We were lucky to catch up with Yaritza Villalba recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yaritza, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

When I was younger, I would come home from school and my sister, who is four years older, would spark a game of “school”. Where she would act like the teacher, and I would learn all the materials and skills she was learning. I would always return the next day wanting to learn more. The reason for this was because she made learning exciting. She filled the experience with joy, laughter and the material were always bite- sized and just right for me to comprehend and make connections.

Because of my experience with my sister, one aspect of the education system that I would change would be the opportunity for educators to create their own curriculum- that aligns to their student’s personal and cultural interests, diverse languages, and experiences. There is a need to rid society of colonized text and curriculum and to empower educators and students with curriculum and resources that spark joy!

In order to prepare students for life after school, we need to create curricula that encourages them to explore and learn 21st century skills, while also embracing who they are as individuals. Understanding the many challenges facing other students and communities around the world and creating possibilities/solutions to these global issues.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Once I graduated with my Bachelors in Africana Studies with a Minor in Education from the State University of New York (UALBANY), I returned to my High School, Boys and Girls High School, in Brooklyn NY, where I then became a History Teacher. There were two things I quickly noticed: the first was that the curriculum was the same as I had learned when I was a student there and the second was there was little to no integration of culturally responsive sustainable practices. The teachers were dedicated to ensuring each student’s success, but what was taught in Social Studies classes was not connected to student interest, culture, or experiences. This is the story of many schools throughout the United States and beyond. Teachers are motivated to teach and learn alongside students, but many are unaware of how to be culturally responsive or create opportunities in the classroom that empower students to make connections with the world around them.

I knew what it felt like to not be heard or listened to because of an adult’s decision to put me in ESL in elementary school and what was being called “Native” in High School. But I also knew the joy and love that I felt from being seen and empowered to do more, from teachers like my sister Yenifer.

I am a global educator. I began my teaching career at the age of 21, where I was teaching some students who were also 21 years of age. I taught Advanced Placement U.S. History and U.S History Prep to over-aged, under credited students in Brooklyn New York. I was encouraged and supported by administrators to create curricula that aligned to who my students were. For this, I no longer focused on outdated textbooks, or traditional modes of pedagogy. I focused on who my students were. We learned history through simulations, project based learning, and interactive notebooks.

I later began to share my practices with international educators via Twitter, and to my surprise, many were interested in learning more. I created my non-profit YV Educational Resources Inc 501(c)3, where I would fundraise to host free educational sessions for educators around the world. I shared best practices for using EdTech tools with diverse student populations and how important it was to build relationships with students and families alike. I hosted sessions for Administrators to learn culturally responsive strategies to use during PD or even while providing feedback to educators. This work inspired me to write and publish my first two culturally responsive children’s books: “McKenzie’s Time Machine” and “McKenzie’s Bisabuela”.

I began to consult and present my perspective and learnings of culturally responsive education, anti-racism, and equity with companies like Microsoft, Flipgrid (Microsoft Flip), Pear Deck, and Wakelet. I was given the chance to share with the world all the skills and strategies I learned from high expectations and building relationships with my students. I knew that my work was important and necessary around the world.

I am now the CEO and Founder of McKenzie’s Adventures LLC. We are a global educational consulting business, providing educational technology support, culturally responsive curriculum development, and keynote speaking services to organizations, schools, and districts around the world. I am most proud of the opportunity to share best practices with educators who believe in the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL), project-based learning (PBL) and joy, whilst learning about diverse cultures and teaching methodologies in different countries.

Clients love that I can present from an educator, administrator, consultant, and global presenter perspective. I can fully understand teachers, the things that may stress them out about the day-to-day planning, while also using my experience as an Assistant Principal of an Expeditionary Learning School to build relationships and present to admin about budgeting for teacher joy, support, and success.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I use Twitter and LinkedIn mostly to build my audience of social media. I share content and resources that I know my followers would use in and outside of the classroom. If you are just starting to build the social media presence, I would advise you to focus on the goal of your business. Your content should reflect your business offerings, where folks can meet you in person (conferences, book readings etc.) and opportunities to connect.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson that I had to unlearn is that not everyone in your circle is rooting for you. When I had my non-profit 501(c)3, a lot of the content and resources I was sharing was free of cost to everyone. Many of my presentations were unique because I was discussing topics that were fairly new to people and because of this, many wanted access to these presentations. I had people who were close to me, taking my material and presenting it as their own [without giving me credit] and getting paid a lot of money to present the content that I was offering for free.

I had to unlearn what I was taught as a teacher. As a teacher, you are taught to open your space to others, share in planning and preparation with your content colleagues. Now I know that everyone’s intentions are not the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mckenziesadventures.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaritza.v__/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaritza-villalba/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yaritzaV_

Image Credits
Jane Ji Eagle Academy for Young Men of Southeast Queens, New York IDEAcon Chebanate Middle School, Morocco Singapore American School, Singapore