Professor says teachers should be engaged in the community

The teaching and scholarly interests of Professor Xaé Alicia Reyes are difficult to categorize, by her own admission.

“I’m eclectic,” she says.

An associate professor in the Neag School of Education, with a joint appointment in the Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Institute, Reyes prepares students to become teachers.

At least, that’s the shorthand way of describing what she does. But like Reyes herself, the longer version is more complex.

Her approach to teaching about teaching goes well beyond dissecting what goes on in an effective classroom and into the realm of what makes a top-shelf teacher tick.

Specifically, she tells students that civic engagement and spirituality are essential elements for developing empathy and an understanding of others’ needs and realities.

Reyes believes that a teacher who has Latin students in the classroom should visit countries where the students come from and get to know the people, nuances of language, and educational contexts.

“I want them to be very invested in the communities where they teach. Gaining some first-hand knowledge of the countries where their students and families come from is a good way to know the students better, and connect with them more effectively in the classroom,” Reyes says.

“Traveling helps make a top-notch scholar, and a better human being, too.”

She also believes that all people – not just students and teachers – tend to be more engaged in their communities if they join a church and participate in religious activities, or become involved in organizations such as soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

Her students participate in events on and off the Storrs campus, putting into practice the notion of learning beyond the classroom.

For her students, the local community is the classroom because, she says, “I have a gut belief that the university is supposed to serve society and not the other way around.”

On one occasion, she went with students to a “Day of the Dead” exhibit in Windham, featuring displays and “altares” by Mexican artist Carlos Hernández-Chávez .

It was an opportunity for students to walk around, ask questions, and learn something about how Mexicans commemorate the passing of loved ones.

“They also ‘discovered’ Windham,” Reyes adds, “which some of them had been exposed to through their school internships.”

Activism is at the heart of her teaching philosophy. Want to learn something about Latin culture? Visit a bodega. Never been to a Baptist church filled with African Americans? Attend a gospel concert. A synagogue? Partake in the celebration of a religious holiday such as Passover.

Between the lines of a rapid-fire conversation with Reyes is the inescapable thought that students can end up teaching themselves at least as much as someone else can teach them.

“I encourage them to stretch, to push their envelope,” she says.

“Consider opinions that may not sit well with you. Hear diverse perspectives.”