out of those four? Like, is there one that just, oh my gosh, is like, time seems to fly by versus, uh,

Van-Anh: Yeah, I mean, I think I'm just more comfortable with English, cuz that's how I started it.

Sure. Yeah. And I love, um, you know, teaching the stories that we have and I was a struggling reader all the way through high school. Mm-hmm. So I always try to encourage students. I'm like, I know how difficult reading and mm-hmm. How intimidating it could be. Yeah. So I like seeing that growth that the students have in the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

Um, but I also think I've taught Pathfinder for a couple years now, and that's just such a fun elective. Like all the seventh graders, they're talking about their careers and passions and we're using Thrively. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's a really fun elective. I love to teach. That's

Wes: awesome. Uh, I was looking at a quote here from it's Roo.

Mm-hmm. Is [00:13:00] that right? She mentions a train ride. Does that ring a bell?

Van-Anh: Oh. Um, we, I did take a train down to San Diego for a conference we went to. Yeah.

Wes: She says, one of the many memories that serves as an example of your passion and dedication to grow as an educator is when we took a train from Fullerton to San Diego to attend a C T A conference.

Mm-hmm. Do you remember

Van-Anh: that? Yes. That was our first year. Oh, wow. Yes. Yes. So I think the, that stands out so much to us because I feel like our first year as a teacher, the learning curve is just so dramatic. Mm-hmm. So we're just in survival mode. We're, we're just like day by day, like, what are we gonna teach tomorrow?

Yeah. How are the kids gonna be, what's my classroom management gonna be? Right. But, um, that conference stood out to us because we just had so much fun and it kind of reinvigorated us of our passion for teaching and hearing other. Um, teacher stories from all across the state at this conference in San Diego.

And she always remembers the train ride cuz I was like, oh, I can't catch a ride, but I'm going to get an Uber. Then I'll go to the train station [00:14:00] Fullerton and then I'll go from there. Yeah. And then I'll go to San Diego and then I'll take the train back so that we can be. Ready for work on Monday. Yeah. So it was just like, I'm like, I'm gonna make it to this conference no matter what.

So I think that's why she was like mentioning the train ride. That's

Wes: awesome. So it is a little bit of like, by any means necessary mm-hmm. Trying to get there. Um, that is not the only gathering that somebody mentioned. Uh, one was Tracy Doe, assistant principal. Mm-hmm. She mentioned the California League of Educators.

Educator of the Year award conference. I don't know if that's the right name of the conference. Mm-hmm. But that was not that long ago,

Van-Anh: right? No, it was like a couple months ago.

Wes: A couple months ago. And tell us about why were you there?

Van-Anh: Yes. So I was nominated It's okay. For Educator of the year for our region, which I guess was like Orange County slash Yeah.

Less. Angeles Angel, which was a complete shock to me because I was still grappling with the fact that I was like, I don't know how to teach journalism. I don't know how to teach sport journalism. So when our principal, Laura Mc Lee told [00:15:00] me, uh, I was nominated, it was just a huge surprise. But I was, I was very grateful.

Wow.

Wes: So what was that gathering like? Was it a conference like with learning and sessions or more like just a celebration

Van-Anh: or? No, it was just like, it was like a beautiful dinner at. The, um, mining company. Okay. In orange. Okay. And then all of the nominees, um, had to give a speech in front. You had to give a speech in front of, um, oh my gosh.

In front of the whole, like, there was like a panel. I just got nervous guess, and, which was terrifying for me. And I invited my parents, but I told them, I'm like, if I get nervous, I might ask you to leave when, when I give my speech. But, um, I let them stay there, um, which was, which was really nice. But yeah.

That was like one fear that I conquered. Oh my gosh. Took

Wes: me a speech. Yeah. So do you remember what you said in your speech? What

Van-Anh: was like a, A key point? Yeah, so I was talking more about just what were like my aha moments as a teacher or what are the things that I've learned. From my students. Yeah. Um, that I've [00:16:00] taken with me.

Um, so that was mainly what my speech was about. Yeah. Like just building those relationships, my students giving me life advice. Cause like from the first year, I just wanted to be perfect and like, I didn't want any typos in my slide decks, right. To the point where like, the second week of school, my first class, they were like, just relax, just relax on my feet.

Like it's fine. So then always they're trying to counsel you to be more recent. I'm like, okay. Okay.

