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Teaching is a tremendous gift in my life. Through it I improve my own abilities in Spanish and learn more about effective communication. I am given the opportunity to interact with a wonderful group of students whose experiences enrich my own life, and on a daily basis I receive the great gift of watching their faces light up when they understand something and are able to communicate. I can’t imagine any other career for myself. I am a lifelong student who loves to learn, and by teaching, I am still immersed in the world of knowledge.
Part of my philosophy is that knowledge is an end unto itself, something that I tell my own children on a daily basis. I want my students to know that everything they learn opens the world to them and makes them a more integral part of it, whether they have an immediate use for that information or not.. As a Spanish teacher, I am able to extend that belief about knowledge and tell them that in my classroom they are learning a practical, lifelong skill that will enrich their lives immeasurably. I ask them the first day of class to focus less on the grades and the GPA and more on what they take out of the classroom each day. A running joke in my class is that I hate test days because it takes time away from our learning something new. I love to learn, and I try to infuse my classroom with that enthusiasm and passion that I feel.
I believe that every student that comes into my classroom will learn something in it. It is my responsibility to find a way to reach each one of those students and to discover his or her interest and method of learning. To that end I try to incorporate many different approaches to teaching each day, and I praise and encourage my students when they succeed. I carry a clipboard all the time to keep track of the students with whom I have spoken each day, and I try (and usually succeed) to speak to every one of them every day. The students sense that I am excited about their learning, and that enthusiasm contributes to their own desire to learn. In no way does my “cheerleader” approach diminish the demands of the curriculum. I expect a lot from my students, but because they see that I am willing to give a lot in return, they in turn are willing to do the work.
I love being in the classroom, both as a student and as a teacher, and I plan to share that joy in knowledge with as many students as I can.Click here to see CV.