MILWAUKEE — If you search the word teaching, you get definitions describing it as an instructor, encourager, or trainer. But what’s not necessarily defined, is the job in between all of those words.
“We are a teacher, we are parents, we are a nurse, we are a social worker, we are psychologists, we are big sisters, we are all of those things because we have to love who they are first and work with who they are,” fifth grade Samuel Clemens teacher Aruna Halala-Bischudh said.
Ms. Aruna Halala-Bischudh knows this because she has lived it for the last two decades, starting at Keefe Avenue Elementary School 24 years ago. She has spent her last four years at Samuel Clemens.
"It’s fighting against people's misconceptions of who our students are, what they can do, what they can't do, what we do, what they think we don't do, and that kind of-- I don't want to say ignorance but lack of knowledge when it comes to what we deal with as teachers every single day. It is rewarding but there are also challenges.”
Ms. Halala-Bischudh is fighting those misconceptions every day by helping her students put their best foot forward. This has been shown in one big way with six of her students making it to the spelling bee finals.
“It is not about the trophy at the end of the day, it is not about the award, it is about you getting onto that stage and doing the best that you can do, representing yourself, taking that goal that you had of competing in the spelling bee and saying I have done all of this work, I put in all the effort and now it is my time to stand on stage and celebrate.”
Ms. Halala-Bischudh practices with the students for an hour a day.
“Slumber,” she asked a student to spell. “Slumber.”
Third-grade student Gionnii Northern responded, “Like a slumber party?”
Out of 50 students from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, Gionnii will be one of three that will represent the school on stage. His twin sister will be his alternate.
And in true sibling rivalry fashion, he says he is the best speller between the two.
“You know she’s going to see this; you want to change your answer or keep the same one?” reporter Symone Woolridge asked.
“I'm going to keep the same one,” he said while smiling.
Although Gionnii is in good spirits, his confidence isn’t 100%. He is nervous about the big stage.
“Why are you nervous?” Symone asked.
“Because if I mess up that would be embarrassing because everybody is sitting in the audience.”
As Ms. Halala-Bischudh listened to his words, she stopped and stepped in immediately.
"We know what you can do,” she told Gionnii. “We know you are intelligent, you are smart, and you are committed. You believe that about yourself too, right?”
“Yeah,” Gionnii replied.
It's about the power of believing.
This is something 5th grader Ma’Laiya Smith, who will also be on stage, is working on too.
“I only talk to my family and my friends,” Ma’Laiya said.
Ma'Laiya is a district-wide poetry slam winner and even won a UWM writing competition on space.
“Phobias are not a phobi.. Joke,“ she said as she read her poem aloud.
While talking about the kinds of phobias and fears, she revealed her own.
"It builds my confidence really up and I have stage fright so I'm only doing this to, just to get over that stage fright. Now if I get over my stage fright I can talk in front of a large audience.”
Ms. Halala-Bischudh said it’s about building the students' confidence and setting a goal to achieve the work on the stage, so once they get there, they know they’ve already won.
“It’s nerve-racking because you're like a mother sitting in the audience like oh, I hope they do well. And for me, it's not oh I hope they do well to win something. It's I want them to do well because I know they've invested so much time. They've invested so much of their spirit in what they're doing."
Samuel Clemens school principal Garry Lawson describes Ms. Halala-Bischudh as the best fifth-grade teacher in the district.
"I'm humbled by that but what I do doesn't occur in isolation. I am who I am because of the experiences that I've had as a teacher, I am who I am because I have an administrator who supports me, I am who I am and I can do what I can do because I have teachers and staff members who are all about making sure what we do is for our children."
TMJ4 partnered with Milwaukee Public Schools for the 2023 Spelling Bee Finals. On April 15, students from 3rd-5th grade classrooms will face off for trophies. On April 22, the students from 6th-8th grade will match up. The Spelling Bee starts at 9 a.m. and is expected to wrap by 1 p.m. on both days.
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