Zachary Farley had the idea of becoming a teacher while he was in high school.
Then, when he entered college and began learning Chinese, his deep love for the language developed, and he began making new plans.
After graduation, Farley enrolled in a program to become a speech-language pathologist. This path seemed like the best way to blend her love of linguistics and her interest in education. That is, until she took a job as a teacher's assistant at an elementary school in her hometown of Corona, California.
It started as a way to earn money and gain relevant experience to pursue a career in speech-language pathology. But by then, Farley, who had been learning Chinese for several years, was serving a class of kindergartners enrolled in a Chinese-English dual immersion program. That's when everything fell into place.
“We ended up getting to this perfect point,” Farley said. He was the first to secure a career that allowed him to pursue his two biggest passions: languages and learning.
With encouragement from colleagues and mentors, Farley changed direction once again.
He enrolled in a master's program at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) to become certified to teach multiple subjects. CGU has a teacher residency program that allows him to remain in the elementary school he already attended. “One day I was working there as a teaching assistant, and the next day I was teaching sixth grade students,” he said.
Farley says her journey as an adult language learner has allowed her to empathize and empathize with her students and show them that learning lasts a lifetime.
In our Future Teachers series, we highlight individuals enrolled in teacher preparation programs today to understand what draws them to the field of education, what inspires them, what worries them, and why they are undeterred. This issue features Zachary Farley.
The following interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
![Zachary Farley Future Teacher Zachary Farley Future Teacher](https://edsurge.imgix.net/uploads/photo/image/10675/Zachary_Farley-1711041525.png?w=216&h=270&auto=compress,format&fit=crop&blur=10&px=4)
name: Zachary Farley
age: 22
current village: Corona, Californiauniversity
: Claremont Graduate University
plan to teach: Elementary education, ideally a Chinese-English dual immersion program
hometown: Corona, California
EdSurge: What is your earliest memory of being a teacher?
Zachary Farley: My earliest memory of my teacher was when I was in first grade. I remember reading a lot of books in that class. I think that class taught me to read for pleasure and to read for education. I remember doing a lot of storytelling and drawing a lot of illustrations in the process. I remember that class very clearly and I think it was really fundamental to me.
When did you realize that you wanted to become a teacher?
It was a very long process. For many years I had no interest in becoming a teacher. My mom is an elementary school teacher, and she has been teaching for over 30 years. It wasn't until high school that I seriously considered teaching as a career. It was in third grade that my AP English teacher told me that I would potentially be a good teacher for that subject.
I was planning to start a teaching career after completing my bachelor's degree and a master's program in education. However, I decided to pursue a degree in English and Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and major in speech-language pathology instead.
After graduation, I enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program to prepare for a master's program in speech-language pathology. I completed one year of the program, but then something happened and I had another change of heart.
While pursuing my bachelor's degree, I was working as a teacher's assistant at Philistine Rondo School of Discovery, a public elementary school here (in Corona, California). I was a teaching assistant in a kindergarten class in a Chinese-English dual immersion program, and I was working in that program because I could speak Chinese. As a bilingual paraeducator, I was a great fit for this program. Teachers and local program coordinators I worked with would sometimes say, 'Oh, you must be a great teacher,' or 'Oh, we'd love to have you in our school.' program.'
I made the difficult decision to leave my post-baccalaureate program and enroll in the Master's Education program at Claremont Graduate University. I am so grateful to the teachers I worked with, the principal, and everyone at Rondo who came together and supported me at the last minute during my transition.
This was my journey. That was my way. There was quite a bit of back and forth.
![Zachary Farley Rondo Kindergarten Zachary Farley Rondo Kindergarten](https://edsurge.imgix.net/uploads/photo/image/10676/1000001540__1_-1711041596.jpg?w=216&h=162&auto=compress,format&fit=crop&blur=10&px=4)
Tell us about the teacher preparation program you are involved in. How has your experience been so far?
I began the one-year Claremont program in July 2023 and began student teaching at Rondo the following month. It was a very quick turnaround. One day I was working there as a teaching assistant, and the next day I was teaching sixth grade students.
CGU has a residency program where you stay in the same classroom for the entire school year. I am taking 6th grade classes all year long. I am also doing an internship through a new partnership between CGU and the Corona Norco Unified School District (of which Rondo is a part).
