Understanding Ms. Herrera’s Point Of View

Rachel Herrera has been teaching Physics in Mission High School for 3 years. She is an understanding and supportive teacher who tries to meet students halfway. Ms. Herrera is located on the third floor of Mission High School in room 337. Her door is always open during lunch for questions you may have, don’t be afraid to ask for her help. 

Ms. Herrera didn’t always want to be a physics teacher. At first, she  wanted to teach English but her parents wanted something different for her future. They wanted her to study engineering in college so she would have better job opportunities. Since she already had engineering experience, Stanford wanted her to major in Physics instead of English.

“I’ve fallen in love with it, even though I didn’t want it at first,” said Ms. Herrera.

Ms. Herrera feels like she has learned a lot in college and young adulthood. She would love to teach her students what she knows about the real world, if they are willing and interested in learning, but if not that’s completely understandable if you are ignorant. She loves working with people instead of sitting all day, staring into a computer.

 In class, Ms Herrera likes spending time with her students, supporting their learning process, and watching them “gradually grow into fully functional human beings,” said Ms. Herrera.  Even though it’s not easy, she said it’s worth watching them evolve. 

Students feel very comfortable with Ms. Herrera, and several have had her as a teacher more than once.

“Just ask her questions (and) she’ll love you,” said Gigi Gonzalez about her experience with Ms. Herrera as a teacher, after having taken physics with Ms. Herrera in her sophomore year, and now as a senior in AP physics.

“She is a good teacher,” said Maliyah Crowell, a sophomore and Physics student in Ms. Herrera’s class. “She is good at explaining problems to students that don’t understand it.”

After hours, Rachel takes her dog Oliva for a walk to the park. When she is back home she starts planning for her next class, how to improve her teaching skills for those students that may need it, and grading student work.  When she is done putting in grades, she starts cooking dinner with her fiancée (who is soon to be her wife).  They plan to get married in April in Cartagena, Colombia! <3