Strong bonds between students and their teachers not only lead to improved academic and social outcomes — the relationships also have long-standing effects that can influence the trajectory of a person’s life.
Perhaps no one knows this better than Briana Morales, an English teacher for East St. Louis School District 189 and the 2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year. She went into education because she was inspired by her seventh grade language arts teacher at Eisenhower Junior High, Jennifer Steineke.
“Jen, quite literally, saved my life when I was in the seventh grade,” Morales said. “I was transitioning back to school after being in psychiatric rehabilitation, and it was in Jen's class that I learned about writing poetry as a way to cope with challenges that were going on in my life.”
Morales now incorporates journaling and spoken word poetry in her high school classes at Gordon Bush Alternative Center.
“The joy of teaching — outside of these amazing relationships that we build with students — is the hope that the knowledge and the skills that we give them today help them to live a better life tomorrow,” she said.
Morales added that the practice of expressive writing has helped her foster deeper relationships with her students, including Da'Miya Brown, who became a spoken word poet — and whose untimely death inspired Morales to launch (Sister)Hood of Hope — and Malani Salazar, who is attending Western Illinois University to earn a degree in education.
“I'm always inspired by young people who want to take on that charge because I know that we're passing the torch to kids who have so many better ideas than we do,” Morales said. “They can carry on the love and passion that's been poured into them by their own teachers.”
On Saturday, Morales attended a back-to-school event at the White House that celebrated and honored educators from around the country. She was joined by Salazar and Steineke.
“It's beautiful, especially [because] Jen will be retiring this year and Malani will be entering education soon,” she said. “It’s truly one of the most wholesome, fuller-circle moments that I've experienced over the past year.”
Briana Morales and Jennifer Steineke joined St. Louis on the Air to talk about the power of writing and the importance of fostering strong relationships among teachers and students. Listen to the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