Wes: That's awesome. Um, one of the other things that Tracy mentions is, um, she does, uh, mention you're passionate about connecting with students, building connections, building relationships and learning about your students.

And then, um, you apply that knowledge about your students to teaching. Like how do you see. Her her explanation of what you're doing. Uh, it sounds like you're drawing in what you know about the students into the lesson or I'm not exactly sure. Let me know. Yeah.

Van-Anh: So I try to do that as much as I can cuz I know like, um, The students are [00:17:00] gonna get the most out of it when they feel connected to the material.

They feel like they have a say in it or like their interests. So I always try to find out like what they're into, what, mm-hmm. Like music or movies or just like what their passions are and try to incorporate that into my lessons, whether it's like a writing piece or a story that we read. Um, I'm lucky that I have Pathfinder where it's all about careers.

Interests, hobbies, and I can use that, especially if they're in my, like, other classes. Yeah. Um, but like, one thing I did recently is all my students, they always tell me what their Spotify playlists are and Oh, and like what they're current, what they're currently listening to. So recently for, um, one of our stories that we're reading in English, I had them make like a Spotify playlist for the, for a character.

And they had to like cite evidence why that. Why that character would listen to that song. Yeah. How it connects to that character and how to cite evidence as well. So it's just trying to make the assignments a little bit more interesting and engaging for them. Yeah. Yeah.

Wes: I can even see [00:18:00] different students because of their own musical tastes or, uh, musical just knowledge of music.

They would pick different songs. Mm-hmm. But then they're justifying why they. Chose the song for that character. Yes. So they're doing some character analysis. Yes. But you're tying it into Spotify, which is something they may use daily. Mm-hmm. Um, just in a way of technology, but also they may pick . Things that they like.

Yes. And try to, if they relate to the Yeah.

Van-Anh: Character and make that connection. Yeah. They were just asking me like, can I use this song? I was like, if you can argue it, you know, and you can explain it. Yeah. And analyze it, then you can. So some students chose songs in Spanish mm-hmm. That they listened to and they would translate it for me.

Some were just all about Disney songs and how they could tie that in and others was, Like top 40 or Stevie Wonder. Mm mm-hmm. So just all across the board, which is nice. That's

Wes: awesome. I love that. Um, give me another, um, example of bringing in what you know about students into, maybe not the lesson. It [00:19:00] doesn't have to be that mm-hmm.

But just. Into the classroom environment to, to have a connection

Van-Anh: with students. Yeah. So I think I just try to get a, like a grasp on like also like their learning styles. Mm-hmm. Or their personalities. So one thing I do at the beginning of like each class or like semester or like the first day of school, um, they do like asset.

Based profiles. Mm-hmm. So I can see what, how they look at themselves and what they're bringing into the classroom. So some are like really creative and artistic. So I try to incorporate more like creative activities into the classroom so they can express themselves in different ways as opposed to just writing or, you know, like worksheets or some, they always tell me, you know, they're really good with technology.

And coding. I was like, okay, can you like make a stop motion, like flip a clip for me so you can express your learning in that way. So I think trying to get a grasp on like how they like to express themselves. Mm-hmm. And then incorporating that into our classroom. Yeah.

Wes: And it would seem like after, you know, having some [00:20:00] experience in the classroom, knowing what worked for other students, then you kind of build mm-hmm.

A list of suggestions that you can say. What about like, flip a clip? Mm-hmm. What about, you know, stop motion things that. Then might, uh, be building other bridges mm-hmm. To other students. Mm-hmm. Um, so I could see that kind of becoming easier. Um, Think about a very hard to reach student, and maybe it could be a real life example or hypothetical.

I don't know. Mm-hmm. Um, tell me about a challenging student to connect

Van-Anh: to. Yes. So, um, one student that comes to mind is it was just really hard for him to really get engaged in what we were reading. Mm-hmm. What we were write, like writing, like paragraph writing, essay writing. Just writing wasn't, wasn't for him.

Yeah. Um, And then I was just trying to figure out like, what can I do to get him to like express his learning in any way. And then one day it clicked that I was looking at his binder and he was doing, um, different, [00:21:00] I guess it was like graffiti mm-hmm. Style. Mm-hmm. Like for his names and his friends names and everything.

And I was like, oh, okay. So do you like, Doing like, like more artistic stuff. And he's like, yeah. He's like, well, I like how like graffiti looks mm-hmm. And everything. So then I was like, oh, can you make me kind of like a poster, like a one page poster using that style to show me what you learn about like this character.

