Who is Mr. Díaz ?

 

Personal Info

Place of Birth: Havana, Cuba

DOB: March 15, 1955 (Birthday gifts are accepted)

Married: Since 1975 (She deserves all the merit for her endurance)

Children: 2 Daughters (Griselita 1978 and Aylin, 1991)

Grandson: Mike (2003)

Living in the U.S.A.: Since 1990, in Hialeah (The best city in Florida !!!)

Hobbies and Entertainment: Reading (mostly adventure, suspense, mystery and espionage novels: Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy are the best); movies are my favorite hobby; listening music: mostly the 60' and 70's (The Beatles, Formula V, Mocedades, Los Mustangs, Juan y Junior, José José, José Feliciano, Joan Manuel Serrat); going to the beach; watching / reading the news (CNN, Time, Newsweek and The Miami Herald); playing with computers (my Dimension E510 is like my second wife); traveling; playing chess (from 2004 to 2007, I was M.H.S. chess coach); dancing salsa/casino (Willy Chirino's music is the best!).

Health: Back Problems (2 Hernias: L3 / L4)

Personality, Preferences & Weaknesses: One of my major and most obvious professional limitations is my heavy accent and sometimes terrible pronunciation. Neither fast nor bright but tenacious; very persistent. Enjoy planning things; always try to do my best in anything I have to do. Grateful, coherent, against all kinds of violence; deeply believe in God; a very independent person; skeptical and cynical with regard to certain issues and certain  people. Neither funny nor popular -perhaps I'm too serious-, but a decent person; open to new ideas; love for order and harmony; tend to forget names. Dislike for crowds; tactful, precautious and concerned with security; respect for authority and the elder; usually supportive to the victim / weak and a rebel and outspoken person with regard to abuses and non-sense attitudes; maybe a little bit stubborn; need to know the grounds & facts to be persuaded; dislike for orders.  Detest any kind of bullies; enjoy a good debate based on reasoning; easily irritable under certain circumstances. A forgiving person; believe in the value of rewards for a good work; love children; an audiovisual person. Feel fascination for technology, for new and modern things; constant need for new projects. Hate wasting time; like punctuality; believe in the power of human will; consider that love is the best and most important human feeling; jealous with the people and things I care for. Emotional;  need for privacy;  love friendly dogs (German Shepherds) and Valencian Pouter (Sporting Pouters) Pigeons. Predictable, very focused / obsessive-compulsive when motivated, and workaholic when doing what I like. Not a good observer; obedient of the law. Sense of duty; a family-home person; always try to be fair to others; aware and willing to admit mistakes and weaknesses; have strong opinions; feel admiration and respect for knowledge and excellence & a combination of pity and aversion for shallowness and mediocrity. Love having free time for my projects; an idealist; believe that wars are the worst of all human actions. Favorite color: white.

My Motto: "In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength, but through persistence."

Dreams & Aspirations: When the Cuban Revolution succeeded -the Cuban Nightmare began- I was 4 years old. My parents divorced when I was 12 and my father, with whom I stayed, was 65 years old. I was only a teenager living in the Old Havana, the poorest and most neglected neighborhood in the city, without any particular personal gift and without any relatives or friends in high places, which is very important in Cuba to advance in life. For many years, because of the nature of the existing political system in Cuba, I had to pretend and to repress my ideas, in order to survive and to get an education, in order to prepare the way to escape ... some day. Since I was a young boy, I always wanted to have a nice family, to become a professional, to have the opportunity to travel abroad, to escape from the Nightmare, preferably to the U.S.A., to be a free person. Even when most of these things seemed unattainable, I never lost my faith. Today, I have the opportunity of doing what I like the most: teaching; I'm finally free to believe, say and live according to my own principles and ideas; in only 10 years, I have achieved more than I had never dreamed. My major goals for the future are to keep living a decent life, peacefully, with my wife by my side, to travel a little bit more around the world and to watch my children and grandchildren to grow up, doing my part to contribute to their education and welfare, and to continue learning and teaching while I still have the strength. Another major aspiration is to see changes in Cuba, changes that allow Cubans to be free again and to live better lives, changes that allow me to visit my city, neighborhood, relatives and friends, before I die. Life has taught me that anything is possible and no dream is too big when you have the courage to pursue it, endurance dealing with the hard times of life, patience waiting for the right time, and you are willing to take some risks.

