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Priscilla Ray
Class: Art
1. How long have you been teaching at Riverside Prep? This is my second year teaching at Riverside Prep Middle School and my fourth year with the Oro Grande School District. Substitute teaching is what brought me to the district. I'd like to give a shout out to Kathy Eidsvoog, the center administrator at MRA Barstow who encouraged me to join the OGSD team and pursue my teaching credential. An art teaching opportunity opened in the summer of 2017, so I gave it a shot and here I am.
2. What got you into teaching? I have always wanted to be a teacher. I found my love for art in middle school, this continued into college where I took extra courses in art (painting, drawing, art history, etc.) as a type of stress relief and realized art is what I wanted to do. I found the perfect major for me at CSUSB where I took studio art courses paired with art education pedagogy. After graduating with my B.A. in art/art education and a lack of art teaching positions available, I got into substitute teaching. I did this off and on for nine years. It has been a long, winding journey with many detours along the way to teaching what I love. I am finally here and enjoying it!
3. What do you like most about working at Riverside Prep? I love the vibe here at RP. That staff is made up of dedicated administration, educators, proctors, janitors, everyone that I have crossed paths with is here giving their best for the students. And of course the students, they keep my job interesting, fun, challenging and exciting. They surprise me every day with their creativity.
4. What do you like about teaching middle school students? The best part about teaching middle school students are their personalities, sense of humor, energy and curiosity. What's the biggest challenge? The biggest challenge for me right now is getting them to stop talking when I am giving direct instruction, they love talking! I have to get creative in how I get their attention and help them find their inner silence. It gets challenging when they seem to have lost all self-control when it comes to talking. One way or another we get through the excessive chatter and get work done.
5. Favorite moment in teaching? My favorite moments in teaching are when I see students helping one another, when they are teachers for each other.
6. What does it mean to be selected as the Middle School Teacher of the Month? To me, it means I must be something right and to continue growing as an art educator!