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Take Five

Robert Kelty

Arizona Teacher of the Year Robert Kelty (New Mexico ’01) talks with One Day about his life-changing years teaching on a Navajo reservation.

Take Five

TakeFiveWhen 2008 Arizona Teacher of the Year Robert Kelty (New Mexico ’01) first heard about Teach For America, he was majoring in zoology at Louisiana State University and planning to attend medical school. Yet after seven “life-changing” years teaching elementary school on Navajo reservations in New Mexico and now Flagstaff, Ariz., Kelty hopes to use his position to influence education policy. In his classroom, second and third graders spend half the day learning in English and the other half learning in Navajo as part of a cultural immersion and preservation program. As teacher of the year, Kelty will travel the state speaking to schools and legislators. His message? “The contemporary civil rights movement starts with us—teachers who are advocates for our students and our students’ mobility.”

By Karen B. Manahan

One

ONE DAY: How was living on a Navajo reservation?
RK: I was taken in by the community and made to feel at home. My last day we were having a barbecue, and some of my old students’ parents started showing up. Soon there were 40 people, and I thought, “Wow, can we feed all these parents?” I came to find out the gathering was to thank me for teaching there. They gave me a ceremonial blanket, and it was by far the most touching experience I’ve ever had. That experience made me an advocate for life for the Navajo people. [I thought] Med school is out. This is what I’m going to commit my life to.

Two

ONE DAY: What was your toughest challenge?
RK: Being a good listener and not trying to instill my perspective all the time. Listening to what the parents wanted and what the nation wanted as a whole—that took awhile.

Three

ONE DAY: Tell me a story about your students.
RK: Rainiyeh [is] my little shadow on the playground. When the wind blows, she always stops, no matter what we’re doing or talking about—she smiles, closes her eyes, leans forward, and starts flying with her little eagle friends. That always helps me remember who I’m teaching. When I’m creating curriculum, I think, “Is this relevant to her?”

Four

ONE DAY: Do you speak the language?
RK: I use a lot of classroom Navajo. My classroom rules are: Ada’ hodiinisin (Have respect for yourself); Nizaad ba’ hodiinisin doo’ ba’ aholya’ (Speak with care and reverence); Na’ adinitaah’ (Live up to your potential); T’aa doole’ e’ anniidigii bohool’aah (Learn new things).

Five

ONE DAY: Got a favorite for the November election?
RK: Obama. I see my students in him, where he came from, and his background. If there is a dream of meritocracy, he has achieved it. His message of hope resonates with my message of the power of what teachers can do. Many of my students come from difficult economic situations. It gives me hope to think that they could [become] the Navajo Nation president.