Instructor Spotlight: Pablos Vargas
Mr. Pablos Vargas with his Reading Rescue materials!
This summer we are excited to highlight Mr. Pablos Vargas, a Reading Rescue instructor at PS 43 in the Bronx. Mr. Vargas unexpectedly began a career in education six years ago. After studying and planning to enter the social work profession, he says he “stumbled into education” after a friend recommended that he look into an educational role. A self-identified people person, he had been doing some volunteering in the Buddy Program in the Gay Men’s Crisis Center and doing other LGBTQ advocacy work. He knew he wanted to be a helper. At first he wasn’t sure if the field would be for him, but upon accepting a job at PS 43, he began working with special education students and fell in love with his work as a paraprofessional and then teaching assistant. He finds immense joy and satisfaction in watching his students grow, not only educationally, but also on a personal and emotional level.
Mr. Vargas’s personal story contributes to his passion in helping his students see and reach their full potential. He was enrolled in NYC public schools until 9th grade, and recalls a teacher who wanted to make learning fun for him. “I was fortunate to have good parents, but learning at the beginning was not so great for me,” he says. The teacher pulled him aside and spoke with him about how learning can be something to look forward to. “She asked me to read the book and pretend that I was a critic reviewing it... She said, don’t worry about your grammar or anything, just write what you feel about it.” As he hesitantly began the book in question, Mr. Vargas recalls not being able to put it down! He read “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway page after page, and realized that reading could be fun instead of a chore. When reading he realized you could “be a detective with Sherlock Holmes, or be wandering around in Paris... You can travel and do so many different things in the worlds that accompany books.” Connecting the written word with meaning, experience, and adventure became a passion for Mr. Vargas.
As a result of the difference this teacher made in his own life, Mr. Vargas tells us that he hopes to bring that same inspiration and support to his students. Mr. Vargas notes that at PS 43 there is a high population of students in temporary housing, and many of the students are otherwise at-risk. He feels that it is especially important that school is a safe and fun place for them. “If I can make the student at least smile, I know that I have done my job,” says Mr. Vargas. While his Reading Rescue work focuses on literacy instruction and improving the educational trajectory of each student, Mr. Vargas enjoys the profound secondary benefits he sees in each student: many of them begin Reading Rescue instruction as shy, struggling readers, and emerge as blossoming, confident students. “I have first graders and they’re like little adults, taking initiative with their own education,” he says. This past year as a classroom paraprofessional, he was able to use the skills and science of reading knowledge he gained through this work to support older students who also struggle with literacy, including fourth graders on the autism spectrum.
This was a difficult Reading Rescue year, with hybrid learning and COVID interruptions adding additional barriers for students and staff. One student told Mr. Vargas that she knew she couldn’t do it (read) when she began Reading Rescue instruction. Recently, she reached Level I - grade level - in reading and told him, “The sky's the limit, I can do anything!” Another student was struggling to read and was at Level B at the start of his time with Mr. Vargas. The student was frustrated, but Mr. Vargas told him to take reading one step at a time and that he will get there step by step. After receiving instruction on a regular basis, he excitedly told Mr. Vargas: “I just finished a whole book all on my own!” He now reads at Level I and is excitedly asking for more books to read. Mr. Vargas worked with all of his students’ parents to find the quietest, most conducive space for learning, even if they were remote. He acknowledged that this 1:1 connection was vital this year, and difficult for classroom teachers to have with each student.
Mr. Vargas hopes to continue Reading Rescue instruction in the upcoming school year as well. After a year and a half of difficulty and trauma during COVID-19 learning, he feels ready to support students next year, thanking Literacy Trust Program Manager Claire for her support and encouragement. “I love this program, I can’t say enough about it, I think it should be in every school.”