Above, Ysidro Holmes and a small group of children from his preschool class connect with a group of infants in the halls of Boulder Journey School.
Above, Ysidro visiting Chautauqua Park in Boulder for the first time since moving from Arizona for the Boulder Journey School Teacher Education Program.
In the video below, Ysidro introduces himself and shares a little bit about his personal context and what he values about Boulder Journey School so far in his journey as a Resident Teacher.
“My name is Ysidro Holmes and I’m a Resident Teacher at the Boulder Journey School. I come from a family of Educators and something that they have taught me is that teaching is reciprocal; coming with that in my classroom, I’m able to bring my ancestors with me and know that I’m teaching as well as learning from the children in my class. They (other members within the Boulder Journey School community) are very interested in what we (Resident Teachers joining the school) have to offer and they value our voices; that teaching community is a beautiful thing to witness.”
Below, Ysidro touches upon the importance and space for perspective taking within his 2022-2023 Boulder Journey School cohort. He shares why he chose the Boulder Journey School Teacher Education Program and what he loves about Boulder; he also speaks to the supportive environment of the Teacher Education Program & the importance of the anti-bias/anti-racist commitments within the school community.
“The other Resident Teachers that are in the classroom with me and around Boulder Journey School, they’re all coming in from around the country and so it’s nice to see different points of view and different perspectives from new teachers and also teachers who have been in the classroom for a few years.”
“I chose the Boulder Journey School as my Masters program because of the philosophy and pedagogy of the school. I also love the relationship they have with the schools over in Reggio Emilia, Italy and I’m excited to go and study over that way (referring to the week-long study tour in Reggio Emilia Resident Teachers are a part of each year in the Boulder Journey School Teacher Education Program).”
“The community and culture is one big supportive group of people. Even if it comes from coursework, in the classroom, or even to get some sort of scholarship everybody comes together and they really try to support you in any way that they could.”
“I come from the desert. So, the greenery is very different; it’s beautiful, the mountains. Everybody here is very friendly and I love that they are very environmentally conscious here as well.”
Ysidro chose to read his thoughts surrounding anti-bias/anti-racist work because of the importance of the topic. “Something that surprised me about the Boulder Journey School were the efforts towards anti-bias and anti-racist work. Boulder is not too much of a diverse place so it speaks volumes that this school is working collectively to unlearn how schools traditionally perpetuate white supremacy and how they can actively dismantle that narrative.”
Boulder Journey School Teacher Education Program 
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