Missing the first two weeks of school because of the birth of his child, History teacher and Academic Decathlon advisor Anthony Gonzales now has to face the ways the loss of time with his students has affected him. Without the time to properly get to know them, Gonzales feels a disconnect between himself and his students.

“I felt that the school year had obviously started without me,” Gonzales said. “I usually am pretty good at learning my students names, and then having conversations about the curriculum. And I felt that, you know, being two weeks into US history, or being two weeks into Mexican American studies, I couldn’t have the conversations that I rely on to get my point across. And so I felt like I was playing catch up at the very beginning, just because I couldn’t teach the way that I’m accustomed to teaching because I had no relationship with my students.”

Not only was he behind with his students’ names and activities, but also in grading, content and teaching. During his absence, Ms. Lopez and Coach Laviada taught MAS.

“That first couple weeks, we’re talking about identity, what it means to be Mexican American, and so I just felt like I had missed out on the foundation of the class,” Gonzales said. “That’s when students learn the most about me because I’m using myself as an example a lot of times. And so I’m trying to figure out ways to integrate myself more without having that first two weeks of this is what it means to be Mexican American.”

A main part of the beginning lesson is single stories, which highlights the stereotypes that communities and ethnic groups go through.

“I felt like that was an amazing way to start the class, because of all the stereotypes against any minority,” MASSA President Marina Romero said. “Stereotypes get everyone comfortable and talking, but since he wasn’t there, it’s gonna be a little harder for him.”

Currently, the class is learning about the Aztec Empire. Gonzales is trying to sprinkle little bits of himself throughout the history lessons.

“They didn’t know who I was, and weren’t familiar with my teaching style or anything. I think the bigger adjustment is when I showed up,” Gonzales said. “Some of them were like, hold on, like you’re the teacher, like you’re Mr. Gonzalez? And I was like, yeah, so they thought the other guy was Mr. Gonzalez for two weeks. I think that they had a good time with Ms. Lopez and Mr. Laviada.”

Ms. Lopez sponsored the MASSA club during his leave; she got the new officers elected and set the course for what that club is going to be. And then with ACDEC, Mr. Trevillian and Mr. Ward ran practices and coached the team.

“We adjusted pretty well, and especially with Ms. Lopez’s help,” Romero said. “Ms. Lopez was amazing. Throughout it all, she was very understanding and she was very reassuring.”

The biggest help is now having teachers to rely on who can aid him in creating lessons or assignments, lifting the weight on his shoulders.

“It’s nice this year not having to do things on my own, because last year, all I taught was Mexican American studies, and I was the only Mexican American studies teacher, and so I didn’t have teams to rely on,” Gonzales said. “And sometimes that’s a good thing, like you get to do your own thing and figure things out on your own, but in a time where I was missing so much work, it was nice to know that there was somebody doing important work here while I was gone.”

On top of teaching Mexican American studies, ACDEC and co-sponsoring MASSA, he now also teaches US history.

“I have to adjust my teaching to a different end goal, where, in US history, like I want my kids to pass that STAAR, where, in MAS, I’m worried about something else entirely, right?” Gonzales said. “There’s no test at the end that I’m worried about. “

The biggest adjustment is having a son at home. Not only him coming early, but also going from seeing him constantly to getting a few hours with him.

“I was happy that he was finally here, right? I mean, but he also came early,” Gonzales said. “So anything that Ms Ortiz and I had planned as far as, like, missing school and how we were going to adjust those things, he came 16 days early, and all those plans got thrown out the window.”

Gonzales wasn’t the only one experiencing a transition period. Students he taught in previous years also had to make an adjustment.

“I didn’t want to be all selfish and be like, I really wish that he was here,” Romero said. “Having a baby is such a big milestone in your life. I was sad that he was gone, but I knew he was going to come back.”