Credit: Viviana Mendoza
If you were to show up at Natomas High School in the middle of the school day, you would likely stumble upon my students walking around the campus in lab coats and examining their environment, looking for answers to questions that they themselves have posed.
That’s because, as an Advanced Placement (AP) seminar and research teacher, I teach my students to think outside the box to fan the flames of their intellectual curiosity. And to this day, I never cease to be amazed by the theories they pose and the conclusions they draw.
There’s nothing more gratifying for me than challenging students who for too long have been shackled by low expectations to take my AP classes. Many of them are surprised to learn that these are often the most creative classes they’ve ever participated in. I then get to watch them thrive as they develop and practice life skills in research, collaboration and…