And everything. He's like, oh, okay. So then he kind of got into it. So he made like the name of the character in a really cool like font, and then he was putting some adjectives to describe the character. Mm-hmm. So instead of just like trying to force him to write like a paragraph, he did it in a different way that was more comfortable Yeah.

For him.

Wes: Wow. And so he went from maybe not engaging mm-hmm. To producing something. Mm-hmm. And adjectives related to the character. I could definitely see that, um, you know, it's on target for the learning goal. Mm-hmm. But then, Um, did that change the relationship or what, what happened

Van-Anh: after that? Yeah, it did.

I think, um, maybe not a lot, [00:22:00] but Right. To the point where, let's be honest Yeah. At least he wasn't being disruptive or having like those avoidance behaviors. Right. Um, that at least he felt comfortable enough that if he wasn't gonna do the work, he could try to do something else. Yeah. Or just be in his own space.

Yeah. And then, uh, but he did what? He started to have conversations with me. Mm. Um, as well, like. Greeting me at the door, which was a huge step for him. Right, right. And then towards the end of school, he even made like my name in, like his graffiti like artwork. Yeah. And then like, gave it to me Wow. And stuff.

So that was like a big breakthrough. Yeah. Mm-hmm. For

Wes: him. That's, that's really, really good to hear. And sometimes we, we talk about all the different things we can try as educators and we don't really know like long term what some of those things resulted. Mm-hmm. But it sounds like you left him with a, a relationship.

Yeah. You know, you're somebody who cared about him. Mm-hmm. And tried to to to see. Education his way. Mm-hmm. And, and provide a way in for him. Mm-hmm. So that, that's awesome. That's awesome. I'm [00:23:00] gonna look back on my quotes. Mm-hmm. I don't think that I have any, oh, I haven't not included, uh, any quotes from my Anne Uhhuh.

Right. My Anne. Uh, but she says you have a passion for reading. Um, what do you

Van-Anh: like to read? I'm all over the place. I feel like I'm still trying to play catch up because I was such a struggling reader. Okay. For so long. Um, so long. So I'm just, I use like Libby, like our, like Libby app, so I can borrow digital e-books.

Okay. And stuff. Um, what have been reading, I'm, I wanna read Atomic Habits next. That's on my mm-hmm. My, um, to-do list for winter break. Um, I read, what did I re I I read a lot of like suspense sometimes. Oh, okay. Yeah. Which is like different because I like serial killer type suspense. No more just like, maybe like mystery a little bit like.

Suspense. So I read mm-hmm. One by, um, Colleen Hoover. Recently. Okay. Um, just more like, yeah, like mystery or just a little bit darker. And people are always wondering [00:24:00] why I read. Yeah. Like those that are a little bit darker. And I was like, because I can't watch horror movies. Oh. They're too scary for me. But at least, like, I feel like my mind just runs in like pg so like, if I read something, it's not that scary.

Like I just like, yeah. It looks like a cartoon or something in my head. Yeah. But I, I can't do like horror movies or scary movies. Did,

Wes: did you read any of the Hunger Games books, any of those?

Van-Anh: I did, yes. I even, um, I love that trilogy. Yeah. I read it a while ago, and then I end up teaching the Hunger Games Oh, really?

To my eighth grade class and they loved it. Oh, wow. Wow. Um, yeah. So I was asking 'em what they wanted to read, um, last year, and I was giving them some choices. Yeah. And they're like, oh, let's read Hunger Games. Because I knew they liked like thriller aspects. Mm-hmm. They liked like the action of it, the kind of dystopian society.

Yeah. Um, so then we all read that together, which was That's great. Which was really fun.

Wes: That's great. Mm-hmm. Uh, I love it. Uh, I'm gonna go back to your. Uh, your sister here. Um, this may seem unrelated, but I'm just intrigued. She says that you've always loved the show, the Gilmore

Van-Anh: [00:25:00] Girls. That's true. Yes.

Wes: I've never watched the Gilmore Girls.

So tell me, um, she says, She owes countless hours of rewatching reruns of Gilmore Girls to you. What, what's, what's the big

Van-Anh: deal? Yes. So one thing about me is if I like a show or I have like a feel good show or a comfort show, I'll just watch it over and over again. Okay. So like Friends, um, the Office and then Gilmore Girls is one.

