(Updated: May 2023)
This page is the child of my teaching and my writing. Below you will find an introduction video, a teaching philosophy, and a curriculum vitae, along with lesson plans, resources, and a testimonial video made by my students. It is a snapshot of what I bring to the classroom — as well as who I am as a writer.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy stands on the pillars of purpose, service, and authenticity.
Purpose, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the aim or intention of something. In the classroom, it refers to “the goal” or “learning objective.” Purpose-driven educators plan a lesson by first writing a specific goal, and only then developing the meaningful activities that will tie to the proposed outcome. This technique of working backwards cuts through so much of the difficulty of being a teacher, in fact, that authors Blake & Guillén illustrated how neither a pandemic nor the push for virtual education need bar old school educators from instructing new school learners: that is, instead of feeling overwhelmed by the countless digital tools available, we first recall the day’s objective, and only then utilize the appropriate tools (e.g. Mentimeter for engagement, Dotstorming for teamwork, and Slidesgo for presentations). In other words, focus on learning and the teaching follows, wherever it may lead.
What makes the journey as valuable as the destination, however, is the second pillar. Service beings to mind the military, even hospitality. Yet education knows it as “student-centered teaching” or “critical pedagogy.” Its fierce advocate, Henry Giroux, reminds educators of one irrevocable truth: students are the next generation. It is for them that we struggle. We personalize a lesson to build upon existing knowledge; we parallel the student’s goal with the classroom’s, so as to progress together; and we treat students with respect, knowing they belong to a larger community, to which they must ultimately contribute their skills and originality. Unfortunately, some teachers just teach to cash a check, while some learners only learn to get a job—yet this mentality does the greatest disservice to everyone: teachers stop caring; students fall behind; meanwhile the institutions with the emptiest promises lose their way. Rather, what keeps institutions and educators true to their mission, and students on course, must be service.
Brining service and purpose to the level of the individual is Authenticity. University of Houston Professor Brené Brown relates authenticity to “standing in your own truth,” but I would add that it is moving in your own truth too. In a language class, for example, when I teach the construction to make polite requests, I model it by politely requesting my students discuss scenarios where this may be useful to them. Before that, I may share an anecdote of when I failed to make a request polite, and then ask my students to share a similar story in pairs. In a writing class, I might finish a lesson on “supporting arguments” by prompting students to write supporting arguments to something important to them. I may even share a topic important to me, with supporting arguments, but then prompt the class to express their opinion and point out my contradictions, All in the name of offering my students a chance to exercise what we have learned, through an authentic learning experience.
Naturally, the three pillars are only a metaphor for my theories, methods, and activity as an educator. If my philosophy had to be distilled to its most direct expression, then it is like my mother, a career-long educator, taught me: “Students have a voice; you let them share it.” My voice helps other voices be heard. From atop all pillars.
Curriculum Vitae
I believe in the power of language, in good education, and that creating art can save us.
EDUCATION
PhD in Spanish Creative Writing from the University of Houston, GPA: 3.95/4.0, est. May 2024
MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, GPA: 3.97/4.0, May 2018
Teaching Certificate TESOL from World Learning SIT, Feb 2015
BA in Philosophy from the University of Texas, GPA: 3.7/4.0 (magna cum laude), May 2013
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Storylines Instructor, Wonderworks at UH (Houston, TX), Summer 2022
- Cotaught a 5-week, college-prep course for intellectually-curious students (aged 14-18)
- We read, discussed, and analyzed great works of literature from the last 100 years
Bilingual Instruction Specialist, A Yancy Life (Houston, TX), Jan 2021 – Jun 2021
- Engaged virtual & F2F students, ages 5–14, in public school classrooms
- Raised the state test scores, from failing to passing, of dozens of underprivileged students
