Having taught for 10 years, Ms. Hughes has embraced the job. Becca studied at Brown University, in Providence, RI where she earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Urban Studies with a focus on urban and bilingual education. In 2003, Ms. Hughes earned a Master of Education from Salem State College, Salem, MA, focusing on secondary education and English as a Second Language.
“I knew that when I guided youth to find the passion in their voices, they had the potential to transform and improve their lives and communities. These voices emerged as I worked with groups of students at two schools to create a quarterly newspaper with a distribution of 30,000 that focused on issues affecting youth and their communities.”
“A student who was struggling to find meaning in school, came alive as he disparaged the graffiti that marred his school’s surroundings. After writing an article for our paper entitled ‘Stop Tagging’, he asked local businesses to help us create a mural on a nearby wall ridden with gang-related graffiti. Soon we had support to create the mural and discovered his artistic abilities. At the end of the semester, he wrote, ‘This leadership class is why I come to school. I now know what a leader really is. It’s not just someone with an important title; it is someone who makes a difference.’ I was amazed and inspired when I realized that my work with him and his classmates allowed them to discover the power of their voices. Now as a full time teacher, I am able to further empower students to find success by connecting real world learning to my students’ hidden talents.”
“True learning stems from their voices and the connections made as I facilitate an understanding of our commonalities and joint purpose in the classroom. With a foundation of ownership, I build within each individual student a sense of self-efficacy, a belief that no matter their background, they each have the power to rise above barriers. As a teacher of English as a Second Language at a middle school, I am able to understand my students’ academic needs and cultural backgrounds allowing me to draw out their voices and guide them to realize their dreams for change.”
“Becca possesses a level-headedness and a deep humanitarianism that translates into a classroom that is free of power struggles. She consistently ensures that even the most trying of our young adolescents learn important social skills and our most disadvantaged find they have a voice.” Lia Simnacher, M.A. Applied Linguistics, ESL teacher/trainer