Mm-hmm. So I just, like years ago, I like. Started watching Gilmer girls and then it became like a thing with my mom, cuz my mom and I are very close, so we would watch it together. Oh. Cuz the whole show is about like a mom and a daughter. Okay. And then I pulled my sister into it and now she just, she's like, it's just on repeat, like in the background as I cook.

Right. When I get home from work, it's just running. Yeah. The whole time on Netflix.

Wes: That's awesome. So it's, it's about bonding with family members too. Mm-hmm.

Van-Anh: Great. Yeah. That's great. And they make like a lot of like. Pop culture references. Okay. In, um, in the show. So you see if like you can catch them or like they [00:26:00] just, the writing, they talk really fast, so I always appreciate it.

Of course. As like an English major, like the writing is so good. Oh yeah. Like, did you hear like their dialogue?

Wes: That's great. That's, I I love it. Um, so another quote from Roo says that you're passionate about helping others in school and non-school settings. You always find a way to give others an extra hand when they need it.

Is that true? Um, you're looking puzzled.

Van-Anh: I'm like, no. I, I hope, I hope so. Okay. Um, like, I hope I can like lend a hand when I can and I hope Yeah. That because like so many of the teachers or people in my life have helped me so much mm-hmm. That I hope I can give that back. So, ROCI and I like, we always like eat lunch together every day.

We always talk about like, Not only our lesson plans, we give each other suggestions and resources. But also, you know, on the weekend she's like, Hey, like can you help me with this? Yeah. And us back and forth. So I think,

Wes: so I'm gonna stop you there. She says you don't even teach the same subject.

Van-Anh: No, she teaches Spanish.

Wes: Okay. Mm-hmm. [00:27:00] So tell me something that you've connected on. Like you have an idea and she's like, oh, that could work in Spanish.

Van-Anh: Like, yes. So recently we just shared the same activity. Okay. So it's. Um, I did like the acid-based profiles in, um, my Pathfinder class where I gave 'em like a template of like a blank head.

Mm-hmm. And then they would decorate it and add words that describe themselves and add their own personality to it. And she's like, can I use something similar because I'm teaching them . And using vocabulary words. Wow. Yeah. So then we are sharing like templates and stuff. So then, and we were comparing the student's work, so that was just like one recent activity, but we're also always collaborating on like, how do you keep the students engaged?

Or like, this student just won't sit down, he's so active. Like what do you, what does he do in your class that can help? Right. So just giving each other like those tips and

Wes: tricks. Yeah, comparing notes. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's great that you have somebody that you can, uh, eat lunch with. Mm-hmm. You know, and share just, uh, kind of a de-stressing, you know, relaxing moment of the day.

Yes. That's awesome. Um, I do have a [00:28:00] quote here that goes way back. This is from your brother. Um, and you talked about in childhood having battling health issues mm-hmm. Growing up. Um, what is, what did he remember about that? It sounds like when he, um, was talking about this, he's. Kind of writing in a tone of admiration for you.

I'm not sure I could be reading into that, but.

Van-Anh: Yeah. So like just growing up I was just like in and out of the hospital for just different health reasons. Yeah. Like asthma and just like allergy, different stuff. Yeah. Um, and my brother, he's only a year older than me, so he kind of watched me Oh. Kind of go through it.

Yeah. Um, and I missed a lot of school. Oh wow. Um, because of it just like going back and forth. But I guess just like for me, I just, even though I was like sick or in the hos, I still remember like in elementary school, I was like in the hospital bed and I was like, I need to finish my math homework. And they're like, just calm down.

It's okay. I was like, no. Like I need to do well, I'm gonna fall behind. So that's just always been how I was. [00:29:00] Um, and I'm still, now that I wanna make sure that I'm doing my best, I wanna like keep pushing myself. So no matter like where I was, whether I was sick at home, in the hospital or in class, I was like, I'm still gonna do my best.

Yeah.

Wes: So I'm gonna tie in one quote that he has in there that, um, I think we used the word . Competitive, but you said not with other people, with yourself. Mm-hmm. And that kind of reminds me of what you were just saying. Um, so he says you were best friends as kids and Van Ann was always wanting to do what her big brother was doing.

Mm-hmm. I don't know if that's true or not. Yes. Okay. For her, that meant trying to play soccer, something he was exes obsessed with. And then with the health issues, your parents were, um, hesitant about letting you play competitive sports. They relented at last, and my little. Little sister got a suit up one season for the Pink Pirates of the Full Rangers Soccer League.

