Joanna Puello
Lover of travel and diverse cultures, bilingual undercover gringa, healthy diabetic, athlete, faith led, instructional designer, non-traditional teacher, married to a Dominican songwriter/singer and Spanish teacher, mama of the two most amazing kids in the world, nonprofit entrepreneur, and founder of the #WorldUpsideDown teacher movement.
Some teachers travel a straight path. Mine is a windy one.
This is my story about how the World Upside Down teacher movement got started
and why I’d love for you to be a part of it!
Our journeys vary, but I think we have something in common.
Elementary Music Teacher
You know that when you teach music you change the world. You walk into class with high hopes. Then you realize you have no curriculum and no budget.
Homeschool Parent
You know how important music is for your child’s education. But you’re not a musician. Private lessons are expensive, and you’re not sure where to start.
Elementary Classroom Teacher
You believe that music should be a core subject, but there is no music teacher in your school. You’re expected to teach music even though you have no training.
We understand the power of music.
Music represents our culture and tells our story. We grieve with music, overcome with music, and celebrate with music. Music forms and transforms our lives. Here is what music looks like for my family.
Jairo is a sing, song-writer, and guitar player. He has produced seven albums and loves to integrate music into his high school Spanish classes.
Joanna [that’s me] plays piano and violin and sings alto. She’s given private lessons, played in weddings, and directed a choir.
Megan leads worship at church and is a super talented vocalist. She hasn’t picked up an instrument yet but has a killer Spotify playlist.
Adriel led worship during high school. He plays piano and started song-writing recently. He’s majoring in business but hopes to start producing his first song soon. Think Ed Sheeran meets John Legend.
My teacher story timeline
Let’s turn the World Upside Down together.
My windy teacher path has finally brought me to where I am today. I’ve met hundreds of arts educators who teach the arts to change the world. We all agree that arts education is or should be…
🙋🏻♀️ First, we believe that all students on planet earth should have access to arts education—no matter how rich or how poor, no matter the language, the ethnicity, or country.
🙋🏽♂️ Second, we believe that arts education is one of the best tools we can use life to the minds and hearts of our students—to give them a hope and a future.
🙋🏿♀️ Third, we believe that teaching resources should be amazing and affordable.
If you agree, I would love for you to join our World Upside Down teacher community today.
