Miki Tomaru
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Residency Program '22
I loved that my residency was so much more than a student teaching experience. I was there almost full time for the entire school year. I was one of the staff at the school, everyone knew me, and I got to experience everything the teachers did.
When Miki Tomaru, GSE ’22, decided to become a teacher, she arrived at Bank Street Graduate School of Education with a wealth of experience, including graduate studies in psychology and her own childhood memories as an English as a New Language (ENL) student in New York City. By combining these unique perspectives, she found a way to support her students with a deep, firsthand understanding of their needs.
The turning point that moved her toward education occurred during a period of high professional stress. She recalled a specific, distressing moment when she was so focused on work that she forgot to pick up her son from school.
She said, “It dawned on me that my job was not working for me. I wanted to be a more present mother for my son, and in that moment, I knew I had to do something different.”
She started reflecting and seeking out a career that better harmonized with her personal values. This self-reflection, combined with her Japanese heritage and her own history as an ENL student, led her to the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Residency Program at Bank Street. Miki enrolled and joined a cohort of teacher residents who each received a substantial scholarship that reduced tuition by over 50 percent and also provided a $20,000 stipend. As a teaching resident, Miki paired her coursework in educational theory with hands-on experience, learning to work with parents and gaining a hands-on understanding of what it means to be a teacher.
Miki found that being a career changer was an asset. The cohort of students in her program included a mix of ages and backgrounds, and her professors were deeply understanding of the time management she needed as a single parent. Being a student at Bank Street also offered a restorative space where she could reconcile her past with her future as an educator. The program matched her values and celebrated her desire for linguistic justice that would ensure that each student’s cultural identity is honored.
“When I learned about the TESOL Residency Program, I knew I would become part of an incredibly important movement to change the approach of teaching emergent bilingual students,” Miki said. “I grew up in a family who had immigrated from Japan when I was one-and-a-half years old. My parents did not speak English at home, so neither did I. As a former ESL student, I remember always feeling torn about my language and cultural identity. I always felt like I had to choose one, and I knew that it didn’t feel right.”
Fully immersed in teaching right from the start, Miki solidified her approach: to see each child as a whole human being and meet their emotional needs first.
“As teachers, we’re so focused on academic success, but I realized that sometimes I have to put my agenda aside, get to know the students, and care for their emotional needs first,” she said.
With a faculty advisor and a mentor teacher at her school to guide her through, she also experienced a weekly conference group with her cohort that provided a forum for shared learning and reflection.
“I absolutely loved the people in my conference group! It was a safe space to freely discuss everything we were experiencing—on the job and personally, especially since this happened during the pandemic. I will never forget how deep the conversations were.” she said. “We were able to talk about how our own emotional and mental well-being was affecting how we were as teachers. Throughout my time at Bank Street, it was always stressed that we must take care of ourselves. We cannot give from an empty vessel! My cohort remains in touch, and we are still able to help each other.”
Today, Miki finds her life defined by a newfound sense of stability and professional confidence. In her current role as an ENL teacher for kindergarten through third grade students in the Bronx, she draws on her ability to look at all the pieces of her journey, figure things out, and support each student, especially those who, like herself, navigate the world with a unique perspective.
“When I think of my time at Bank Street, I think of joy,” Miki said. “I was able to look back at my own past as an ESL student and connect with my younger self. Now I am able to bring a youthful, joyful energy into my work with students every day.”
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