Mr. Jimenez is an English and creative writing teacher at Miami Senior High. He’s a fun and friendly teacher that will make your experience as a student of his very enjoyable.  

Life as a Child  

   Mr. Jimenez grew up in Miami and was actually raised around the same area as his students since he is an alumnus of Miami Senior High. He grew up in a low-income neighborhood with a supportive and caring family. Growing up he said he never truly realized how amazing his life was based on the fact that he couldn’t do things that other kids could do such as go to Disney World or spend a lot of money on vacations. However, now that he is grown up, he looks back and is able to appreciate the childhood he had.  

   One of his core memories from when he was a child was sitting at the dinner table talking with his dad about history, politics, etc. “We would talk for hours about anything,” said Mr. Jimenez. “And that shaped the way I teach and think of life in general.” He enjoyed his childhood because he had great parents who taught him well and shaped him to be the person he is today.  

Highschool Life  

   From the way he describes it, Mr. Jimenez’s high school life was amazing. One of his most memorable moments was meeting his creative writing teacher because she saw the potential in him that he did not see in himself. She put him in classes that were more advanced after seeing his talent being wasted in regular classes.  

   Being a former Miami High student, he says that the school is not much different from how it was during his time here. The main difference is the way of communicating considering now there’s more advanced technology to get by. His teachers at Miami High would always encourage him to become a teacher himself, and even though he did not really take it seriously, he still saw himself doing it.  

   “My biggest achievement is getting my life together and being confident in my talent,” he said. “Even though I had a lot of friends, I didn’t feel like I was enough and in my senior year I felt like I had to get my life together and that’s what I did.” He also mentioned how he regrets not trying hard enough in his first two years of high school and not asking for help from teachers that could have helped him when he needed it. 

Being a Teacher at MHS 

   Mr. Jimenez started working here at Miami High fresh out of college after getting a call from Ms. Wilson (another teacher at MHS) telling him to work here and he took the opportunity. His favorite part about working at Miami High is the fact that it is always something new every day and his students are always kind and friendly. “If you treat students like people with respect, they will give that same energy back,” he said.  

   Every year it is different for him. His first-year teaching here was trying to get it together, and by his second year he had warmed up and met some smart students that made him view things differently. His third-year teaching was when unfortunately, Covid 19 had hit. However, now he feels much better and is more confident about his ways of teaching and the relationships he has built with the people around him.  

   One of his favorite things about working here is being advisor of English National Honor Society. He says it is a lot of work but “it’s nice seeing kids put their energy into stuff other than school and being able to see them make new friendships.” One thing he would love to tell his younger self from when he first started teaching is to not take things so seriously and to appreciate and enjoy the moments with your students because they will eventually be over.  

   What he is the proudest of in his life is that he has successfully created an environment where his students can count on him and have him as a mentor for whatever they need. “That was a big thing for me back in high school so I’m proud that I was able to create that now that I am a teacher,” he said. He is also proud of being able to graduate this class of 2023 because those were his Covid students. Not just that but being able to see his work reflected through his students because of the high test scores and the respect he has gotten from his colleagues is an amazing achievement for not just him but also for the students who look up to him. 

Students on Mr. Jimenez 

   As someone who has Mr. Jimenez for English honors, I can confidently say that all his work throughout college and high school is all worth it considering the great teacher he now is. “He is a cool teacher. He is nice, funny and very open-minded,” says sophomore Dajane Luna. “I am very thankful for him as a teacher given that he is very kind and chill,” says 10th grader Emily Quintero. Federico Rizo, another one of his students, said that Mr. Jimenez pushes him to do his best in his class and made him realize that grades don’t come so easy if you don’t put your work into it. “It feels like talking to another student compared to how other teachers are. He makes learning so fun,” Federico said.  

If you are interested in taking his creative writing class, you can stop by his classroom 3206 for more information directly from him.