Opinion
Equity & Diversity Opinion

You Don’t Know Me

By Armando Gutierrez — September 18, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

You watched me enter your classroom like any other student. You greeted me with a warm smile and a caring look. You asked me to have a seat. I heard you speak words I didn’t understand. I watched as the other students raised their hands to question what you said. I sat in the cold chair; the minutes felt like hours. I heard you call my name. I waited for you to ask who I was.

You don’t know what it took for me to get here this morning. You don’t know how it feels to wake up in the dark, or the fear that I have in my heart, waiting for the bus. You don’t know that I don’t have an umbrella or why my clothes are wet and disheveled when I enter your class. You think I can’t feel your disappointment in me. You don’t know that despite my appearance, my color, my imperfections, I choose to look past your stare.

You probably wonder why I stare at you as you eat in front of the class. You don’t know that I didn’t have enough change in my pocket for breakfast this morning, or that last night’s cold dinner was from the dumpster outside that fancy restaurant, the one near the bridge where we sleep.

You don’t know why I come to your class tired or how uncomfortable it is for three people to sleep in a car, to sleep with one eye open, just in case.

You don’t know how lucky I feel that we have a car.

You don’t know that I am listening, that I care, that I am grateful for the opportunity to learn.

You don’t know the courage it takes for me to raise my hand to answer your questions. You don’t know how they ridiculed me for the way I speak the last time I was in a classroom.

You don’t know that in your classroom I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

A version of this article appeared in the September 19, 2012 edition of Education Week as You Don’t Know Me

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Equity & Diversity Laws on Trans, Nonbinary Student Pronouns Put Teachers in a Bind
Under laws passed in nine states, teachers don't have to use students’ pronouns and names if they don’t align with their assigned sex.
8 min read
A crowd gathers at the outside of the Indiana House chamber as the House Education Committee discuss House Bill 1608 at the Statehouse on Feb. 20, 2023, in Indianapolis.
A crowd gathers at the outside of the Indiana House chamber on Feb. 20, 2023, as the House Education Committee discussed the legislation that became a state law that requires teachers to inform parents if their children identify as transgender. Indiana is one of at least nine states that have passed laws targeting transgender students' pronouns.
Darron Cummings/AP
Equity & Diversity Schools Are Part of the Biden Administration's Plan for Combating Antisemitism
The call to action for schools is part of a first-of-its-kind federal strategy.
4 min read
A hand-drawn swastika is seen on the front of Union Station near the Capitol in Washington.
A hand-drawn swastika is seen on the front of Union Station near the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2022. Such vandalism is part of a nationwide rise in antisemitic incidents the White House wants to address.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Equity & Diversity State Chief Targets DEI Initiatives. Here's How District Leaders Are Responding
Some Oklahoma superintendents are concerned about the state's reporting requirement on DEI spending.
7 min read
Lessons on the dry-erase board in history teacher Kala Hester's classroom at Millwood High School on April 20, 2022 in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma schools will have to report all DEI-related spending, per a new rule.
Lessons on the dry-erase board in history teacher Kala Hester's classroom at Millwood High School on April 20, 2022 in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma schools will have to report all DEI-related spending, per a new rule.
Brett Deering for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor To Recruit Black Teachers, We Need Black Leaders
A math teacher explains why Black leaders play a significant role in recruiting and retaining Black educators in this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week