About Me

My name is Jose Cantera and I was born in Colima, Mexico but I am also familiar with Jalisco and Baja California as those three states is usually where I reside and travel. However, I spent a large portion of my educational years in California where I went to school and am continuing my education in order to teach at a high school level. I graduated from San Pasqual High School in Escondido after turning my life around and going from being a D student my freshman year to an A student my senior year. After high school I attended Palomar College for a year and a half doing general education courses. During this time I realized my passion for history and the importance of it needing to be taught. I was able to transfer to UCLA with a 4.0 transcript where I continued my education in upper division history courses. When I received my B.A. in History from UCLA I felt as if any obstacles or struggles that had gotten in the way through the course of my education were all worth overcoming. During the course of my education I increasingly understood the importance of learning and why obtaining knowledge is essential to the development of people. Originally I disliked school and my grades reflected it but I believe it was because I was personally fighting against education. It just took that one teacher that went the extra mile to encourage me to be better and that I could advance myself through education. I then understood that education is an important tool that can not only be used for personal benefit but can also be used on the next generation of students that may need some encouragement.

I consider myself to be fairly proficient in the understanding of technology regarding both software and hardware. I attempt to keep up with the latest technology as long as it is not a Mac related product as I for the most part personally boycott their products.....my brand loyalty regarding operating systems is reserved for Microsoft. I also keep up with the latest homebrew software in order to get things done quicker on a computer, I often get calls from friends and family to go fix their computers for them. I believe it is in the best interest of society to move towards technology as it is able to further expand our abilities as a whole. As such the use of technology in a classroom environment serves as a tool to expand the educational ability of teachers and diversify their lectures to students. If students are eager to use technology during class then it should be used towards their educational benefit.

The mission statement for the CSUSM School of Education speaks to me in perusing a credential program because it speaks about transforming public education through its educators. I believe that is a very important aspect in education, a teacher has to be willing and able to be a be creative and try new approaches to teaching, such as the use of technology in a teaching environment. Diversity, equality, and justice are also important because no student should have to feel like they are separate from the class, instead they should be part of the learning experience. Students need to feel like they are eager to go to school and learn because they want to and know it is a benefit to them.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, that is crazy that you went from a D student in your freshman year to a 4.0 student in college. I don't think I have ever heard that before. Really cool. I would have to disagree with you about the Mac boycot. I had your line of thinking before, then I got a Macbook, and 3 years later its still working great.

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  2. Jose!

    We went to the same high school! What year did you graduate? And also, might I add, your story is very inspiring! That's awesome that you were able to transform your mindset and stop your personal fight against education! A 4.0 in college is amazing!

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  3. Jose! We share the same passion! I graduated from Sonoma State, majoring in History as well! I agree that it is essential for the youth to learn about our History! I love how you transformed from a D student to an A student. Thats is huge accomplishment all in its own!

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