Casteneda Commences Teaching Career After College
Fresh out of college, Casteneda provides new ideas for the English department.
By Hannah Dudum
Fresh out of college, Casteneda provides new ideas for the English department.
By Hannah Dudum
Andrew Casteneda joined the Pioneer staff for the 2021-22 school year to fill a recently vacated position as a freshman English teacher. He is one of four new teachers to join the English department this year.
Casteneda brings new techniques to the English Department which is mainly a result of recently graduating college. His choice of English over other subjects was based on the fact that in math, there is only one answer whereas in English you can have multiple answers to explain with evidence.
As someone who did not enjoy school when he was younger, he decided after community college that a career in teaching was for him. He attended De Anza and San Jose State to acquire his teaching credential and Bachelor’s degree in English.
“I chose Pioneer because they were probably the best school,” said Casteneda. “They were close around me and their test scores were really good so I knew the students would be very open to being educated at a high level and I thought it would be a good challenge for me.”
With Casteneda joining Pioneer staff, they now have four male teachers in the English department which is a record high.
“Obviously gender doesn’t make you a good or bad teacher, but anything that makes us a more diverse, more representative department is a plus, because it just means that there’s one more point of view or voice that students can respond to and learn from,” said sophomore English teacher Jason Goldman-Hall.
Beth Stafford, the head of the English department, is happy to have the diversity of role models for students. She’s excited to collaborate and have those conversations with him about how they can make the students more successful. Talking about the potential she sees in Casteneda as a young, newly-influenced teacher, Stafford said, “I think that all of the young new teachers, they just bring a lot of new ideas. You know they just graduated school so they're learning the newest techniques and how to do things so I think that he brings just fresh ideas in new perspective.”
Returning to in-person learning at a new school is what many sophomores and freshmen are doing and it’s not an easy transition. What would make the transition easier would be to have a fun and engaging teacher. Harika Talluri, 9, thinks that Casteneda fits that description perfectly.
“I think he’s a good teacher because he knows to keep students on track and always make sure every student understands the concept of what we’re learning,” said Tallrui. “I enjoy his class because he makes learning fun and he doesn’t just bore us out with assignments that we have no motivation to do. I also enjoy it because we do a lot of group work.”
After losing multiple English teachers last year, Casteneda has greatly helped by filling the position. He is hoping to grow and learn this year as a new teacher so he can improve for the future. Stafford understands the difficulties of adjusting to the new coronavirus changes but notices that the new teachers, including Casteneda, have been doing their best in teaching as they have less experience.
“I know all of our new teachers have been a little overwhelmed but they’ve all been dealing with it really well, handling it really professional and adaptinging really well,” said Stafford.
Casteneda brings new techniques to the English Department which is mainly a result of recently graduating college. His choice of English over other subjects was based on the fact that in math, there is only one answer whereas in English you can have multiple answers to explain with evidence.
As someone who did not enjoy school when he was younger, he decided after community college that a career in teaching was for him. He attended De Anza and San Jose State to acquire his teaching credential and Bachelor’s degree in English.
“I chose Pioneer because they were probably the best school,” said Casteneda. “They were close around me and their test scores were really good so I knew the students would be very open to being educated at a high level and I thought it would be a good challenge for me.”
With Casteneda joining Pioneer staff, they now have four male teachers in the English department which is a record high.
“Obviously gender doesn’t make you a good or bad teacher, but anything that makes us a more diverse, more representative department is a plus, because it just means that there’s one more point of view or voice that students can respond to and learn from,” said sophomore English teacher Jason Goldman-Hall.
Beth Stafford, the head of the English department, is happy to have the diversity of role models for students. She’s excited to collaborate and have those conversations with him about how they can make the students more successful. Talking about the potential she sees in Casteneda as a young, newly-influenced teacher, Stafford said, “I think that all of the young new teachers, they just bring a lot of new ideas. You know they just graduated school so they're learning the newest techniques and how to do things so I think that he brings just fresh ideas in new perspective.”
Returning to in-person learning at a new school is what many sophomores and freshmen are doing and it’s not an easy transition. What would make the transition easier would be to have a fun and engaging teacher. Harika Talluri, 9, thinks that Casteneda fits that description perfectly.
“I think he’s a good teacher because he knows to keep students on track and always make sure every student understands the concept of what we’re learning,” said Tallrui. “I enjoy his class because he makes learning fun and he doesn’t just bore us out with assignments that we have no motivation to do. I also enjoy it because we do a lot of group work.”
After losing multiple English teachers last year, Casteneda has greatly helped by filling the position. He is hoping to grow and learn this year as a new teacher so he can improve for the future. Stafford understands the difficulties of adjusting to the new coronavirus changes but notices that the new teachers, including Casteneda, have been doing their best in teaching as they have less experience.
“I know all of our new teachers have been a little overwhelmed but they’ve all been dealing with it really well, handling it really professional and adaptinging really well,” said Stafford.