Meet Lisa Rubin, an Elementary Writing Coach at The Jackson Mann and Our Coach of the Month!

How long have you been involved with SCORES?

I think this is my fourth season

And how long have you been teaching?

13 years

How did you decide to get into teaching?

I always knew I was going to be a teacher. I always felt kind of lucky when I was in college; all of my friends tried different majors but it was always a clear path for me

And what grade are you teaching?

I teach in a 4^th and 5^th grade combination SEI class, so that means it is a Sheltered English Immersion class. All of my kids are learning English and they are at incredibly varied levels of English acquisition, most of my kids are from Brazil but I’ve also got Angola represented, Cape Verdean, Portugal, Honduras, and Eritrea.

Did you decide that you wanted to get into bi-lingual education initially?

My first year of teaching, was a standard 4^th grade class and then after that, I was teaching in a school that was predominantly Puerto Rican and Mexican kids. I taught in a bilingual transitional class, because that was the only opening, and I just really really loved it. And then I got accepted into a fellowship program for bi-lingual ed., so that meant that it was free and that was my decision, it was either going to be reading certification or bi-lingual ed. And the free is what did it. But I love it, these kids are really unique, their parents are incredibly appreciative and warm and I love seeing the progression of English. It’s amazing how the kids pick it up and how they use the language.

How did you decide to get into SCORES?

Wow, it feels like a long time ago. I love the idea of community and team and I think a lot of times, at least in this school, which is so big and where the kids live all over the city, you loose something when you are not in a neighborhood school or affiliated with some sport or team activity. and I just know the enthusiasm for SCORES in the school was so big that when I had a chance to get involved, I jumped in on it. I just think it is such a good opportunity for these kids.

What is your favorite memory of SCORES in the last couple of years?

I have two:

So one of my current students was on SCORES last year and he is a great little soccer player and his family used to come and watch all of the games. It was great, we had tons of parents coming that year. I remember when he scored a goal and his dad ran out onto the field and picked him up and spun him around. His dad was so happy and everyone’s eyes welled up, it was beautiful. So that was great, I loved that!

We had a parent/teacher vs. kids game and at that time a lot of our parents were Brazilian, so big big soccer country. So, they came to this game decked out in their team jerseys, and shorts, shin guards, and cleats. They are out there and they took it so seriously. It was like a FIFA match out there, the kids were just watching the ball. I had to take a couple of parents aside and be like, “you’ve got to take it down a notch, relax.” So that was really fun!

Any last thoughts or words about SCORES?

I just think it’s great when the kids get to be part of the team and I love that that team is cross-grade, we do it with boys and girls together at this school and I really like that. I like that on game days they wear their jerseys and everyone knows that they are part of SCORES. I was talking to one little guy two days ago when I came into school, he’s at the bottom of the ramp at the school and he just looks really, the best word I can use is, glum.

I was like, “What’s wrong?”

He answered, “I don’t have any friends.”

I was like “Oh hun, have you been thinking this a long time or is this a new thought?” He was like, “for a long time, Ms. Rubin.”

And I was like, “well I know that sometimes when it feels like we have no friends, it is the worst feeling in the world,” and then I said, “let’s talk about some times you feel like you do have friends. What about SCORES?”

He was like, “yeah, those kids are my friends.” It just had never occurred to him. He was just in a different setting, he was in the cafeteria and he had no one to sit with at that moment. It’s like the end of the world and it is just very dramatic and depressing. Then he realized, those kids are on my team but they are also my friends.  That was cool to see!

 Hear from Lisa directly in her interview below from the 2009 SCORES National Poetry Slam -