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This year鈥檚 teacher of the year credits 精品SM在线影片 professors and his parents for the honor

Gerardo Mu帽oz (Hist, LatAmerSt鈥�99) says his favorite experience at the 精品SM在线影片 was simply discovering professors who 鈥済enuinely cared鈥� about teaching. Mu帽oz himself now cares about teaching so much that he鈥檚 been named Colorado鈥檚 2021 teacher of the year.

But as an English major in the 1990s, he recalls taking introduction to prose with Professor Bruce Bassoff but adds he 鈥減erformed very poorly鈥� on the weekly essays he鈥檇 written.

鈥淒r. Bassoff was honest about my need to improve, but he was also 110% available to support my growth and learn my story,鈥� Mu帽oz said. 鈥淥ne day, he noticed that I had brought a copy of Downbeat magazine, a jazz publication, and we bonded over our mutual love of jazz music. We are still friends today.鈥�

Two lessons stand out from his time with Bassoff, Mu帽oz says: 鈥淥ne, to be proud of my name. I had gone by Jerry to make things convenient. One day, Bassoff declared to me quietly, 鈥榃ith a name like Gerardo you should not be going by Jerry.鈥� And second, he told me how proud he was of me. He said, 鈥榊ou are so teachable and eager to learn, you are a really good learner, even if you don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e a good student. At some point in my class, you took off and have been flying high since.鈥� It鈥檚 a point of pride that I carry with me, despite my many shortcomings 鈥� that no matter what, I am teachable and coachable.鈥�

He also calls history professor Martha Hanna an 鈥渁mazing mentor鈥� filled with passion. 鈥淚 simply took her classes because of who she was, more than the material being taught.鈥�

And Mu帽oz says another professor, Robert Hohlfelder, was so good at storytelling, he actually changed his major to history after taking his course, Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be interested, but his ability to tell stories and humanize the people of ancient Rome was incredible.鈥�

Those experiences stuck with him, he says, and now be hopes to do the same with his students. Mu帽oz, now a social studies teacher at Denver Center for International Studies, hopes to humanize history for his students by teaching through the lens of human experience and emotions.

鈥淚 encourage my students to think about how they would have felt in a historical moment, why they would have felt that way,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen we examine the sources of that moment, reflect on the perspectives, and try to make sense of why. It鈥檚 a heavy lift that requires deep thinking and culturally relevant materials, but it鈥檚 absolutely worth it 鈥� because history doesn鈥檛 belong in an ivory tower. History belongs to the people.鈥�

Mu帽oz said another influence on his decision to teach was his parents. 鈥淢y dad, who only has a sixth-grade education, was an astonishingly successful youth soccer coach, and my mom taught high school. They valued mentoring, supporting and encouraging youth to find gifts within themselves and to work hard to achieve goals. I always had the example that we should give of ourselves to the communities around us.鈥�

That decision to teach ended up being the right one. Mu帽oz was just named Colorado鈥檚 2021 teacher of the year. The Colorado Department of Education said he beat out 26 other teachers and that judges liked Mu帽oz鈥檚 dedication to teaching, his passion for social studies and social justice, and for 鈥渋nspiring a love of learning in his students that empowers them and prepares them to thrive.鈥� 听

His favorite part of teaching? 鈥淲atching students step into their power, voices and identities. I want every student to believe that they are exactly who they are supposed to be, and to understand that they are not to find a way to fit in, but to stand out.鈥�

Mu帽oz describes himself as 鈥渞elentlessly positive鈥� and that he believes every student is 鈥渦nique, talented and special. And when they start believing that, and it鈥檚 obvious when they do, they just move differently in the world.鈥�

He mentioned one student, a senior this year who has taken classes with him each year since ninth grade.

鈥淪he joked at my award ceremony that I鈥檝e got her so confident that I might need to dial it back. She told me, 鈥業鈥檓 like really confident right now!鈥欌��