Jason G. Garcia is a math intervention specialist, mathematics instructor, and math department chair at a private charter school in Los Angeles. His dissertation research examines the topics of African American boys, African American male math teachers, the School to Prison Pipeline, and Afrofutrism.
Jason came to LMU’s Ed.D. Program because of its social justice focus and has developed his own understanding and enactment of social justice through his experiences in the program. As he describes, his experiences in the program have provided exponential personal growth and triggered an ever-expanding wave of compassion that cultivates his capacity for social justice. Through the program, he has learned to harness his empathic abilities and to teach with pedological passion without curtailing the creativity of his students.
Jason notes that, throughout his program, he has been supported by professors who have had a knack for understanding his quirky ways and encouraging him when he was struggling academically. He has learned to pay that instructional gem forward. As a person, he had to dig deep, which has caused him to grow tremendously. In a professional respect, he now has rose-colored optics by which to perceive hidden gifts students may possess. Participating in the Ed.D. Program has been one of the greatest experiences of Jason’s life and he would recommend it to anyone really trying to explore the treasures hidden in the esoteric places of the ancient texts and modern journey. Love is what he got—amazing processes, amazing people.