Meet the Staff! Q&A with Margarita

Welcome to CAAS staff spotlight #4! This time, we’re talking with Margarita, one of our Head Start teachers here at CAAS! Margarita has taught hundreds of our Head Start students at CAAS, and her passion for the work clearly continues to grow each year.

Why did you get started in this field?

I came to this country when I was 18. I didn't have a green card, so I could only babysit. I did a lot of it, and I really enjoyed taking care of children. That was my eye-opening experience to children.

The other reason is teaching - I've always loved teaching, at any age. Teaching and learning. Both processes are fascinating. Especially with children, you see the effects right away of whatever you've taught them. The excitement and the way their eyes light up, their enthusiasm is so obvious. It’s immediate reinforcement when you’re teaching them. When you’re doing a good job and you’re teaching children in a fun way, it’s obvious. You're touching a cord.

What’s your role? How long have you been at CAAS?

I've been working for a CAAS since 2004– a long time. I was working at another daycare but they changed my hours. I wanted to work in the mornings and they were going to put me in the afternoon. I went to job counseling in Cambridge and they told me about Head Start. “You would love it because they feel like a family.” And indeed, it does feel like a family. Even after all those years, it's like my extended family. Teachers, managers, everyone I work with. I’m not afraid to speak up and be myself. There’s room for mistakes and trying out new things. It’s encouraged that we’re independent thinkers and individual thinkers. Even though we have a lot of federal and state requirements, there's so much room for creativity. I need that space and that freedom.

What have you found challenging about this work?

I take it very seriously, so I find time management to be the biggest challenge. I work outside my time, preparing and going to libraries. I get too involved in teaching. It can be hard for me to separate it and say “you’re not working, turn off the teacher role when you’re home.” It can be a little hard to turn that off. It’s challenging because it’s also fulfilling to have that passion for a job.

What keeps you energized around this work?

I fall in love every year with the kids. To the point where I go tell my family about the students. They’re like my other family. I fall in love with each one as if they were my own children. My son is 24 now. I thought it would get better over time, more blasé. But I’m even more attached to them.

Every relationship is so unique. I have kids that remind me of other children, but they’re so different. I can't really say “kids in general.” I can’t put them into boxes. I can’t say “these kids are the troublemakers”, or “the academically adept students.” Each name evokes a complete new world - like Pandora's box. Like someone looking for rare species. I see the subtleties in each child.

What was a big accomplishment you’ve experienced at CAAS?

I feel like when I started, I was way more nervous. I feel like I’ve graduated, especially this year, to mentoring other teachers. I was always a lead teacher, but I feel like I’m seasoned enough now that I want to give advice to other teachers, and they listen to me. My advice is valuable. I developed my own personal teaching style that’s a blend of all the teachers I’ve worked with. For example, I picked some way of teaching math from one teacher, or perhaps a special way of talking to children from another. I have that mishmash, that exact brew that I’m happy with. I can say that about this year in particular.

The advice can be about curriculum ideas, timing - how much movement vs sitting down time do they need? How much do you let the kids be vs guide them? What exact words do you use so children understand? And prepping. Prepping is a big thing - how do you think efficiently and prep quickly? There’s all these things, but it comes with experience.

What do you like to do for fun outside of work?

I do watercolors. I just illustrated a children’s book, When Echo Found His Voice: Cuando Eco Descubrio Su Voz. My good friend Monique wrote it. It was a labor of love for the two of us. 

I also like reading books - I’m in a book group. And languages–I’m learning French now. I don’t know exactly why, but it’s fun!