Teacher of the Month⼁Introducing Joyce Y.

At Pacific Preparatory, we are so lucky to work with the most thoughtful and inspiring instructors, all who bring lessons to life with engaging connections to student interests and their community. This month, we are excited to celebrate Joyce, whose specialization lies in supporting students to acquire cognitive and interpersonal skills, enabling them to strengthen foundations, grow as learners, and develop as responsible members of society in an increasingly complex world.

Joyce (she/her/hers) graduated from Smith College with a BA in Psychology and from John F. Kennedy University with a MA in Consciousness Studies. Joyce has taught creative writing with California Poets in the Schools, The Oakland Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Oakland Public Library, La Peña Cultural Center, Smith College, and Saint Mary’s College of California. She taught English in the Mills College Upward Bound Program for 3 years, and she also served as a writing coach to students working to complete college and scholarship applications. With Pacific Preparatory, Joyce teaches high-level humanities, specializing in English. She has also worked with students with learning differences for over 15 years. When she is not teaching, she can be found outdoors walking or hiking, practicing Yoga or Qigong, dancing in her living room, or reading and writing poetry, essays, and fiction.

When did you start teaching and why?

In the years between undergraduate and graduate school, I started teaching classes for a company that provided online legal and news information databases. Once I got over my stage fright about standing up in front of a room full of professional adults, I enjoyed teaching individuals how to craft search requests and find the information they needed to do their jobs. I also enjoyed observing my students, fielding questions, and probing to find out what obstacles they faced in finding the information they needed. Were they uncomfortable with the technology? Was crafting search requests confusing to them? This was my first experience as a teacher and it was a positive one.

What’s your favorite subject to teach and why?

English is my favorite subject to teach. Reading, writing, and critical thinking go hand in hand. It’s not possible to access one’s writing abilities very easily if one doesn’t read or think about what they’ve read, heard, or seen. We are all consumers of content. We actually read and evaluate videos and photographs as we’re viewing them, but we don’t think about what we’re doing in that way. Information literacy and media literacy are important skills for students and all of us to learn and use. I make sure to provide my students with opportunities to learn how to apply them. I integrate this into my English classes so that students learn to evaluate sources, do lateral reading, and craft their web searches effectively.

What do you enjoy most about teaching with Pacific Preparatory?

I like being able to develop a rapport with students that I wouldn’t be able to do in a classroom setting. This rapport allows me to get to know a student, their family, their interests, their strengths, and their growth areas. With this relationship building, I can tailor the syllabus and lessons to the student to support their academic and social-emotional learning. I can serve as both a teacher and mentor in a unique and more personalized way.