Jones College Prep’s “Staff of the Month” was awarded to Bryant Jaramillo, the AP Computer Science principles teacher. Students are able to nominate any staff member that they believe has been exemplary, and this November Mr. Jaramillo was honored.
“Mr. Jaramillo is incredibly patient, understanding, and helpful during [AP Computer Science Principles] AP CSP,” said Mr. Jaramillo’s nominator. Computer science is Jaramillo’s area of expertise here at Jones, but his original plan wasn’t to become a teacher.
“Before I began teaching, I worked as a web and app developer for a mortgage company,” said Jaramillo. “I did that right out of school and enjoyed my time there, but an opportunity came up near where I lived that was interesting to me.”
That opportunity turned into what he’s done for the past 7 years.
“I was always intrigued by teaching, and I love computer science. That’s what I went to school for,” said Jaramillo. “So I thought I would give it a shot to see if I enjoyed teaching, and I enjoyed it so much that I’ve done it ever since.”
But with a career shift, this award didn’t come without its initial hardships.
“I didn’t go to school to teach, I went to school for computer science. So the biggest challenge for me is learning on the job. When I first started teaching, I knew what I wanted to teach, but I had to work on delivering the lessons without any prior experience.” said Jaramillo “I had to learn to adapt to my students strengths and weaknesses and basically create a curriculum on my own, but after I figured it out, the rest was easy.”
Students of varying levels in computer science skills take AP CSP, so Jaramillo tries to make the learning experience welcoming.
“I try to make computer science as engaging and approachable as possible, I think that’s the philosophy we have,” said Jaramillo. “We have one opportunity to introduce students to computer science in a friendly and engaging way, and we try to teach the class in a way that even if you’ve never touched a computer, you could still approach it and latch on to it.”
Jaramillo comes up with fun and interesting projects that students can actively engage in.
“The last project we worked on was a program where the students take on a Pokemon, and train it to get stronger,” said Jaramillo. “Students really like when the programs they make involve things that they already like. So when students can learn and be engaged in what they’re making, I think that makes for a good time in class.”
With such difficult concepts, the class can seem daunting, but Jaramillo constantly reminds his students of future opportunities.
Jaramillo’s win as “Staff of the Month” came as an unexpected but pleasant surprise.
“I think that students enjoy what they’re doing in class. A lot of students say they look forward to [computer science], and that’s always great to hear,” said Jaramillo. “I definitely appreciate it, and it was a big surprise, but I’m very proud and happy that students enjoy the class enough to make that nomination.”
Jaramillo’s advice serves as a positive reinforcement for aspiring educators.
“What I would tell my younger self is to “do you”. Teach your strengths, don’t try to copy what others are doing.” said Jaramillo “I think teaching is very rewarding, as long as you’re teaching something you’re passionate about, something that you love. If you enjoy what you teach, it won’t feel like a job.”
