Mrs . Lopez- Jones
Interview by Nancy Flores
What is your name and what do you teach ?
What do you do when you aren ' t teaching or grading ?
Hi , my name is Iliana Lopez-Jones and I teach Language and ERWC .
How long have you been teaching and what have you taught at any other school ?
I ' ve been teaching for 20 years and I ' ve taught Language Arts , ELD which is English Language Development for second language learners and I ’ ve also taught the PUENTE program .
Have you taught at any other school ?
Yes , I have . I am currently at Lee V Pollard High School , and I ' ve taught at Centennial High School , Auburndale Intermediate , Citrus Hills Intermediate , and then I ' ve worked for the district for 4 years .
Why do you think it ' s important to learn about Language Arts ?
It ' s important to learn about Language Arts so that students can express their ideas clearly , they can communicate effectively and they are able to articulate their own voice and make their needs be heard , but only orally but also in writing .
How has your writing changed from when you were a new teacher ?
At the beginning I focused more on the literature itself , having a lot of interaction with the literary piece and as the years have gone by I ' ve noticed that if it ' s not implied to the lives of student sometimes it doesn ' t have that much of an impact in their lives specifically of high school students . For high school i had to shape the curriculum so that students could interact with the community and seek out leadership roles and get involved within their community , look at colleges , and look at a wide variety of communicating effectively with the community colleges and bringing it back to school .
If you were not a teacher , what do you think you would be doing right now ?
I would probably be a Social Worker , if not a counselor .
If I ' m not grading or teaching I ' m writing . I would love to write children ' s books .
If you could have lunch with anyone in history , who would it be and why ?
Without a doubt , I would have lunch with Frida Kahlo . I totally admire Frida for her inventiveness and strength . She had Polio when she was little , at the age of 9 years old . I had two weeks of age when i had polio so I can relate to what she went through . I believe she was a strong woman while she was growing up in the 20 ' s . She decided to go to a mostly all male university and majored in Mathematics and Engineering and a lot of people don ' t know that about her , so I would love to meet her and have lunch with her .
What inspired you to be a teacher ?
Having good role models . My language arts teacher Mrs . BiDianco who I still keep in touch with was an inspiring individual who promoted us to express our ideas , to think freely , and to create . Also Mr . Wright my Spanish teacher who incorporated philosophy in literature and the love for reading , and also my dad .
What is your favorite movie ?
My favorite movie would have to be McFarland . The reason why I like McFarland is because it shows the tenacity of the farm workers , specifically the students who work in the fields . Their agility to run and their resiliency to overcome a lot of obstacles is just amazing and phenomenal .
What is your favorite book ?
My favorite book is Rain of Golds by Victor Villasenor . I like how it is situated here in Corona , and also in Mexico and Santa Ana . I can relate to a lot of places that Mr . Villasenor mentions especially also coming from Guanajuato and mentioning his ancestor of Guanajuato . I myself was born in Guanajuato and strongly relate to his narrative .
14 | The Growler