The sixth year of the ECCO Conference began Wednesday evening with keynote speaker Jeff Duncan-Andrade.

Duncan-Andrade, who is the associate professor of Raza Studies and Education Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies at San Francisco State University, spoke to students on his past experiences throughout teaching in urban schooling.

The talk was titled “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete” and explained the value of polishing students who may fall beneath the cracks in today’s schooling.

Duncan-Andrade explained that while being the youngest of seven children, he often felt like it was his birthright to complain.

“My mom finally sat me down one day, put a cup in front of my face and told me to tell her if it was half empty or half full,” Duncan-Andrade said. “Sitting there not knowing what to say, my mom explained to me that if I choose to see my life as half empty, I will never fill my cup up.”

This early education gave many lessons to Duncan-Andrade when bringing his teachings to schools.

“Every child you will work with is both a glass half empty and a glass half full,” Duncan-Andrade said. “When you decide to see a child as a glass half full, they will battle for you.”

The most valuable lesson that education major Ellen Rossi took away from the speaker is that teaching is more about respecting the student so that they can respect you.

“I think the best thing I heard tonight was when he explained that we must earn the heart to earn their mind,” Rossi said. “I like that I can take that on to my

profession.”

Duncan-Andrade teaches in Oakland, California and said that if you don’t live in the community you’re serving, it is often difficult to understand where the students are coming from.

In Oakland, within five years there were 555 homicides. Duncan-Andrade said that continues to affect the students with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after these occurrences.

“If your basic needs are not met,” Duncan-Andrade said. “You cannot study and you cannot focus in school.”

Today, one in three urban youth students have PTSD, and are often sent to a mentor or tutoring when reacting to this in the classroom.

Duncan-Andrade says the most significant factor that students need today is hope.

“The most important lesson I learned from him was that you have to be that one hope a student has,” said Caleb Wyse, an early education major. “You have to be there when your students need you and that’s what I try to do.”

At the end of the speech, Duncan-Andrade explained to the students that it took him time to get to where he is today.

In the school where he began teaching, he was fired two years in a row while being named teacher of the year by his students both years.

Claire Grgic, an education major, said that the last part of his speech really spoke out to her.

“He had a lot of failures but kept what he believed in,” Grgic said. “It taught me to stick to what I believe in when it comes to teaching.”

The ECCO Conference schedule will continue Friday at 7 p.m. with a film screening and discussion.