All this is true so far. Yes. Okay. Um, your health issues persisted however, mid-season you got sick and had to take extended time [00:30:00] away from the field and her first game back from her medical leave. As if it was the ending to a cheesy sports movie. You scored your first ever goal. Do you remember that?

Van-Anh: I do briefly and I think I remember.

It seems like he remembers it more than you. Yes, he was. I think he was more excited about me. I real, I honestly probably didn't even know what happened. I was like, the ball, just like, I just kicked it away from me

Wes: and they says, uh, his, the family and he cheered so loudly. The story gets better, if not less believable.

Because you ended up winning the league championship with your team later that season.

Van-Anh: Yes, that is true. I would like, I don't take any credit for us winning at all. Um, but yeah, so it was just like I played, like my brother was always athlete growing up. Mm-hmm. He played basketball and soccer and for me it was just like, It was an accomplishment just getting on the field and not getting sick the next day or like running a lap and like not ending up in the hospital.

Yeah. With like an asthma attack. So I think that was [00:31:00] like such a big moment mm-hmm. That he could see. He's like, oh my gosh, she actually scored a goal. Yeah. Um, so it was just like pretty like funny moment that like my. Mom and my brother were able to see, I think, I think my dad was there. I honestly don't even remember that much about it and they were super excited and I was like, okay, that's like my ending to sports.

Yeah, I tried it.

Wes: It's funny, he, it does seem like he was looking like out for you and like kind of, you know, rooting for you and hoping that you would do well and succeed. Yeah. Uh, and so that the quote from the chess tournament was from him as well. Mm-hmm. So it's interesting, he, he sees you succeeding and then sort of like, then you Yeah.

Walk, walk away from it. Yeah. So he might be a little jealous. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. We don't know. Uh, but that's, that's great. So make a connection to those moments where you had to kind of battle through. Mm-hmm. And, um, and I'm gonna say emerge victorious, [00:32:00] uh, to teaching. Like what are those battles in teaching and how do you try to make it

Van-Anh: through?

Yeah, so I think for me, like. For teaching. There's so many like ups and downs where like you love teaching, but like your lesson could mom one day. Mm-hmm. And then you just feel so discouraged or you're wanting to see growth for students, but you don't know how to reach them. You don't know what you are doing wrong as a teacher to better support them.

Mm-hmm. So I think like during those days, you're just. I just tell myself like, just keep pushing forward. There's so many, um, resources out there. There's, um, such a great support system at Parks. You know, I'm not doing this alone. I can always reach out for help to admin or my department. So I think just like in times where I feel like, oh, I'm not perfect in this job, or I'm making mistakes, I'm now, I'm just telling myself like, it's okay.

Like you've had like rough patches before. And then just to persevere and to go forward and just to keep trying your best. And I think that's what I try to tell my students all the time too, like having that growth mindset, you know, you're gonna make [00:33:00] mistakes. Like growing from elementary to junior high is such a big jump.

You're gonna deal with seven different teachers with seven different expectations and you're gonna stumble from time to time. But it's like you can't succeed if you just keep pushing hard and reaching out for help when you need it.

Wes: That's great. It sounds like you have an idea of, um, the idea of like being, uh, showing grace.

To yourself mm-hmm. And to your students and kind of help them understand that, um, there's an opportunity for a new day and a new start. Mm-hmm. And it's so hard in junior high, it seems like the stakes are so high. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, and it's, it's, we have a good emphasis on social, emotional health. Yes.

So, um. Mm-hmm. Anything else to add? We're kind of getting to the end of our time. Anything else? Uh, shout out. You want to give or. Something else we touched on but you didn't, uh, give a talk about? Um,

Van-Anh: not in particular. I mean, I guess I would just give a shout out to everyone who took their time to give you quotes and interesting anecdotes about me that I didn't know was gonna be included.

Um, yeah. To my brother and sister cuz [00:34:00] they're so busy. They're both, they're both doctors. I'm like the only teacher in our family. So for them to take the time to like, give you those responses. Oh, that's nice.

Wes: Yeah, they're very prompt. Like one of the quickest responses, uh, of anybody we've, uh, uh, asked for quotes as people on the podcast.

So that was, that was really awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us and, uh, we look forward to seeing your great success.

Van-Anh: Thank you.

Wes: This has been the Teacher Interview podcast. Thank you for joining us.