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September KBAY Teacher of the Month

The KBAY Teacher of the Month program is a partnership between 94.5 KBAY FM and the San Jose Education Foundation, the leading education foundation serving students, families and teachers of San Jose.

Like you, we at KBAY believe that teachers have a tremendous impact on our children’s lives, so we created the KBAY Teacher of the Month program with the San Jose Education Foundation to honor South Bay teachers who are making a difference by creating memorable, interactive and enhanced learning experiences for their students.

The KBAY Teacher of the month for September is Rachelle Burnside, who teaches American Literature at Branham High School. Rachelle will receive a $500 Innovation Grant for her classroom from The San Jose Education Foundation.

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Rachelle says her biggest challenge is apathetic youngsters: “kids who aren’t interested in learning – or aren’t interested in anything. Apathy is my biggest pet peeve. We’ve got a generation on our hands that just may be entertaining themselves into oblivion. There are a lot of distractions to deal with. All I can do is try to make the learning as relevant to them as possible, and keep hammering away that this stuff is important and why. You know that some of it won’t sink in until they are older, but you’ve planted the seed, and eventually it will blossom. The best part about teaching is definitely when the kids get “it.” Last year, I had a kid who was really quiet and didn’t participate much, but was a really good kid. I just couldn’t seem to get him actively engaged. He also was Hispanic – and one of our biggest concerns in education right now is the achievement gap between Hispanic males, in particular, and Caucasian and Asian students.

So one day we’re talking about The Great Gatsby, which is my favorite book. I really think Fitzgerald nailed the essence of American culture – our mistaken belief that wealth equals value in a moral sense, and that this has corrupted our essential mythology – the American Dream. So I’m talking about Paris Hilton, and our modern fascination with money. And I look over and that kid was totally staring at me and just nodding his head like he got it and understood it. Best moment of the year.”

Rachelle plans to spend the $500 Innovation Grant from the San Jose Education Foundation to improve her ability to connect American literature to film and other media in order to link them to our current culture. The goal is to give students a deeper understanding of the meaning of American classics like “The Great Gatsby” and “Huckleberry Finn”, so they can apply their message to the issues that matter to them today. KBAY congratulates Rachelle Burnside, the Teacher of the Month for September.

Congratulations Rachelle!