By SIENNA FELDMAN
Growing up, newly hired Spanish teacher Ms. Michelle Hernandez comforted her sister when she felt discouraged after being mistreated by her teachers. Now, Ms. Hernandez dedicates her life to providing a supportive and safe learning environment for her students.
From a young age, Ms. Hernandez knew that she wanted to become a teacher, but not for a reason one would expect. She became a teacher for her sister, who grew up being torn down by educators and feeling like she was never smart enough. After witnessing her sister’s struggle, Ms. Hernandez vowed to become an understanding teacher to bring justice to her sister’s hardships. “I always wanted to be the teacher my sister never had,” she said.
Before starting her teaching career, Ms. Hernandez obtained her bachelor’s degree at SUNY Cortland. She is currently working to get her master’s degree at Stonybrook University.
Previously, Ms. Hernandez taught at North Babylon, where many of her students were faced with difficult circumstances at home. She always made sure that all of her students were taking care of themselves. “I had to focus on if they ate today. Are they tired because they had work until midnight last night? There were different issues than I have to face here,” she said.
Coming from a school district with higher-needs students, Ms. Hernandez admires Jericho for the diligent work that is encouraged. She knows that working at Jericho will be a completely different experience than her prior job.
Ms. Hernandez rewards students’ positive participation in class with stickers.
No matter how severe a situation, Ms. Hernandez always wants to help her students process their difficult life experiences. She forms an undeniable bond with all of her students by being there for them when they need her most. She said, “I am the type of teacher that you can sit in extra help with and talk about your life.”
Ms. Hernandez values integrity in her classrooms. She is understanding when it comes to working with students, as long as students are honest with her in turn. If students were to give her true reasoning for their lack of preparation, she is usually flexible with her deadlines.
Ms. Hernandez is not only compassionate and understanding, but she is also very amicable. Curriculum Associate of World Languages Dr. Lionel Chan thinks Ms. Hernandez is an incredible addition to Jericho High School. With an extremely competitive hiring process, Ms. Hernandez was clearly the right fit. “We are excited to have her here,” he said.
Ms. Hernandez is not only popular among administrators, but students also have plenty of great things to say about her. Junior Aaron S. remarked on how many participation opportunities she offers. “She gives us stickers when we answer questions in class, and it’s very motivating,” he said.
Ms. Hernandez has quite the obsession with the Puerto Rican rap artist Bad Bunny, and often plays his music for her students during class.
When she is not in the classroom, Ms. Hernandez is committed to staying active. She finds exercise therapeutic while also being a great way to stay fit.