Oregon’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

Ethelyn Tumalad is an English and AVID teacher at Clackamas High School. Last week, she was named Oregon’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. We talk to Tumalad about what this last year of teaching has been like, and what the award means for her.

This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. Oregon has a new K-12 Teacher of the Year. Ethelyn Tumalad is a language arts teacher at Clackamas High School. She also teaches a college prep class for first generation immigrants, an experience she knows intimately. Tumalad was five years old when she and her family arrived in the Northwest from the Philippines. In a video message during the announcement event, Governor Kate Brown said that “inside and outside the classroom, Ethelyn is a strong advocate, a wonderful listener and an empathetic colleague, teacher and friend.” Ethelyn Tumalad, congratulations and welcome.

Ethelyn Tumalad: Thank you, thank you so much and I’m very, very grateful to be here, and I’m grateful to be honored and named and it is absolutely such a privilege. So thank you.

Miller: It’s great to have you on. How did you find out you had been named Oregon’s Teacher of the Year?

Tumalad: [Laughs] It’s a funny process, really. So I was nominated last year by one of my students. They don’t tell you who nominates you, but you’re nominated first. And then after that, you’re encouraged to apply. And it’s a process. So I applied, with the encouragement of some of my North Clackamas School District folks, especially Matt Utterback. He said “Ethelyn, please, you should do this.”

Miller: He’s the Superintendent of the district.

Tumalad: Yeah, the Superintendent of the Year at one point, said “Ethelyn, you should do this.” [Laughs] So I did, I applied . . .

Miller: Was that weird? Because it’s one thing to have somebody to nominate you. But then to actually have to say to state-level bureaucrats, “I’m an amazing teacher and here’s why.” Had you ever done that before?

Tumalad: No, never in my life, I’ve never gone to that level. And I guess to harken back to your question of when I found out, it was just so shocking, and it still feels very surreal. I will keep using the word ‘surreal’ for multiple reasons One of them being, I don’t really see a lot of people who look like me, and whose stories are centered out within that realm, if that makes sense. And also my parents always taught me to be humble. So for me to walk up to someone who’s in a lot of power, by the way, humble brag of, “Oh, by the way, I am Oregon Teacher of the Year.” That’s just not something that I’m used to, or I don’t know if I can ever imagine myself doing it, but we’ll see within the next year or so.

Miller: Right, so let’s go back a bit, because in a sense you were getting this when you’re saying that you don’t see too many people who look like you in this role. As I mentioned, you left the Philippines and came to the northwest with your family when you were five years old. What do you remember about school early on?

Tumalad: In the Philippines or in America? Because there is a difference.

Miller: So you went to school before you arrived? At five?

Tumalad: Yeah, I went to kindergarten in the Philippines. So I have memories of being in kindergarten, in the Philippines...And I always say this: my dad was a military man. He was a product of the Navy. He did 20-plus years in the Navy. So we lived in a lot of military housing. So I was used to my teachers and my classmates, who looked a little more like me over in the Philippines. Right? And then I have memories of all of a sudden going from one place to another. And there’s such a stark difference. Like my memories, my first memories of being in the Pacific Northwest were two things. One was, wow, it’s green, there’s a lot of trees, and two, people are really tall.

Miller: [Chuckling] I mean to be fair, that’s something that a lot of people who are five years old probably think.

Tumalad: Oh absolutely.

Miller: So what was it like to be in school without a lot of people who looked like you?

Tumalad: Oh it was jarring. And my parents, when we moved here, to the Pacific Northwest, I grew up in Washington. They ran their household as if it was still Manila, as if we still lived in the Philippines. So entering my house, which happened to speak Tagalog, and the culture is still Tagalog, that’s what I would be at home. And then when I walked through the doors of my school, I had all white friends essentially, all white teachers. I think I only had one teacher of color throughout my whole K-12 [school] life. And I remember she made such a big difference in my life. Because not only did she look like me, she saw this potential in me. And I remember that was one of the first times in my educational career, it was in eighth grade, that I remember thinking, ‘wow, like maybe I could be an educator’, because of her. Her name was Miss Pritchard . . . [pauses with emotion]

Miller: You’re thinking about her right now.

Tumalad: I am, I’m thinking of the moment when she looked at me and said ‘Ethelyn, you’re really shy’ – because I as I stated, I’m an introvert – ‘but I see something in you, you’re going into English, why don’t you go into Accelerate English’, or I think they call it Honors English during the time. And my parents, during parent-teacher conferences, they said, ‘I don’t know what that is, but just do it because your teacher told you to do it’. And I thought [inaudible] I guess this is what I have to do. And of course, that led me to the path to AP English that led me to the path to being an English major, and guess what I do today? [Laughs] I’m an English teacher. So yeah, there’s definitely that ripple effect right? That you don’t realize you have, and I see so much in my students and the educators around me.

