I'm Learning: Who I Wanna Be as a Spanish Teacher Girl!

As my dad predicted, I knew it'd be my destiny at some point-I'd be a ginger Spanish teacher. Magaly, my high school immigrant friend from Mexico, swore the same thing.

I love, love, love being able to speak new languages. I question how languages work. I'd take La Tiendita (a fabulous family run Mexican grocery/restaurant where no gringos go to) any day over El Jalisco (your typical Mexican-American joint). I just spent the past fifteen minutes listening to Peruvian Andes music from my time as a student missionary there. There will be salsa dancing/music at my upcoming wedding.

And well kids, if you know anything about moi, you'll know that I just survived my first half of the year as a first year Spanish teacher at a private school teaching and developing curriculum for kids grades pre-K-8th grade.

I have no idea how my students describe me as, and well, that probably would vary depending on how much homework I assign each class! But I know what I want to be. I want my kids:

1. To learn as much Spanish as possible through immersion-based learning. Class is taught in Spanish whenever possible, and students are required to use Spanish whenever they can.

2. To experience the benefits of second language learning. We're registering for a pen pal exchange with a class from Spain and we're writing cards for the kids at the malnutrition center in Guatemala I interned for.

3. To see why so many from Latin America immigrate to the United States and to have compassion for them. We've watched a documentary about child migrants and the dangers they face, we're getting ready to watch the Guatemalan/PBS film El Norte about sibling immigrants who run to the US to escape persecution for being indigenous, and we've interviewed immigrant friends of mine.

4. To understand what it means to be Latina and how being Latina doesn't refer to one specific skin or hair color. On that note, we're talking about racial problems in Latin America and studying the terms criollo, mestizo, indigena, and mulatto.

5. To EAT! My kids are now lovers of Jumex juice, Takis, and arepas :)

But for me...I want to be kind, approachable, fair, understanding, and fun. Yeah!

For every time I've felt "heck yes!" about a lesson, I've also felt "burnt out." It's the first year teacher blues. For one, I get to design my own curriculum but....am I teaching these kids the right things?! Two, I'm trying to figure out a discipline structure that works for so many age groups I teach but that also matches my school's philosophy as a progressing, experimental school. Three, while I've only had a couple "parental concerns" this year, they eat me ALIVE at night when I try to sleep.....

But ya know something? I had this Mexican friend once named Magaly who I helped learn English. Any time I'd correct her or teach her something new, she'd look at me, smile, and say "I'm learning."

Am I who I want to be as a Spanish teacher? Dunno. But as Magaly used to say "I'm learning."