English Teacher, New York Language Center (New York, NY), Aug 2016 – May 2019
- Taught adult immigrants, residents, and visa-students, both in group classes and 1-1
- Became one of the most valued teachers, presenting workshops to fellow instructors
Teaching Assistant, The New School (New York, NY), Jan 2018 – May 2018
- For an Associate Professor of Religion in a weekly 80+ student seminar
- Additionally, led a weekly 1.5hr discussion section
Substitute Teacher, LCI Language Center (Houston, TX), Feb 2015 – May 2015
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Research Fellow / Editorial assistant, Arte Público Press (Houston, Texas) Sept 2021 – Current
- Recuperate, preserve, distribute Hispanic American texts through the Recovery Project
- Research, write, and translate biographies as well as transcribe classic and contemporary poetry for the Puerto Rican Literature Project
Research Assistant, Parsons School of Design (New York, NY) Aug 2016 – Dec 2016
- Reviewed the quality of two Design & Management professors’ now-published thesis
- Facilitated bi-weekly meetings with other assistants to reach our writing goals
OTHER PROFESSONAL EXPERIENCE
Fellow / Editorial assistant, Arte Público Press (Houston, Texas) Sept 2021 – Current
- Directly assist executive editor with publishing the over 30 titles per year
- Translate, line edit, copy edit, proofread and comment on author manuscripts
Operational Manager, Eucom Business Language (Bucharest, Romania) Aug 2019 – Dec 2020
- Responsible for the language assessment platform, and relations with over 30 clients
- Manage a team of 47 assessors in 32 languages, assessing 1,500+ candidates / month
Public and Graduate Events Organizer, The New School (New York, NY), 2016 – 18
Bookseller, Barnes & Noble (Houston, TX), 2016
Box Office Representative, The Long Center (Austin, TX), 2014
Show Production Assistant, KUTX Austin – 98.9 FM (Austin, TX), 2013
Executive Producer, Texas Student Television (Austin, TX), 2012 – 13
Production Manager, KVRX Austin – 91.7 FM (Austin, TX), 2012 – 13
Loading Dock Receptionist, Texas Performing Arts (Austin, TX), 2011 – 13
Artist Manager, The Abstract (Austin, TX), 2011 – 12
INTERNSHIP, EXTRACURRICULAR & VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Volunteer, Community Archive Event with USLDH Recovery and LULAC (Houston, TX), 2022
Volunteer, Cougar Cupboard at University of Houston (Houston, TX), 2021
Volunteer, Brooklyn Book Festival (Brooklyn, NY), 2016 – 18
Volunteer, New York Poetry Festival (New York, NY), 2018
Volunteer, Austin Pets Alive! (Austin, TX), 2014
Festival Intern for Latin Music, South By Southwest (Austin, TX), 2011 – 14
Marketing Intern, Emmis Austin Radio (Austin, TX), 2012
Volunteer, Fun Fun Fun Music Festival (Austin, TX), 2011 – 12
Student DJ, KVRX 91.7 FM (Austin, TX), 2011 – 12
Social Media Intern, Grounded in Music (Austin, TX), 2011
SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS
Support for Artists and Creative Individuals Grant, Houston Arts Alliance – Full Amount, 2023
Hispanic Studies Department, University of Houston – Graduate Student Spotlight, 2023
Corda Foundation Awards Program – Winner for Best Translation, 2022
Cullen Graduate Fellowship Travel Grant, University of Houston – Full Amount, 2022
New Millennium Writing Award – International Literary Award, Finalist, 2021
Short Story Prize, Pushcart – Nomination, 2021
Robert J. Dau Emerging Writer Prize, Pen America Literary – Nomination, 2021
Kundiman National Nonprofit – Workshop Scholarship, Full Tuition, 2021
Graduate Tuition Fellow – University of Houston, Full-ride Fellowship, Four years, 2021
Vera List Center Writing Award, New School – Campus-wide Award, Second Place, 2017
Artlines2 Ekphrastic Competition, Public Poetry – National Poetry Award, Finalist, 2015
Dean of Liberal Arts, University of Texas, Recognition of Exemplary Academics, 2013
Texas Student Media, University of Texas – Producer of the Year Award, 2013
South Central Regional NBS – 1st Place in Studio or Live Performance for TV Episode, 2012
University of Texas – Leadership Series Certificate, Exemplary Status, 2010
CONFERENCES & FESTIVALS
Panelist, UH Downtown Scholarship Without Borders Conference (Houston, TX / online), 2022
Attendee, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference (Houston, TX), 2022
Panelist, 29th International Congress of Hispanic Studies and Literature (San Juan, PR), 2022
Attendee, 55th Conference Day by ALTE (Istanbul, Turkey / online), 2020
Attendee, 7th Annual by Association of Business Service Leaders (Bucharest, Romania), 2019
Attendee, 54th Conference Day by ALTE (Ljubljana, Slovenia), 2019
Attendee, People Empowering Business Forum (Bucharest, Romania), 2019
Attendee, Pop-up Poetry by Cave Canem during Caribbean Carnival (Brooklyn, NY), 2018