Carlos is born, March 15 1955	Fifth Birthday
1962	My family when I was ten yeas old.
My baby brother Jorge (1969). He was five years old in this picture.	With brother Jorge (Now in Navarra, Spain), 1971 (During my High School Years)
High School Graduation Ceremony 1974	This is my dad (Filiberto) when he was in his 30's. He is the best friend I have ever had... I lost him in 1986.
With Girlfriend Grisell, 1974	The Great Day, January 26th 1975
With Grisell and Griselita, 1981	1983
1988	Winter of 1989, Moscow
University of Lomonosov, Moscow, Spring of 1990	Newfoundland, Canada, Summer of 1990
With little Aylin, Hialeah 1993 (Wearing my waiter's uniform)	With Wife and Aylin, 1995 During Griselita's High School Graduation
With Grisell and Aylin in Disney World 1995	Metro Zoo 1996
With Students at Shenandoah Middle, 1996	With Students at Miami High, 1997
With Best Students and Principal López, M.S.H. 1997	With Students at Miami High, 1998
Key West 1998	Disney World, July1999 With Parents in Law Lucia and Chucho and Aylin
Halloween Party, October 1999	Our 25th Wedding Anniversary January 2000
With Brother and Sister in Law (Chuchito and Evita) During 25th. Anniversary Party	Haiti, 2000
Grandeur of the Seas, 2000	Inside Excalibur, 2001
Entrance of Riviera Hotel Las Vegas 2001	The Family in November 2002
My Dog (Champion), a good friend for many years. He died in December 2005.	The Growing Family, February 2003 (with Son in Law Miguel and Grandson Mike)
Welcoming to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Summer 2003	Grandson Mike, 5 months old
My mom today. She lives in Cuba.	My Brother's Family: Jorge, Mayelín, Lorena And Karla
Disney 2004
	The Family, Disney 2004
Mike 2005, 2 years old
With Students (M.S.H.) 8th Period June 2004	With Students 5th Period June 2004
Can't Believe it!! Mr. Diaz Dancing?	Aylin 2004
Halloween Party 2004	My daughters Grisell & Aylin
Our chess team, 2005	After one of our many victories, 2005
Family 2006	Aylin's Quince (Fifteen)
With Grisell and Mike (3 years old)	Carnival Cruise Ship "Valor" July 2006
Our chess team after winning District Championship, 2006	We got all the trophies
Disney, December 2006	Grisell, Mike and me; Disney 2006
	Christmas 2007
Christmas 2007	January 1st. 2008
Our Chess Team 2008	After a Miami Dade College Tournament, 2008

Academic History

In Middle School: 1966-1971 (in Cuba, at that time, it included from 7th to 10th grade), I was a disaster; I even had to repeat 9th grade. That's why I'm not showing any grades. In High School (1971-74), even when I never failed any important test, my grades weren't so good. I would say that I was an average student (GPA of 2.95). During this period, I realized that I had to take my education very seriously, that becoming a professional was the only way to change my life. In order to be allowed to go to the university, you had to have certain GPA. During these high school years, I also played volleyball and water polo; of course, back then I didn't have the big belly and grey hair I have today.
 
 
 
 

My vocation was not so clear. First (1974), I chose to be an Electrical Engineer, attending for several months to the CUJAE, a polytechnic institute, but soon I changed my mind. The next year, I was able to obtain a transfer to the University of Havana, where I stayed from 1975 to 1979. This center was founded in 1728 and it is one of the most prestigious universities in Latin America. History was my second choice. This was an excellent learning center where I had very good professors. At the end of the journey, I finished with a GPA of 3.76 and I was really proud and enthusiastic. I was the first in my whole family to graduate from college.

University of Havana, Main Campus

These are the courses and grades I took / got

Some time later, I took some graduate courses: History and Theory of Cinema (1983) and The Media: Entertainment, Education, Advertisement and Propaganda (1985); I also took a four-semester course of English (1986-87) and an intensive course of Russian (1988) in a Foreign Languages' School.

After almost two years living in the U.S.A., it was pretty obvious that I didn't know enough English and I decided to attend Miami Dade College. Two semesters later, I finished with a perfect GPA of 4.0, but a very heavy accent and a terrible pronunciation (still have them both).

These were the courses I took at M.D.C. (1992-93):
 
 
 
 

I believe these courses helped me a lot. During 1994, I studied a lot to take and pass all the required tests to be accepted at F.I.U. I was able to pass -the first time I took them- the T.O.E.F.L. (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the C.L.A.S.T. (College Level Academic Skills Test) and finally, I was admitted to enter in a Graduate Program at Florida International University (F.I.U.). Later on, I obtained my first Florida Educator's Certificate (1997) and finished all the courses for my Master of Science in Social Studies Education (2000), including the G.R.E. (Graduate Record Exam), which I passed the first time too.

The following are the courses I took at F.I.U. (a great and beautiful university, with a great faculty) during 1995-2000, finishing with a GPA of 3.81 (not so bad, considering my English, age and other circumstances). I am infinitely thankful to the U.S. government, to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and to all the great professors I had, for the faith, support and opportunities they gave me. Without the support of my wife, who made me believe that I could make it, did huge sacrifices, comforted me in times of weakness and pushed me toward the end, nothing of this would be real. Only because of them I was able to obtain these results.

