Homero Barragan

Cal Poly - B.A. English, 2007

Other degrees/certificates:

Current city/state:

Santa Maria, CA

Employer:

SBBCollege

Professional Website:

http://www.sbbcollege.edu

Job Title:

English instructor, Learning Resource Center Assistant

How Long in Current Position:

2.5 years

Brief description of position duties/responsibilities:

I teach a grammar refresher course for students who need a brush up with their basic English skills. I also teach a reading strategies course, as well as a writing basics course. As the LRC assistant, I help students, faculty, and staff with their research needs with the database that the school subscribes to (LIRN).  I also assist students, faculty, and staff with their basic computer needs.

What specific qualities/abilities, skills are necessary for this position:

The ability to explain concepts in a clear and concise way for others to understand is perhaps the most important skill necessary for my position. This is especially true with grammar, something that petrifies many.

While at Cal Poly, what resources did you take advantage of that have helped you in your current position:

    For my teaching post, the enthusiasm of my instructors at Poly was extremely infectious. Many instructors have greatly influenced how I teach. Hands down, the use of PolyCat, Kennedy Library, etc., is what has helped me the most in my LRC post.

    What advice would you give to someone interested in your profession?

    Preparation, preparation, preparation! I cannot emphasize that enough! No matter how many times I do the same lesson, this one time is going to be different than the last time and is going to be different than the next time.

    I would also stress patience, especially in my case. I work at a small vocational school, and it is not uncommon for me to come into regular contact with students who have been out of school for 20+ years, students who never completed high school, students who work 40+ hours a week, then come to my class at night, students who think they already know it all. Despite all this, they are all determined (for the most part) to get an education, and my job is help them achieve that goal. Knowledge that I sometimes take for granted, especially things that I assume they know, they may be learning for the first time. For example, I had a student who was writing all her I's in lowercase. When I marked this on her paper, she thought she only had to make that uppercase when "I" came at the beginning of a sentence. This is a slightly extreme case, but not terribly unusual.

    Is there anything you'd like to personally add about how you found your way to your current career since graduating from Cal Poly as an English major?  Any memorable epiphanies that marked major turning points on which path you chose?

    There are, but at this point in time I cannot think of any.

    Contact:

    homerob@sbbcollege.edu

    homerobarragan@gmail.com

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