Attendee, Brooklyn Book Festival (Brooklyn, NY), 2016, 17, 18
Student Organizer, National Book Award (New York, NY), 2017, 18
Student Organizer, PEN World Voices (New York, NY), 2017, 18
Attendee, Literary Writers Conference, by Slice Magazine (Brooklyn, NY), 2016, 17
Attendee, Feria del libro (Buenos Aires, Argentina), 2016
WORKSHOPS
*Writers in the School Spring Writers Meeting, one day: Select and Leverage Mentor Texts, 2023
*Miles Ahead Scholars Forging Week Program, four days: Unpack the Imagination, 2022
*Miles Ahead Scholars Writing Conference workshop, one day: Find Your Voice, 2022
Hispanic Studies, Master Class with Amaranta Caballero: Edición e impresión, 2022
Hispanic Studies, Master Class with Marc Caellas: Es difícil caminar una ciudad sin amor, 2022
Hispanic Studies, Master Class with Pedro Gutiérrez: Cómo escribir un artículo académico, 2021
Kundiman literary workshop with Vu Tran, one day: What is Character?, 2021
Inprint, 6-week workshop with Adele Williams: Teachers as Writers, Non-Fiction, 2021
Inprint, 4-week workshop with Raquel Abend: Multi-genre Workshop in Spanish, 2021
*Eucom Corporate Solutions, three iterations: Holiday Webinar – Travel to New York, 2020
ALTE Ad-hoc Workshop, two days: Validity and the CEFR, 2020
*Eucom Corporate Solutions, one day: Evolving the Assessment System, 2019
*New York Language Center, one day: Teach Writing with the Five Senses, 2019
*New York Language Center, one day: Effective Icebreakers to Build Community, 2018
New School, Master Class with Susan Shapiro: The First-Person Essay, 2018
New School, Master Class with Camille Rankine: What Words Can’t Say, 2017
New School, Master Class with Brody and Lambert: The Lifecycle of a Book, 2017
New York Language Center, one day: Going Beyond the Classroom, 2017
New School, Master Class with Andrea Pinkney: Writing Cross-Culturally, 2017
New School, Master Class with Frederic Tuten: Radical Approaches to Fiction, 2016
New School, Master Class with Brett Rawson: Launch Pad, writing off the page, 2016
New School, Master Class with LB Thompson: Hybrid Project, text and image, 2016
New School, Master Class with Daphne Merkin: On Life Writing, 2016
Skidmore College’s Summer Writers Institute, two weeks: Advanced Fiction, 2015
Houston Writers Guild workshop, one day: Writing Through Darkness, 2014
Texas Writers League workshop, one day: Writing With a Sense of Place, 2013
(*=workshops I planned and led)
READINGS
Reader, Inprint, Comité Permanente Open Mic (Houston, TX), 2023
Reader, Café Con Libros, New Voices Reading Series (Brooklyn, NY), 2019
Reader, Berl’s Poetry Shop, open mic (Brooklyn, NY), 2018
Reader, KGB Red Room, reading series (New York, NY), 2016 – 18
Reader, New School Creative Writing Program, monthly readings (New York, NY), 2016 – 18
Reader, The Heights Neighborhood Library, open mic (Houston, TX), 2014
Reader, Le Rouge Boutique, young writers night (Austin, TX), 2013
PUBLICATIONS
Novels
They Lived They Were at Brighton Beach, Kindle Direct Publishing (print, ebook), 2020
The Summer Abroad: el viaje de egresados, Kindle Direct Publishing (print, ebook), 2018
Fiction
“One of the Last Strolls North,” flash piece on The Purpled Nail (online), 2022
“The Drop,” novel excerpt in Revolution John (online), 2021
“Knowing When to Quit,” short story on Wilderness (online), 2021
“Blanco Brown,” flash fiction in Tilted House (print), 2021
“Grozny,” short story in Copperfield Review (print), 2021
“Stepping Out of a Club in Prague…” novel excerpt on Corev.ink (online), 2021
“Draught of Munchen,” novel excerpt on Malarky Books (online), 2021
“Snow Impatient,” flash fiction in Bureau of Complaint (online), 2021
“Orpheus and Eurydice,” novel excerpt on The Lily Café (online), 2020
Essays
“Todo sobre mi Quentin: Por qué Tarantino Admira Almodóvar,” Suburbano (online), 2023
“Los muertos le dictan a Ariel Dorfman,” Suburbano (online), 2022
“Dos odas al idioma español . . .” Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage (online), 2021
“Twelve YouTube Channels,” Bookshine&Readbows (online), 2020
“Bad is Bad and Bad is Good,” Eucom Blog (online), 2020
“How to Apologize to Your Father in Spanish,” The Acentos Review (online), 2018
“A Short Autobiography,” NYLC Blog (online), 2018
Poetry
“Oda a tu voz” / “Ode to your voice,” Latino Book Review (print), 2022
“July to August,” American Scholar (featured online), 2018
“Brave Bukowski,” Calypso Editions Poetry Anthology, Houston Poet Laureate (print), 2017
“Adorned Inscription,” Artlines Poetry Anthology, Museum of Fine Arts Houston (print), 2015
Translation
Five poems of David Rosennman-Taub (Tílimtilín, 2022), on Asymptote (online), 2022
Interviews
Interviewee, “Five Questions with Iván Brave,” The New School Writing Blog (online), 2019
