Easing Difference by Exploring It

Asil Yassine: It's so interesting
reflecting on my own education

because some of
the most traumatic moments

were caused by the fact
that I was an English language learner.

Um, some of my worst memories
of schools

were because I read
something aloud wrong,

or because I didn't feel confident
in my writing,

um, or I had struggled with reading, um,

particularly in a very public audience,

and so when I see my students
struggle in class,

I think every educator
has empathy for their students

because they are just great people, um,

but, I often had flashbacks
in the classroom

of watching a student struggle,
um, with reading,

and then remembering my own struggles,
and so I think that connection

has been very important to me,
and has more than anything

motivated me to continue learning
about how to support them.