John Rosa and Kyla Llewellyn: Teacher and student, La Escuelita Elementary School

How John teaches kids like Kyla to be self-starters: Through the Oakland Museum of California’s Student Guide program, my 5th graders learn all about California’s habitats and creatures and take other kids on museum tours. I’ve seen shy kids like Kyla really come out of their shells, becoming outgoing, confident team players—qualities that will help them make the transition to middle school, and in the rest of their lives.

What Kyla taught others: On tours of the museum’s bat cave,I got to teach kids that bats don’t really suck your blood, and that they use so much energy that they have to eat thousands of insects. I even taught my mom how bats use echolocation to get around!

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