Welcoming our Newest Music Teacher: Mr. Guzman

The Transition from a Substitute Teacher to a Permanent Teacher at ELARA All in the Same Year.

Before even taking the route of becoming a substitute teacher, Mr. Guzman has always indulged in. Music as one of his hobbies and even work. He claims ̈ I worked as a tutor prior, so I knew I wanted to continue to work in education. I also know a lot of Musicians that are subs so it just worked out. ̈ Becoming a sub was temporary for him but little did he know that the combination of music and education would be an upcoming & permanent job of his.

The process of adapting as a teacher can never be as easy as it sounds but Mr. Guzman somehow manifested his way towards this opportunity throughout his 2 years of experience in the Academic Field. He shares with us an insight of the moment that the idea first came to mind when he took over Mrs. Rocha ́s Journalism and English classes at ELARA and the realization that the start of his career was closer than expected. ̈There was talk about opening a CTE pathway for the following school year at ELARA, one of the pathways available is Music. After researching what was needed to get a CTE Credential, I realized that I was eligible. ̈ Now here is where it all begins to take a fast pace towards the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Fast forward to the beginning of the year, Mr. Guzman ́s quick process of transitioning into his own class seems to have been worth the process as he claims that ̈The beginning of the school year has been going well for me! It helps that I worked on and off as a Substitute Teacher at ELARA (and the East Area) for the past 2 years. I think (and hope) students have been having fun listening to music, breaking it down and creating music. ̈

Not only does Mr. Guzman seem to be enjoying his very own class for the first time but so do his students. Yuricely Perez, a senior taking the Music class at ELARA shares her thoughts on theclass, ̈So far music class has been great and the assignments are fun. It’s much more different than any other elective classes I have had because of the freedom for creativity as we get to explore the beats of our interest. ̈, also adding ̈My favorite part of class is exploring different genres of music and creating new sounds from scratch because despite how much I listen to music I have never gotten the curiosity to explore the background and creation of it up to now that we get to make our own. ̈

Mr. Guzman ́s Impact on students has taken a great start so far based on their perspective, but the rest is still yet to be determined throughout the 2024-2025 school year and as ELARA gets to witness the growth and impact in his Teaching skills. Lastly, he shared with us that “Being able to combine education and my passion for music was unexpected, but I am grateful that this opportunity came along.”

Belen is a senior at East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy, where she is the Spanish Content Editor for The Vitruvian. Belen enjoys reading and listening to music during her free time. As she enters her last year of high school, she looks forward to growing as a journalist and to the various opportunities and projects that she will encounter.