Henrico's Top Teachers – Jaime Gonzalez

Many teachers will say that they got into the profession because they had special teachers as a child, but Jaime Gonzalez had the opposite experience. His teachers were not very good, he said, adding, “I hated school.”

When things were tough for him at home, he would act out at school, but his teachers never attempted to get to the bottom of his misbehavior.

“I never had a teacher say, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ . . I never had teachers that cared about me.”

In a perverse way, however, those less-than-stellar teachers helped make Gonzalez what he is today. As a history teacher, he makes a point of getting to know his students, their moods, and their needs.

“I try to build a little community in my classroom,” he said, “where kids feel safe to make mistakes and where they can come to me with anything.” Even when students don’t initiate contact, he can tell if they need a listening ear and will pull them aside. “Their backpacks are full of emotions and problems.”

He also goes out of his way to mentor students with behavioral issues, Gonzalez said. “They kind of remind me of me.”

At the beginning of the year, Gonzalez promises students three things: “By the end of the year you will like history; you will love coming to my class; and you’ll know that I love you as if you are my own child.” He also constantly calls them “my amazing kids” – emphasizing that if it’s said enough, “they will believe it.”

Born in Nicaragua, Gonzalez came to the U.S. when he was three, so Spanish was his first language. As a result, he tends to have many low-level English-learners in his classes, as well as students with a range of intellectual disabilities and behavioral and emotional issues.

But the real challenges, Gonzalez said, lie not with his students, but in “teaching government and history in this climate.” While discussion of current events can be fraught with pitfalls, his students adapt quickly to the rules.

“It’s wild,” he said with a shake of his head, “how you can have civil discourse with middle schoolers, but it’s almost impossible with adults.”

He frequently holds review sessions open to any student who feels the need for extra study. Even the 7-a.m. or lunch-period sessions are often mobbed; one recent event drew 55 students. With a laugh, Gonzales quipped that when he was in school, “you couldn’t have paid me enough to have lunch with my teacher!”

He marvels sometimes that he has ended up teaching, after a childhood hating school, followed by 12 years working as a waiter. (He found that he liked training other servers better than he liked waiting tables).

“This is the only job I’ve ever had that I look forward to coming to work every day,” he said. “There’s never a dull moment in middle school; it’s never the same day twice.”

More than a dozen students (and a parent or two) wrote to nominate Gonzalez as a Top Teacher, citing his kindness, loving nature, and knack for cultivating a sense of community in class.

“He makes it a like we are a big giant family,” wrote a student. “He loves and cares for each and every one of us.”

“He always has a smile on his face, and it lights everyone’s day up,” said another student.

One student called Gonzalez’s class “the highlight of my day. This was my first time ever loving to come to school and learn.”

Several students said that they consider him a role model and father figure. “He is the adult outside of my parents that I trust with any of my problems and secrets,” said one. “He has always been there for me and for other students. I have friends who have gone to him to talk and ask advice [even though] they never had him as a teacher.”

Another student commented, “He always checks up on me and sees how I am. He is so easy to talk to.”

“I think this teacher is way beyond a top teacher,” remarked a student, while another said, “He has changed my path forever.”

“He is the most amazing teacher I have ever had,” went a common refrain; one student added, “I wish I had him for the rest of my school career.”

“Even if he’s not my history teacher next year,” said a student, “I will visit, and give him a hug whenever I see him.”

As one student summed up, “He always helps me if I’m struggling. He makes assignments fun. He is stern but in a good way.

“I will remember him forever.”