Gilberto Palomino

Math Teacher

Phone:
720-515-6842

Department(s):
Teachers

Gilberto J Palomino was born in a small village called San Pedro de Cajas in the very heart of Andes of Peru at 14,000 feet sea level. There in his hometown he attended a small public elementary school from where he graduated in 1976. His high school years were the most memorable; he still remembers his classmates by names and also his wonderful teachers, because it was a very small school with approximately 150 students in total. He graduated from this high school in 1981 among twenty students. After he graduated from high school, he applied to several national universities in Peru and was accepted at the National University of Daniel Alcides Carrion to become a math and science teacher. However, he had to give up before graduating from the university because he lacked the financial support he needed until he came to the United States. He moved to the U.S in 1994 with the hopes to achieve a new dream. Although, he was not too sure what he wanted to achieve since he was uncertain how to make it happen or if it would happen. In 1996, he applied to the Community College of Denver to learn English; he still remembers when he took the placement exam to determine what level of classes he should take. He got the lowest score in mathematics and English. He expected the English score-he barely knew the language but was shocked with the very low mathematics score. Why? He was surprised because he was in advanced mathematics back in Peru. So, what went wrong? What was the problem? The problem was that he had never touched a computer in his life. The placement test was a computer based test, and he did not know what the keys were for. However, this very situation helped direct his decision to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics which he accomplished in 2002 from the University of Colorado at Denver. Along the way, his vocation for teaching was stronger than his desire to work in the corporate world. He started teaching mathematics at Abraham Lincoln high school in the Denver Public School (DPS) District in 2003. In 2005, he obtained his teaching license to teach mathematics K-12; later in 2007, he achieved a Master’s degree of Arts in Instructional Design and e-Learning from the University of Colorado at Denver. Technology is changing rapidly, the same way that learning and teaching using technology is rapidly changing. The skills that he has gained from this program enabled him to fulfill his current role as an online educator. In his current position as a virtual math teacher at Denver Online, he is shaping the frontier of e-learning by teaching using technology. He loves teaching because he says, “It is one of the most beautiful and caring vocations. I can’t see myself doing anything else other than teaching. I care for my students and I believe that I can make a difference in each of my student’s lives. I believe to be a teacher one has to have the knowledge and the passion. My motto is that ‘Teaching is more than a science, it is an art.’ You can have the knowledge of the world, but if you don’t know how to teach it will be difficult to make a connection with the students.’”