Graham Center	Primera Casa
Green Library	College of Education

In April 1999, I had the great opportunity of participating in a two-days course (Creating a Web Page) organized by the Dept. of Technological Training of M.D.C.P.S. Because of this course, we have our virtual classroom today. Also during 1999, I participated in the Gold Coast School's Program of Real Estate, which I passed, obtaining my professional state license.

During 2000-2002, I took the five required courses part of the Gifted Education Program, to be able to teach gifted students. So far (2007), I've taught seven generations of gifted students and I'm very happy working with them.

I also had the opportunity and the honor of being a presenter in two important educational events in recent years:

• Florida Educational Technology Conference 2000, in Orlando, Florida, with a presentation with the following title: The Web Café con Leche. The Internet and Teaching Hispanic Limited English Proficient Students in an Inner-City High School.
• Multilingual Summit: Preparing for Economic Development (April, 2001), in Miami, Florida, with a presentation with the following title: Teaching Social Studies and Promoting Bilingualism

• After graduating in 1979, I worked during one year at the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, planning the content of cultural programs for Channel 6 of the Cuban Television System.
• Between 1980 and 1990, I worked for the Cuban system of Higher Education, doing research on Cuban History (the republican period 1902-59), teaching at University of Havana and collaborating with some newspapers / magazines on the subjects of my expertise: education and history. During those years, I wrote two books about the History of Cuban Higher Education (published) and the History of the Cuban Student Movement (never published). In 1988, because of my well known good relations with the students and the existing "problems" with the Cuban students in universities of the Soviet Union, because of the effects of the Perestroika and Glasnost, I was sent to work with them (supervise their grades and attendance to class, help them with health problems and other types of social problems, keep them informed about Cuba and some other tasks) with a conciliatory mission: soften / relax the tense relations between the students and the Cuban authorities. On the other hand, this unexpected assignment was a nice way to get rid of me and the book I was trying to publish at that time, that was not welcomed by some important figures in the Cuban government. Before this, I was never allowed to travel abroad. This was my golden opportunity and , of course, I accepted it. After two years living in Moscow, during a vacation trip to Cuba in October of 1990, we (I traveled with my family) were able to escape when the plane landed at Gander Airport, in Newfoundland, Canada. Some months later, a leader of the Cuban American National Foundation went to Canada to bring a number of Cubans living there to the United States; I was extraordinarily lucky of being part of that group. I will always be thankful to the late Jorge Mas Canosa, Sr., whose love for Cuba led him to create a project to bring all the Cubans who had escaped Castro's tyranny, from all around the world to Miami, our second motherland.
• During my first five years in the U.S.A.(1990-95), I worked as a dishwasher, a bus-boy and a waiter at Islas Canarias Restaurant (Coral Way and 137 Av.) -a very nice place with really good food- during the nights, attending college during the day. The owner of this place (Mr. Raul Garcia) gave me the opportunity to support my family, taught me the trade, helped me in many ways and became my very good friend during the road. I will always thanks him and his family for being so kind to me.
• As a part-time job, mostly during my first year here (1991), I worked for Radio Marti, participating in many issues of the program Round Table with Luis Aguilar León, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University, and an outstanding Cuban. I was also invited by the federal government (U.S.I.A.) to visit Washington, D.C. to participate in special interviews for TV Marti.
• During the course 1995-96, I started teaching at Shenandoah Middle School. At the beginning, all the classes I taught were part of the Bilingual Program for E.S.O.L. 1 and 2 students. I am really proud to teach this type of course and in doing so having the opportunity to share my experiences, when I was just like them, not too long ago, with these students.
• From 1996-2007, I taught at Miami Senior High, the oldest in our county and a very fine center of learning, with very good teachers (including me, of course), counselors and administrators. During most of my years at M.H.S., I mostly taught honor courses as part of the Bilingual Academy and the Gifted Program.
• From 2004 to 2007, I was M.H.S. chess team coach. During the school year 2006-07 I also taught a chess class as an elective course. During these three years, our team won twenty two (22) trophies, most of them first and second places, including: District Champions 2006 and 2007; 3rd. Place Open (2006) and 2nd. Place Super Stars (2007), 1st. Place U-1200 (2007) at State level; 2nd. Place Unrated (2005) and 2nd. Place 11th. Grade (2007) in the Nation. Our team had the best performance among all the school teams in this period.
• The school year 2007-08 I started at a new school: Hialeah Senior High. I taught two honor classes: World & American History  as part of the Bilingual Academy  Program,  one section of World History Regular and five sections of American History Regular. Here, I found a beautiful family. My colleagues in the Social Studies Department accepted me as a brother and gave me a lot of help, support and affection. They even made me part of their bowling team. The administrators were really nice to me. And my students did very well too. I was so lucky that I even had the opportunity of becoming the school's chess coach and the team had a decent performance. One of our players won the District Championship (first place). It was a great year.

Our Social Studies Department