Interviewer, “Where Language Meets Learning . . .,” NYLC Blog (online), 2018
Interviewee, “Interview with Iván Brave,” The Cosy Dragon (online), 2018
Interviewer, “A Student Shares Her Thoughts . . .,” NYLC Blog (online), 2017
Interviewer “A Conversation . . .,” NYLC Blog (online), 2017
Interviewee, “Local Live . . .” The Daily Texan (print, online), 2012
Publicity & Promotion
Contributor, “The Unassessed Life: Why We Assess at Eucom,” Eucom (online), 2020
Contributor, “Sounds from the World Showcases,” SXSW (online), 2014
Contributor, “Cafe Tacvba Showcase on Auditorium Shores,” SXSW (online), 2013
Contributor, “Latin Music Press Release,” SXSW (online), 2012
Radio
Writer/Producer/Voice, “SoundSpace at the Blanton Museum of Art,” KUTX (online), 2013
Writer/Producer/Voice, “Ditch the Fest 2013,” KUTX (online), 2013
Executive Producer/Writer, all aired episodes of Local Live, KVRX (FM), 2012 – 13
Video
Writer/Voice, “Agile Learning Journey,” for Eucom (online), 2020
Writer/Director/Actor, “How to Speak Assertively,” for Eucom (online), 2020
Writer/Producer, “Thre3style DJ Competition in Austin,” for RedBull (online), 2013
Music and Lyrics
Co-Writer/Producer, “Black Beauty (Cacophony Edit),” for a rock band, The Abstract, 2012
Personal Blog
Please visit www.ivanbrave.com for regular posts, news, and more, 2015 – Current
TESTS
SIELE (Total 930/1000), 2019
New SAT (Total 1300/1600), 2016
GRE (Verbal 160, Quantitative 156, Writing 4.0), 2015
GMAT (Total 680/800), 2013
ADDITIONAL INFO
Computer Skills: MS Office, FileMaker, ProTools, Ableton, Audition, Photoshop, PC & MAC
Languages: L1 Bilingual in English & Spanish; L2 French; L3 Romanian & Russian
First-hand experience: The Americas, Western/Central/Eastern Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia
____THANK YOU____
“When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic—what defines a human being—is to work with others.” – Marcus Aurelius
Let’s work together.
Sample Lesson Plans
Effective Ice Breakers to Build Classroom Community
This lesson was built for my colleagues at New York Language Center, for a professional development I lead, demonstrating three ice breaker activities I use with success in the classroom.
“What, How, and Why we Talk”: Day 1 of 4 English Lesson for Intermediate
My lessons follow the ECRIF model, which always include all learning modalities, and begin with the learning outcome. This particular lesson was the Monday lesson, which lay the foundation for the rest of the week. Critical thinking, multimedia, and presidential speeches.
This is a 4-part story about a dog looking for a friend, which I wrote, and employs one tense at a time. It can be used for reading, or grammar practice — in either case the final activity is for students to write the end, using only the future tense. I use it sometimes as a summative exam at the end of an 8-week course. And funny enough, it is my most popular post on this website . . .
This Spanish language lesson is a Pre-During-Post activity on a reading about the Colombian artist Fernando Botero. It can be adapt to any Spanish level and used in a classroom or virtually. Detailed lesson plan at the end.
This is a Spanish language lesson, geared to get the students thinking about impossible things (subjunctive) and deepest wishes. For culture, it utilizes one of the most celebrated rock-pop songs from Argentina. If the lesson format appears simple, that is because I whipped it for my Spanish Acquisition course at the University of Houston!
Saludar y responder: actividad para principiantes
Another Spanish language lesson, from my Spanish Acquisition course. It’s a 5-minute video on my Author Page on YouTube. And I had so much fun making it.
Resources
Zoom-Friendly Warmups and Icebreakers
A great presentation engagement tool, Mentimeter
A powerful homework tool, for integrated video/voice replies as well as comments, Flipgrid
My go-to for creating colorful and design-savvy presentations, Slidego
My go-to for royalty-free professional photos of every kind, Pexels
Hand-picked videos for Spanish instruction, from my Author YouTube page
Culturally relevant video materials, Langmedia
A compendium of front page articles, Today’s Front Page
Authentic support materials from teachers around the world, Merlot
Paid service for conversations with native speakers, TalkAbroad
More language exchange apps, from FluentU, a wonderful website for L2 learning
Real-time group brainstorming app, Dotstorming
New York Times Writing Prompts – Argumenative
New York Times Writing Prompts – Narrative
My go-to conjugation dictionary and thesauraus, Wordreference
The authoritative source for the Spanish Language, La Real Academia
“Lessons worth sharing” and lesson creator app, TedEd
Testimonial