Miller: Do you think that the message would have hit you differently if that praise, that request to draw you out of your shell, and to push you in this case into, you know, a higher level english class, if that had come, not from somebody who looked like you, but from some white dude, a white English teacher, wouldn’t have hit you differently?

Tumalad: Absolutely, it would’ve hit me differently. I would have been more scared, I’m not gonna lie. You have this Japanese lady, she was Japanese who once again, she looked like me, she got to know me, and on top of that there was just this connection. I remember her. She taught literature and she taught history that was reflective of people who look like me. That was the only time I remember learning about Japanese internment camp, honestly, was in her class. And as much as I loved my white male teachers or even my white female teachers, there were still some times that I was scared. And there was that – I’m not gonna say disconnect per se, because there wasn’t a disconnect – I was in a predominant white culture. And I had to negotiate that in my identity repeatedly. That’s why when I introduce myself, I say I’m Filipino-American. I have the Filipino part, and then I have the dominant culture part on the other end of my identity. But to answer your question, I do think it definitely would have hit differently. I don’t know if it would have had as much of the same effect.

Miller: How did you decide to become a teacher? I mean, the way you told that story just now, it was like a teacher said, ‘you’re really good in English, you should do this higher level class’. You did, you went to an AP class, then you stayed with it in college and voila, now you’re an English teacher. But there were a lot of decisions along the way, you could have done anything I imagine. Why teach?

Tumalad: Absolutely, that’s always kind of been a journey for me. I think naturally [I’ve] kind of always been an educator. I stated I was the first in my family to go to college. And on top of it, I’m the eldest, and in Filipino culture I’m the panganay - that’s what we call it. The eldest in the family, and therefore there’s a lot of responsibility that falls on you. There’s a lot of that pseudo-parental figure and role, right …

Miller: How many younger siblings do you have?

Tumalad: Oh, I have two. However, my family in California is really large. My father’s side of the family, and so I have like 10 younger cousins down there. It felt as if I ended up being the teacher to a classroom almost, if that makes sense. You’re put in that role, so when I naturally fell into the panganay and ate role, those are honorific forms, I found myself okay, I am naturally finding myself to become a teacher. I ended up falling in love with English literature. The power of language, I saw the power in which that could be when you’re bilingual, and when I went and taught a little bit overseas, I saw that even more. When I came back and I got my Masters in English literature and then my Master’s in teaching, that was when I knew that I really, really wanted to focus on becoming that teacher that really helps students find themselves, and kind of gain agency in the classroom. To think critically about the world and because it’s kind of like, I knew Mrs. Pritchard had been there, but I wish someone had helped me do that in my K-12 education.

Miller: What is your definition of what it means to be a good teacher?

Tumalad: [Laughs] Wow, that is the question.

Miller: Shouldn’t [it] mean that we should all be thinking about this? And I mean not just in education, but it’s few things are more important.

Tumalad: Well for me, what it means to be a good teacher at the end of the day, I will always repeat it, that it’s all about the student. Honestly, it’s all about the student and everything I do in my classroom and in my community. I will keep saying that, I guess. My classroom is my community. I am really putting the whole child and the student first, getting to know the students, creating those relationships, creating those authentic connections with the students, so that first they’re home, second they can learn and they can make mistakes, and they can explore who they are in your classroom. I think for me that’s what makes a good educator, and I have amazing mentors that I feel like did some very similar things for me.

Miller: How do you know, you’ve succeeded? I mean, what are your own metrics for success?

Tumalad: [Laughs] That’s a really good question, I love it. I know at the end of the day I know I’ve succeeded when my students come back to me and say, “Oh Miss Tumalad, thank you for seeing something in me that I didn’t realize I had? It’s when I walked with my students at the George Floyd march with my Black student union. My APISU students were also there, the Asian Pacific Islander Student Union, my Latinex Student Union kids were there, and I knew I had done something right with my AVID students and my students in my classroom, when I saw all of them walking together in solidarity. I remember that moment. Your heart is pounding and you’re watching your kids and … I’m hearing my language right now, like ‘your kids’. You’re watching your students and my students be these change agents in their community. I think that’s when I know I’ve done something.

Miller: Do you think of yourself as a tough teacher, as a demanding teacher?

