Celia Liu and Crystal Wang
When imagining the word “teacher,” we would often think of a strict, boring, gloomy instructor who only seems to care about getting the lesson across, without allowing students to ever fully understand or enjoy the subject. There’s no debate that these types of teachers make it hard to properly excel in school, let alone be happy to be in school.
However, with Mr. Salazar, a freshman Global Studies teacher at Cardozo High School, that isn’t the case. Mr. Salazar is an engaging and fun teacher who not only tries his best to get his students to understand the material, he tries to get them to enjoy it, and really fall in love with history.
“I try to make sure they have the support they need. I’m always available for help, questions, and I make sure they know that they can ask me anything, since I believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question,” Mr. Salazar said. “On top of teaching regular content and from the curriculum, I also try to pepper in some life advice—such as how to save money, college preparation, and alternatives to college, such as trade school.”
Aside from schoolwork, he also often converses with students about different hobbies and interests, such as Mr. Salazar’s not-so-secret interests in popular Japanese animation Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures and the popular board game Dungeons and Dragons.
“I grew up as the son of two immigrant parents that came from Columbia, and growing up without having parents that speak English was very difficult,” the social studies teacher shared. “My goal is to help students that come from a similar background and to make sure we all have an opportunity in America.” As there are many students in Cardozo who are children of immigrants, this might help them be able to find comfort in having a teacher with a background they can relate to and seek help from.
His parents really helped motivate and shape him as a person. When asked who his hero is, Mr. Salazar replied, “My mother. She sacrificed everything for me to be successful in life. She came from Columbia with nothing, and she is my hero.”
While he seems like a fun and easy going teacher on the surface, at times, Mr. Salazar can act strictly or harshly on students. “If I’m hard on my students, it’s usually because I know they have the potential to do better than how they are currently doing,” he stated. “I don’t believe I’m being harsh on them; more so that I challenge them because I hope that they’d become the best version of themselves.”
“You are molded through life by adversity, and if you’re not being challenged, you’re not growing,” he added. And, when asked what advice he had to lend his students, a piece of wisdom he shared was, “Always keep yourself busy. Never get comfortable. When you’re comfortable, that is when you decay and stop growing.”
