ACTIONN VOICES

12 Year Old Dreams of Her Future

 Nayeli Castillo First Public Speaking

On March 26, 2014, 12 year old Nayeli Castillo delivered an amazing speech in support of Parent Teacher Home Visits. Here it is in her words. 

I am twelve years old and in sixth grade at Echo Loder elementary school. My dad is Jose Castillo and my mom is Yolanda Partida. I have a twin brother, Daniel. I started at Echo Loder in kindergarten. My mom and dad are from Mexico and they speak Spanish.

When I’m not at school, I usually do my homework and read. On the weekends, I like to spend time with my family, play games, or read scary stories for fun. In school, I love doing math because it’s challenging.

I have never had a home visit before this year. When I found out my teacher was going to come to my home, I felt excited. I felt special because none of my other teachers had come to my home.

 I was also a little nervous because I was worried my teacher might say bad things about how I am in school. But it turned out to be all good things.

My teacher, Mrs. Morton, and my brother’s teacher, Mrs. Thobodeaux, came to my house in November. They talked with my parents about my future, like my goals for middle school and high school and what I want to do when I grow up. They talked a little about how school was going, and about the soccer game on TV. 

They also met my crazy uncle, who ended up doing a lot of the talking, and made our teachers laugh. After the home visit, I didn’t feel nervous anymore because everyone had said nice things about me.

Because my mom is usually working and hadn’t been able to come to teacher conferences, she isn’t usually able to meet my teachers. The Parent Teacher Home Visit made me feel special.

I have been dreaming about my future goals, especially since the home visit. I am dreaming about becoming a teacher because I like to help students and I am patient. If I were a teacher, I would like to do home visits myself because I think it’s important for even the parents who can’t come to conferences to be able to meet their children’s teachers. I hope there will be a home visit program when I become a teacher!