Tumalad: Yes, I do. I don’t think I do, but then now that I’m hearing my students say it, yes, I’ve I’ve gotten that role before, or I’ve got I’ve gotten that – what’s the right word for it? – I’ve gotten that adjective put on me, where they say ‘you’re a bit of a demander, you expect a lot out of us, but you’re realistic as to what it is that we can give you.’

Miller: I mean, shouldn’t a teacher expect a lot from their students, to help students be their best?

Tumalad: I think so, but also not every student will give you the same thing. Because every student is different. And I think at the end of the day it’s up to you as the educator to really find out what that is, and to know your students well, what makes them who they are as human beings, what they love, what connections they have.

Miller: How much can you do if you have 35 students in one class and you have, I don’t know, how many other classes? How well can you connect one on one with all of your students regularly?

Tumalad: Once again, it’s a community in our classroom, not just a classroom, but our high school. I come from the Clackamas High School community. So, to think back to what you’re saying, it’s really hard, it’s really difficult. And as said before, sometimes teachers are asked to do the impossible and sometimes that is impossible. I have the privilege of being able to be an AVID teacher as you had stated. And AVID is such a unique program because you have the same kids from freshman until seniors.

Miller: And this is the college prep elective? People choose to be in it, and this is for first generation Americans?

Tumalad: Yes. So it’s for first-generation college-bound kids. Last year I had 60 AVID students. I had two classes of students that I had from freshman to seniors, and I watched them graduate, and I had them all since they were freshmen. I knew them inside and out. At least I had that. This year I have 30 AVID students, and I have them as seniors and they’re amazing. But it’s students who, similarly to me, as you have stated, their parents didn’t go to college and obviously they’re amazing kids. They usually get C, B, A range of grades and you see this potential in the student and you say, ‘hey, if you want to go to college, you can, and this is how I can help you’. And it’s an elective the students take. We do study skills, we do collaborative groups, we just basically apply for college together or whatever: post-secondary choice, that they want to have after high school.

Miller: How much do you find yourself saying to these, these kids, a version of what Miss Pritchard said to you, ‘I see something in you, you can do this’?

Tumalad: Every day. [Laughs] I feel sometimes every day. Where, because sometimes you have to be that tough love person, like, ‘I know you can do better’. You see a student not wanting to turn in their work. You see a student who would rather be doing a Tiktok video in the bathroom versus being in the classroom. And you think, ‘hey, what’s going on?’ Talk to me. Also, ‘you’re better than this. Can we work on this together?’ And I think that at the end of the day, once again, relationships [are] what’s important to me as an educator.

Miller: How do you think the last year-and-a-half have fully online and then hybrid and then now back but in a weird way, how do you think the last year-and-a-half has changed you as a teacher?

Tumalad: Oh my goodness, it’s changed me so much in the sense that I know how much more important – well, I don’t know if more important is the right term for it – but I know how significant it is now to really focus on social, emotional learning, mental health and everything our students are going through. And I always remind myself what students are going through, our educators are probably going through too. So it’s really changed the way that I see and treat people. And it’s really changed the way that I do things in my class, where I tell people sometimes, it’s okay. Sometimes ... we don’t get to the content and I know that feels very controversial to say. But at the end of the day, I want to make sure my student is okay in my classroom, and that they’re making the connections, and that they’re belonging, and that they can take care of themselves, and can know who they are, and regulate their emotions, and create empathy with the person sitting next to them. I think that’s really what’s changed a lot in the way that I do things due to this pandemic, since we’ve been going through such a turbulent time.

Miller: Over the last couple years as districts in Oregon and all around the country have become more intentional about diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, there’s been a growing backlash. We can see it in a lot of ways. Laws in various states against teaching critical race theory, which has not really been a part of K-12 curricula. Also bans like in Newburg displaying Black Lives Matter signs or Pride flags. What do you see as a teacher’s role as these issues have become politicized?

Tumalad: A teacher’s role at the end of the day for me, and I’ve always kind of been unapologetically myself, is, and for me it’s to be themselves and model empathy for students. I have these things in my classroom. I have those signs …

Miller: Meaning Black Lives Matter signs or Pride flags?

Tumalad: Yeah, I do. And I started with those, so this was even before everything was getting banned. So I went to my administration and said, ‘hey, am I going to be okay with this?’ And I teach “To Kill A Mockingbird.” I teach Americans like me. I teach things which I hope will create bridges and empathy with my students, and I want them to think critically about the world. So for me, I really do think that it is the role of an educator to be themselves and to help students feel like they belong and be themselves.

Miller: Ethelyn Tumulad, thanks so much for giving us some of your time in a busy week and congratulations again.

Tumalad: Of course. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Miller: Ethelyn Tumalad is a teacher at Clackamas High School, recently named Oregon’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

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