Being a Spanish teacher is a “second” career for me, and I started later in life. I have always been passionate about Spanish language and culture; I also volunteered a lot in my own kids’ classrooms when they were younger. These two things came together for me mid-life when my son’s 4th grade teacher said to me “you should be a teacher; you’d be really good at it”. There were lots of other factors of course, but this piece of inspiration helped motivate me, so I went back to school and became a Spanish teacher!
Besides being a parent volunteer, I substitute taught for a few years prior to becoming a certified teacher. In between teaching Spanish, I also had a brief stint teaching Latin language and Ancient Roman culture.
I love sharing not only language but also culture. It is so important to me that individuals are able to celebrate what makes them unique. Teaching Spanish language and culture opens doors for my students to celebrate their own culture and find value in others’ cultures.
I would love for language learning to move up the priority list in education. The United States has made great strides in recognizing its value, however we still fall far behind other advanced countries.