Maybe you’ve seen Ms. Youance standing in the halls, maybe she’s your teacher, or perhaps you don’t know her at all. But did you know she speaks several languages, including Haitian Creole, and teaches math? On top of that, she’s an amazing teacher. She makes a difference in the world every day and consistently finds ways to support her students to the best of her ability.
Growing Up
Ms. Youance grew up in Haiti, a Caribbean country known for its vibrant culture. In Haiti, the education system faces severe challenges, and sadly, in today’s world, 80% of children don’t reach secondary school. She says, “The power went out a lot at night, so I had to complete schoolwork before sunset; not doing homework wasn’t an option for us.” When she was 16, she moved to Brooklyn, New York. She faced many difficulties when moving to the U.S., but the most challenging was learning the English language. In Haiti, they are taught to speak their country’s two national languages, Haitian Creole and French. Only 13% of people in the world are trilingual, and to speak a third language at the age of 16 is a difficult task. To this day, she is still fluent in those languages. After completing high school, she went to college for science. Her love for science was inspired by a person close to her in the medical field. While at college, she learned another language, Latin, which is the root of many languages, like Spanish, Romanian, and Portuguese. The language originated in Central Italy, where Rome is today, during the 6th Century B.C.E.
Career
Ms. Youance wasn’t always a math teacher; before that, she taught 8th-grade science, but fate took over. A few of her students shared with her that they were having a hard time with Algebra, and she took it upon herself to tutor them. Soon her whiteboard was filled with algebraic expressions. With her help, her students who were struggling passed their EOCs. With that, her love for teaching math was born. This is her second year teaching math at JMS. She stated, “This year I enjoy teaching, and I feel appreciated by my students.”
She believes the environment and mental health of a student can truly make a difference in a person’s learning ability. She takes pride in creating a comfortable and supportive classroom for her students by taking the time to get to know the students and their individual needs. She’ll let the student eat a snack when they are hungry, provide water when thirsty, and even let them take a rest when she sees something is out of character for the student. She does all this to make sure her students can feel comfortable and work to their full potential.
Spirit
Ms. Youance continues her love for learning. Not only is she fluent in 4 languages, but she is also currently challenging herself by learning her most difficult language yet, German. She pushes her students the best she can, and even after the interview, she practiced French with me and gave me tips on how to learn another language. At the core of Ms. Youance’s being, she has a passion for knowledge and for helping others reach their full potential. In the short time I spent in her classroom, it was clear that her students genuinely enjoyed being around her, and she is making a positive impact on the world.