Teacher of the Year Venezuela RPCV John Mach: His first-hand observation of the hardships of immigrant children has helped him learn how to break the language barrier
Breaking barriers
Teacher of the year uses experience to help students
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
His thirst for learning the Spanish language began when he was a 15-year-old peach picker in Marysville - the only American boy with a European last name working those orchards.
Surrounded by immigrant workers a decade older who spoke no English, the peach picker - now 57 years old - says he felt secluded.
"I was really alone out there," he said. "So I took Spanish in high school. I had a desire to learn the language so I could talk to them."
Some 40 years later, the peach picker is being recognized for teaching English to immigrants - people much like those he used to work with.
The peach picker - Dixon Unified School District Teacher of the Year John Mach - said his first-hand observation of the hardships of immigrant children has helped him learn how to break the language barrier.
"These kids have a tough life," Mach said. "And they can't be successful here without learning the language."
Mach, who began teaching at Dixon High School 21 years ago, said he never knew he'd end up being an educator.
"I thought maybe I'd be a diplomat," Mach said. "I always thought that would be neat."
Mach was a Spanish major at the University of California, Davis, following his graduation from Marysville High School. He entered the Peace Corps after college and served in Venezuela. From there, he didn't know what was next.
"I got a temporary teacher's credential in Kings City," Mach said. "I thought I'd do it for a year and then move on to something else. What happened is, I liked it, and I stayed in."
Mach stayed in Kings City, on California's central coast, for three years before becoming a migrant education advocate in Northern California for nine years. As an advocate, he visited schools all over the region to help local schools work with migrant students.
Mach said most of the people involved in migrant advocacy liked their position outside of the schoolhouses, but Mach was different. The more he visited classrooms, the more he wanted to be back in one.
Mach and his family lived in Dixon, and a position teaching English as a second language came open at Dixon High. After some thought, Mach applied for and got the job. Needless to say, it was a big change.
"I knew there'd be some kids with some real needs coming in," Mach said.
Mach teaches four ESL classes and one class called "native Spanish" - a Spanish class for Spanish-speaking students, similar to the English classes all English-speaking students have to take.
Mach said many of the students in these classes are hoping to attend a university after graduation, and need to meet foreign language requirements. These students have a choice: Take French and start from scratch, or refine their Spanish.
"This is a place where the Spanish-speaking students can really peak," Mach said, after leading the class in a reading of "Y Quiso Mas la Vida," a Cuban play often used in UC Davis Spanish classes.
Mach said working with the ESL students is a real challenge, especially given a new emphasis on language-development-based graduation requirements.
"If a student comes to California as a 10th-grader with no English at all, it's hard for them to pass a test interpreting poetry in three years," Mach said. "To me, it seems unreasonable."
But Mach, who was unanimously selected by a district committee for the annual honor and will vie for the county award this fall, said he and all of the district's ESL teachers strive to accomplish those goals.
"I think nothing's magical," he said. "I'm just building the skills necessary for these kids to grow."
Tom Hall can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
