Men in Early Childhood Education: My Interview With Assistant Principal Abraham Alarcon! by Mike Prochaska

Abraham Alarcon is not only an assistant principal at an elementary school in New Jersey, but also a 30Seconds contributor. Here's how he got into the field of Early Childhood Education!

Q. When did you get into this field? 

"I chose to be an educator in 1990 when I was a sophomore in college. I asked myself where was I successful in my life and the answer was in school. I also asked when I was most happy and it was in school where I was able to be curious, do experiments, dance, take pictures, act, work with others and make great friends and learn from caring and supportive teachers."

Q. What do you see as the advantages of having a male teacher?

"Male teachers are a great advantage to any school because they provide wisdom, strength and fun as well as a host of other qualities that children need on a daily basis. They also provide a much-needed balance to any situation and children need to see males and females working to build and sustain a positive and caring learning environment."

Q. What school do you work at? 

"I work as the Assistant Principal at Dr. John Grieco Elementary School in Englewood, N.J. Our age group is first through third grade."

Q. What's your favorite memory working with kids?

"Well, I have been a high school bilingual social studies teacher for six years, a middle school principal for one year and an elementary assistant principal for 11 years. I have many favorite memories at each level but my favorite memory has to be from my Bilingual US History II class. We did a unit on Immigration and read 'Bread Givers' (1925) by Anzia Yezierska and my students compared their personal migration with the main characters in the book. I realized that no matter what country immigrants come from, they all want a better life and opportunity for them and their family. My students were living proof that immigrants today can succeed and work hard to reach their dreams."

Q. Anything else you want to tell us about working with young children?

"When you work with young people do the following:

• Smile a lot.
• Accept them for who they are and not whom you want them to be.
• And always, always put people before paperwork." 

Q. Do you have any Facebook pages or a blog you would like to share with us?

"Yes, [visit] my blog at BeTheEcho.blogspot.com and follow @abealarcon."

Q. What's your favorite book to read to class?

"'What Do You Do With an Idea?' by Kobi Yamada."

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