Jim Diaz: a profile essay

Painting by Jim Diaz

“The boys are back in town. The boys are back in town!” Jim Diaz sings as I walk into the room. I have not seen him in over a year, and we both had been anticipating this moment for the last couple of months. I met him back in 2010, and within a few days of working for him I knew I hated him. He was abrasive to say the least, and, in my opinion, overly harsh. Why would I be exited to see this man today?

Diaz sat in his chair as he usually did with his “thrasher” guitar across his chest playing some tune he had been working on. I hugged him, and took a seat next to his desk where I would often sit. His grey black hair has been trimmed, and his ponytail was gone, but not the beard. I commented on this. He replied, “Well, it was time for a change.” His desk is adorned with origami from his students. Elaborate works of art that had taken weeks to finish. Much more elaborate than that which we had worked on in the years before. One student came to me and showed me an “origami firework.” It was made of all different colors; red, orange, blue, pink, yellow, green, purple, white and so on. As it was moved it blossomed like a flower, and then again and again into different shaped flowers and colors. Diaz’s painting were all around the classroom – dancing cacti and desert landscapes – brilliant works of imagination. He is surrounded by creativity.

As Diaz leans back in his chair he strums his guitar. “Have you been playing your guit?” I say I have been. I learned my first chords, tabs, and songs in his classroom on one of his guitars. “You’re a natural” he says, “Now you need to apply yourself.” We talk about guitars for a little while, but he is more interested in what life is like living in Las Vegas. Born in Southern California, Diaz moved to Redding, CA in his mid twenties. He has lived in the area for some 20 odd years, but has lived in the same house for over 15 years. Diaz worked at a paper mill for ten years. But sometime in his 30s he decided that was not the life for him. He went to Chico State and earned his MA in ceramics, and became a teacher.

I have seen teachers be stern, I have seen them be consistent, I have seen them use parents, deans, principles, and police to make students behave. But I have never seen a teacher run a classroom so well without ever having to leave his chair. While middle schools can be wild, special day class kids in middle school can be ever so much more wild. Most teachers put troublemakers right up front near their desk to keep an eye on them, and give consequences for any further misbehavior. While in Diaz’s classroom the students who have been completing their work have desks pushed up against his own desk. This is a place of privilege. Those near his desk may often be rewarded with small breaks to play math/logic/reasoning games with himself or another staff member. The winner of these games could be rewarded with more free time or some edible prize.

He will correct students, but immediately pull them over to talk at his desk. He inquires as to how they are doing at home, or anywhere else, or if anyone is bothering them. Then he discusses options, and gets them back on track. Watching him work is like watching a magician. You know he had nothing, but he just made something appear. Where it came from or how he managed it is a wonder. In 11 years of working in schools I have not met a single teacher who has more former students come visit him. On a weekly basis one or two students come to visit from high school, or after they are off work.

Since I have been of working age I have not gone back to visit a single one of my former bosses or supervisors, save one, Jim Diaz. As a man who just turned sixty-three it would seem improbable to have middle school students clamoring to sit near him or just to come back and see him. There is truly something about this man that makes people, who take the time to know him, love him. He is genuine. He is blunt, and honest almost to a fault. But he has a knack for almost instantly forgetting a fault or wrongdoing of others.

Jim Diaz was a man who after six days of knowing him I hated him. But after six years of knowing him, five of which I worked for him, I know a different man than who I thought I did when we had first met. In his house he has paintings he has done; they are all around the living room. In the bedroom he has glass and iron work he is working on for a stained glass piece. In his kitchen there is a 2 ½ foot sculpture with lava and water flowing out of its crest. While it can be seen Diaz spends much time using his creativity for various purposes, there is none more evident then in the relationships he has built. He has inspired, pushed forward, challenged, and loved many a person who has walked through his door. Jim Diaz is the greatest teacher I know, and one of the best friends I have ever had.

References

Diaz, J. (Personal communication, March 2016) Talked about the event of the last year since they had seen each other, and other stories from their time together over the years.

Diaz, J. (Personal communication, April 2016) Texted picture of one of his paintings.