During the first half of the class, I am in the classroom performing typical student teacher duties. Then, about halfway through the day, I take on an internship role as a literacy facilitator. During that time, I work with a literacy intervention teacher and deliver 30-minute literacy intervention sessions to groups of five to six students.
This is a very unique experience because not only do you receive classroom instruction for a year, but you also spend all of this additional time working with students in grades 1-6, helping them improve their literacy skills.
![Zachary Farley Rondo Residency Year 6 Zachary Farley Rondo Residency Year 6](https://edsurge.imgix.net/uploads/photo/image/10677/1000001537__1_-1711041658.jpg?w=216&h=162&auto=compress,format&fit=crop&blur=10&px=4)
How exciting to have so much field time. It must be pretty busy though. Are there any online courses? Night classes? How does it work?
My program is completely online. Classes typically run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. It's a pretty intensive process. The amount of units is not particularly enormous. Typically 8 to 12 semester units. However, the time required is quite hectic, especially considering that I am doing an internship in addition to my residency. That's right. .
The school's dual immersion program seems very special. Can you tell me more about that?
Yes that's right. This program, which started four years ago, operates from kindergarten to third grade. Many students participating in the program are native Chinese speakers with little or no exposure to English. Some students are native English speakers with little or no exposure to Chinese. And in some cases, one parent at home speaks Chinese and the other parent speaks English. Therefore, there is a wide range of children with varying exposure to both languages.
The goal is for students to be bilingual and bilingual by the end of the program (at Rondo we are K-6). Therefore, they can read, write, and speak both English and Chinese.
Each grade has a Chinese teacher and an English teacher. And it depends on the grade, but for kindergarten, for example, on Mondays, one group might be the English team and the other group might be the Chinese team. Then it changes on Tuesday. So they continue to learn content by switching between teachers every day to ensure they are exposed to both languages. And not only are they learning each language, they are also learning it. In ~ each language. For example, they learn math in Chinese or science in English.
Why do you want to become a teacher?
I want to become a teacher for several reasons. I want to help my students have a solid foundation for learning. My intention with speech-language pathology has always been to play a pivotal role in building a strong foundation. And I think that's why I want to be a teacher now.
One of the reasons I particularly want to work with Chinese-English dual immersion programs is because I understand what it is like to be a language learner as an adult. I was not a language learner as a child. Because English is my first language, I have not faced the same challenges as some of the children I serve. However, if you become an adult and start learning Chinese from scratch, you will understand. Learning a language is difficult.
Last year, I would tell my kids every day, ‘It’s okay, I don’t know how to say this either,’ ‘I’m learning along with you,’ and ‘I understand it’s difficult.’ I can sympathize with them. Students who are native Chinese speakers look at that and say, 'Okay, Mr. Farley is learning my language, so if he can do that, I can learn English, too.' Students whose native language is English look at me and think, 'Oh, Chinese is really difficult to learn, so I'm having a hard time, but Teacher Farley learns with me.'
That's why no matter what school I go to, I want to be part of a program like this where students can see themselves in what I'm doing. I can always tell these students that I am learning along with them.
What gives you hope for your future career?
In the field of education, there is a goal of continuous improvement and being better. This is how I feel, and so do my fellow teacher candidates in my program. There are already really passionate people in this field, and many who are entering the field despite the challenges.
What concerns do you have if you become a teacher?
One thing that gives me pause is how prevalent students’ use of technology is outside of the classroom and in non-educational contexts. I see how it affects me emotionally and developmentally. We see shorter attention spans, inappropriate jokes and comments that we don't understand, and exposure to age-inappropriate content (e.g. via YouTube).
My concern is that if they use the iPad all the time or play video games at home, it can get to the point where they end up competing with the iPad to see who can give them the biggest dopamine rush. It gives me a lot of pause. I think about it quite often.
The same goes for adults. Many adults are addicted to their cell phones. I mean, sometimes I just sit there mindlessly scrolling and wonder what it would be like to be a 7-year-old. That's hard for me to handle. How will I compete with that?
Why do we need you in this field now?
As part of the CGU program interview, we are assigned a text to read and then discuss this during the interview. The text I was assigned was written by Crystal Laura. She talks about how in education she tries to be a “cooler from hell” for students who are going through difficult situations, whether in the classroom, at home, or in any environment. reason. It may be because they are English learners and are feeling stuck, lost, or not receiving the right support.
Laura's idea is to motivate me to work with English language learners. The idea is to be a resource or comfort to someone in need. It guided me.