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  • How my twin helped me excel in high school and college

    How my twin helped me excel in high school and college


    San Diego State University, Hilltop Way.

    Credit: Jazlyn Dieguez / EdSource

    In my junior year of high school, I walked up to the batter’s box at Oracle Park — the same field where I’d watched the San Francisco Giants play countless times. It was the high school city championship game, and we were playing our rivals, George Washington High School. Taking a deep breath and whispering a quick prayer, I stepped in and looked at the pitcher on the mound — my twin sister.

    This was our second time facing off in the San Francisco City Championship. After losing to her the year before, I wanted nothing more than to win.

    Twins Ramon and Isabella Fong of San Francisco.

    My twin sister, Isabella, and I have been competitive for as long as I can remember. As twins, we were always grouped together, which fueled our rivalry. If we were wearing similar clothes, one of us would have to change.

    As we entered elementary school, that competitiveness followed us. Although Isabella and I went to the same school, we always had different teachers, assignments and friends. We would compare test scores and how many books we had read in a month.

    However, something changed when Isabella started playing on my Little League baseball team. Besides being the older twin, if there was one thing I was comparatively better at, it was baseball. I could hit the ball further than Isabella could, and throw the ball faster, too.

    Under normal circumstances, I’d have flaunted that.

    But this time, we were more than simply grouped together. We were on the same team. If Isabella got a hit, I was the loudest in the dugout. I’d permit banter from our teammates, but if they talked about her skills because she was a girl, I was the first one to defend her. I loved knowing that after school, we would go through the same things as teammates and share the same stories about teammates and games at dinner.

    Our competitive rivalry was put to the test when we started applying to high schools.

    In seventh and eighth grade, getting into Lowell High School in San Francisco was our primary goal. We were awed by its reputation as the only merit-based public high school in the city, which to us was the golden ticket of prestige. 

    I thought that getting into Lowell would give me gratification, but when I was accepted and Isabella wasn’t, all pride drained out of me as I realized I wasn’t going to be at the same high school as my twin sister. 

    When I walked in the front doors at Lowell, realizing how big it was and how alone I felt, I cared nothing about winning at that moment. I just wanted to be on the same team as my sister again. 

    I knew how much Isabella wanted to go to Lowell, and with Lowell’s merit-based admissions, I knew she viewed herself as less capable than I was. 

    But from what I observed, Isabella never let that stop her. 

    When she joined the baseball team at Washington as the only girl, all I wanted was to see her succeed. Because of our competitiveness throughout our childhood, I knew how hard she worked, and it was something I wanted to emulate every single day. If she was going to excel, I wanted to do the same. 

    I realized that the pride from our childhood had been replaced by an instinct to help each other when we were down.

    One night, I broke down from the stress of my work and college applications at Lowell. I remember walking down the stairs to go on a walk, crying out of frustration when Isabella walked out of her door and asked me if I was OK.

    So, when I stepped into the batter’s box against Isabella, the first girl to be the starting pitcher in a San Francisco Section championship on May 18, 2023, I couldn’t help but be proud of her. And when we talked about the game the next day, it didn’t matter that my team had won. I couldn’t get over the fact that my sister was the coolest person I knew.

    Today, Isabella and I go to college on opposite sides of the country.

    And every day, I think about how she never gave up when she was rejected, and if she can do it, then why can’t I?

    In high school, I thought that going to different schools would mean I would lose my sister, but I know that no matter what we talk about and how different our lives become, it will always feel like we are in the same uniform, watching each other in the batter’s box with smiles on our faces.

    •••

    Roman Fong is a first-year journalism and sociology major at San Diego State University and a member of EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • All students can excel in advanced mathematics

    All students can excel in advanced mathematics


    Students in Rebecca Pariso’s seventh-grade math class designed and created piñatas with specific volume and surface area constraints.

    Courtesy: Rebecca Pariso

    Last year, my seventh-grade class created at-scale drawings of cost-efficient cabins for an outdoor education camp. Using three-dimensional figures and proportional reasoning, my students designed and created piñatas with specific volume and surface area constraints. We completed many challenging test questions, such as: If eight and a half cups of flour are needed for five and three-quarter cups of sugar, how much sugar is needed for one cup of flour?

    Such problems require higher-level thinking skills and a lot of grit. The number of students in my classroom who did not meet the standard on the state test was the lowest in nine years. The number of proficient students doubled compared with last year’s seventh-grade class. 

    Contrary to what you might expect, I was not teaching an honors math class. Instead, my students were a diverse group wholly representative of our student population. In my district, 89% of students are Hispanic or Latino, 24% are multilingual learners, and 81% are socioeconomically disadvantaged students. The accomplishments of the students in my class are a testament to what happens when our educational system becomes inclusive. 

    Take Luciana, for example. She walked into my classroom with bangs covering her eyes and an oversize sweatshirt covering the rest of her face. She was used to not being seen by people, but I saw her potential in mathematics. At first, Luciana talked to no one and hid in the back of the classroom while she did the math. By the end of the year, her bangs were parted down the middle and her hands were outside her oversize sweatshirt. It was incredible to see Luciana’s transformation. She had raised her score two band levels and was considered proficient in seventh-grade mathematics. 

    Math is the most tracked subject in the United States. (Tracking is the practice of placing students in different classes or levels based on perceived ability.) Historically, specific student groups, predominantly Black, Latino, and low-income students, have been underrepresented in advanced math courses like honors classes. On the other hand, students from more affluent backgrounds, mainly white and Asian students, tend to be overrepresented in these programs. This can be attributed to many educational inequities, including school funding disparities, which affect the availability and quality of advanced math courses in schools serving low-income communities. Research shows that these schools often need more resources, experienced teachers and challenging curricula that promote success in these advanced courses. 

    This setup doesn’t serve anyone. My students are just as capable as any other students, honors or otherwise, of succeeding in a math class rich in project-based learning and rigorous problem-solving. Furthermore, multiple studies have shown that separating students based on skills and abilities widens the achievement gap between minority students like Luciana, low-performing students, and students of low socioeconomic status. Luciana and every other student in California deserve to be in a class rich in high-quality math instruction, where they can connect their learning to their school and community, conduct open-ended inquiry, and engage in reflective learning. 

    In 2020, I was one of 20 educators to serve on a committee with the California Department of Education to help with the revision of the math framework. As a result, I have come to see that a paradigm shift must occur in how we define an inclusive math classroom. California Common Core State Standards challenge us to go deeper than just recall and procedural fluency, and my students’ achievements reflect a broader truth: All children, regardless of background, can excel when given the opportunity to engage in meaningful, high-quality math instruction. 

    By creating a learning environment emphasizing problem-solving, collaboration, and high expectations, I enabled my students to rise to the challenge — proving that diversity and background is not a barrier but an asset. Our educational system must stop limiting students based on preconceived notions and instead embrace inclusive teaching methods that unlock every student’s potential. Every child deserves the chance to succeed, and my class proves that they can do so with the right approach.

    •••

    Rebecca Pariso is a seventh-grade math teacher at EO Green Junior High School in Oxnard and a Teach Plus California Senior Policy Fellow.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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