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Mom to many
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Posted by admin Wed May 28, 2008 10:54:16 PDT
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What is a mother supposed to do when all of her children have left the nest? For Jo Ann Rivera, the next step was a no-brainer.

“I wanted to find a job that I liked doing. The only experience I had was raising my children and being involved with them and their school activities,” Rivera said. “With that kind of resume, teaching was just a natural decision.”

The now 55-year-old Rivera went back to school to obtain her teacher credential at the age of 40, and was recently named a 2007-08 Kern County Teacher of the Year nominee.

But the path from homemaker to award nominee required sacrifices, hard work and support from friends and family.

Rivera began teaching eight years ago and is currently a teacher at Myrtle Avenue School in the Lamont School District. She began working three hours a day as an instructional assistant at Williams Elementary School in the mornings.

“I worked for a wonderful third-grade teacher named Mr. Honig, and one day he pulled me aside and told me that he thought I should consider becoming a teacher,” River said. “Once that seed was planted, the rest is history.”

But history isn’t always a walk in the park.

For Rivera, going back to school was very difficult at first.

“The hardest thing was not being able to be there for my family the way I had always been. It was an adjustment for all of us,” she said. “ I never would have made it if it had not been for their support.”

One of those supportive individuals was daughter Lisa Rivera.

“She had a lot of support from my dad and all of us kids,” said Lisa, 34. “So I think that part was easy, but getting back to studying, deadlines and homework was a little rough for her.”

When all the deadlines were met and the homework turned in, Rivera entered the teaching profession with a passion.

According to her school principal, Dolores Lopez, Rivera was motivated to start her teaching career.

“She brought all of her life experiences to the classroom and has created an atmosphere of scholarliness,” Lopez said. “She has high expectations of achievement for her students, and is a strong proponent of literacy and brings that love of literature alive in her classroom.”

Rivera wears many hats at Myrtle Avenue School. She works with the school’s GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program, History Day, Oral Language Festival, Science Fair and Battle of the Books.

“Teaching is not a profession for everyone. It needs to be a passion,” Rivera said.
She admits that the job is currently a tough one due to challenging students, curricular mandates and pressure for higher test scores.

“You have to be a counselor, mentor, friend, surrogate parent, disciplinarian, classroom control expert, group dynamics facilitator, learning disabilities specialist, motivational speaker and coach, as well as a master of your subject matter,” Rivera said.

Rivera’s passion and dedication paid off this year when she was nominated as a Kern County Teacher of the Year by Lopez.

The county program, sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, features teachers nominated for the award by their schools and districts. A committee of educators and volunteers review all the applications, and recent site visits were made to the top candidates. All 37 nominees received plaques and certificates.

“It is a very humbling experience because I work with so many great teachers, too numerous to mention. I am truly honored,” Rivera said.

Lopez said Rivera deserved to be recognized because of her work as a teacher, mentor and coach.

However, for Rivera it isn’t the award that makes the top of her list of memorable teaching experiences.

One of those moments was at last year’s History Day competition.

“When the boys’ group was announced the winner and that they would be competing at the state level, I was filled with such a sense of accomplishment and pride for them that it is difficult to describe,” Rivera said.

“After all the picture taking and hugs from their parents, they came up to me where I was sitting in the bleachers and handed the plaque to me they had just received and said, ‘Mrs. Rivera, we want you to have this for all the hard work you did to help us win.’ I will never forget that moment.”

Rivera said she plans on continuing to teach and never forgetting that the children in her classroom are infinitely more significant than the subject matter she teaches them.

“I rarely let a day go by that I don’t tell my students that they can achieve their dreams,” Rivera said. “I don’t want them to wait until they’re 40 years old to hear those words ...”

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Comment From: palooka5

I am proud to call Jo Ann Rivera my Tia.