Chandy Thai-Tang teaches second grade at Robertson Road Elementary School. (Photo: ADRIAN MENDOZA/THE BEE)2 from Modesto in running for state teacher of the year
The winner will move on to the national competition
July 16, 2007
By MERRILL BALASSONE
mbalassone@modbee.com
Modesto Bee (California, USA)
This week, Lance Underwood is on his first child-free vacation in 30 years as a public school teacher.
It's a well-deserved break for the music teacher at Roosevelt Junior High School, who has a talent for keeping 150 hormone-ravaged teenagers and their musical instruments confined to what he calls a "controlled chaos."
Underwood's vacation is usually spent with nearly 50 of his students on a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C., over spring break.
This year, he also decided to squeeze in a vacation with his wife in Hawaii. And just days before they jumped on the plane, Underwood, 53, was chosen as one of two teachers to represent Stanislaus County in the state Teacher of the Year competition.
"He's very passionate about music, and he taught us how to express ourselves through music," said Victoria Pardini, a former student who will be a sophomore at Modesto High School this fall. "He gave us more than strict music lessons. He taught us concert etiquette and how to be good performers."
Chandy Thai-Tang, a second-grade teacher at Modesto's Robertson Road Elementary School, also will move on to the state competition.
Thai-Tang and Underwood now have the opportunity to become one of five California Teachers of the Year, according to the Stanislaus County Office of Education.
Announcements usually are made in early November, according to SCOE. One state winner then proceeds to the national level.
Underwood's father was a teacher at Modesto High School and his mother taught at Burbank Elementary School in Modesto. He found a job teaching choir, orchestra, and the symphonic and concert bands at Roosevelt almost by accident.
He graduated with a music degree with an emphasis in vocals from a small liberal arts college in Kentucky, and first took jobs as a janitor, at McDonald's, in canneries and on ranches.
Underwood had little experience with instruments and soon learned to "get by" with piano and to play trumpet, tuba, baritone (a minituba), clarinet and saxophone.
Even with three decades of experience, things don't always run smoothly in Underwood's class. Some students come to class missing instrument parts or rush out midconcert for a bathroom break.
But Victoria, the former student, said it was hard even for teenagers to ruffle Underwood's laid-back attitude.
"It's very hard to make him angry during class," she said. "He's a really good teacher and a really good person, you can tell."
Underwood said his goal is to have his students appreciate the music around them in their everyday lives. That means everything from the cheesy Muzak piped into elevators and department stores to highbrow classical music.
"I ask them, 'Where have you been where music isn't used?' " Underwood said.
Miles away in a south Modesto classroom, Thai-Tang uses a picture book made by former students, called "The Life of Chandy Thai-Tang," to tell her second-grade students what her life was like at 8 years old.
Thai-Tang, 35, escaped the horror of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia during the late 1970s, after enduring nearly four years of starvation and slavery. In 1981, her family came to the United States. By the time she entered fourth grade, Thai-Tang had only three months of formal education.
"I feel like I've lived a long, long time," Thai-Tang said. "With my survival story, I feel I have a lot to offer children."
And Thai-Tang's students need a lot. More than half of her students speak other languages at home and are learning English at school. Almost all come from low-income families.
"I work very hard to involve parents in the classroom, to help teach lessons about their home cultures and tutor students," Thai-Tang said. "But some parents don't feel comfortable helping in the classroom because of the language barrier."
First-year Principal Michele Gutierrez nominated Thai-Tang for the award.
"She's a stellar teacher," Gutierrez said. "She makes a wonderful connection between parents and the classroom."
But Thai-Tang admits there are parts of her job she hates. Namely, the state tests she must give her students every year that determine a school's fate under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Though many of her students make great progress during the year, Thai-Tang says the test is just too difficult for children who are just beginning to learn English.
Thai-Tang remembers one student who placed a Buddha statue on her desk as she handed out the tests.
"She said she needed Buddha to give her good luck blessings to do well on the test," Thai-Tang said. "And I cried, because I was upset at the system. It ruins their self-confidence."
Thai-Tang tries to restore the children's confidence using what she loved as a fourthgrader learning English. Her students use drama, act out scenes and play charades to become more comfortable with the language.
"I feel blessed to be a teacher," Thai-Tang said. "I'd never go into any other profession. (My students') future is the future of our county."
Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.
It's a well-deserved break for the music teacher at Roosevelt Junior High School, who has a talent for keeping 150 hormone-ravaged teenagers and their musical instruments confined to what he calls a "controlled chaos."
Underwood's vacation is usually spent with nearly 50 of his students on a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C., over spring break.
This year, he also decided to squeeze in a vacation with his wife in Hawaii. And just days before they jumped on the plane, Underwood, 53, was chosen as one of two teachers to represent Stanislaus County in the state Teacher of the Year competition.
"He's very passionate about music, and he taught us how to express ourselves through music," said Victoria Pardini, a former student who will be a sophomore at Modesto High School this fall. "He gave us more than strict music lessons. He taught us concert etiquette and how to be good performers."
Chandy Thai-Tang, a second-grade teacher at Modesto's Robertson Road Elementary School, also will move on to the state competition.
Thai-Tang and Underwood now have the opportunity to become one of five California Teachers of the Year, according to the Stanislaus County Office of Education.
Announcements usually are made in early November, according to SCOE. One state winner then proceeds to the national level.
Underwood's father was a teacher at Modesto High School and his mother taught at Burbank Elementary School in Modesto. He found a job teaching choir, orchestra, and the symphonic and concert bands at Roosevelt almost by accident.
He graduated with a music degree with an emphasis in vocals from a small liberal arts college in Kentucky, and first took jobs as a janitor, at McDonald's, in canneries and on ranches.
Underwood had little experience with instruments and soon learned to "get by" with piano and to play trumpet, tuba, baritone (a minituba), clarinet and saxophone.
Even with three decades of experience, things don't always run smoothly in Underwood's class. Some students come to class missing instrument parts or rush out midconcert for a bathroom break.
But Victoria, the former student, said it was hard even for teenagers to ruffle Underwood's laid-back attitude.
"It's very hard to make him angry during class," she said. "He's a really good teacher and a really good person, you can tell."
Underwood said his goal is to have his students appreciate the music around them in their everyday lives. That means everything from the cheesy Muzak piped into elevators and department stores to highbrow classical music.
"I ask them, 'Where have you been where music isn't used?' " Underwood said.
Miles away in a south Modesto classroom, Thai-Tang uses a picture book made by former students, called "The Life of Chandy Thai-Tang," to tell her second-grade students what her life was like at 8 years old.
Thai-Tang, 35, escaped the horror of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia during the late 1970s, after enduring nearly four years of starvation and slavery. In 1981, her family came to the United States. By the time she entered fourth grade, Thai-Tang had only three months of formal education.
"I feel like I've lived a long, long time," Thai-Tang said. "With my survival story, I feel I have a lot to offer children."
And Thai-Tang's students need a lot. More than half of her students speak other languages at home and are learning English at school. Almost all come from low-income families.
"I work very hard to involve parents in the classroom, to help teach lessons about their home cultures and tutor students," Thai-Tang said. "But some parents don't feel comfortable helping in the classroom because of the language barrier."
First-year Principal Michele Gutierrez nominated Thai-Tang for the award.
"She's a stellar teacher," Gutierrez said. "She makes a wonderful connection between parents and the classroom."
But Thai-Tang admits there are parts of her job she hates. Namely, the state tests she must give her students every year that determine a school's fate under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Though many of her students make great progress during the year, Thai-Tang says the test is just too difficult for children who are just beginning to learn English.
Thai-Tang remembers one student who placed a Buddha statue on her desk as she handed out the tests.
"She said she needed Buddha to give her good luck blessings to do well on the test," Thai-Tang said. "And I cried, because I was upset at the system. It ruins their self-confidence."
Thai-Tang tries to restore the children's confidence using what she loved as a fourthgrader learning English. Her students use drama, act out scenes and play charades to become more comfortable with the language.
"I feel blessed to be a teacher," Thai-Tang said. "I'd never go into any other profession. (My students') future is the future of our county."
Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at mbalassone@modbee.com or 578-2337.
3 comments:
Way to go Chandy!
Congrats on your achievement!
Go Cambodian!!!!!!!
Hi..Neak Gruu Chandy, how are you doing?I would like to say Congratulation to you.Lynn Mass.
Congratulations, Chandy. You make us proud!
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