Spanish teacher in a small town

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite ways to pass time was to play teacher. My parents put a huge chalkboard in our playroom and we had an old fashioned student desk in there too. I would spend hours instructing my younger sisters, or make believe students on any kind of topics that popped into my head. Brandon is wary to hear if I've visited Staples, Michaels, or the Bookstore (the kids also know that 'Momma cannot be trusted in these stores). I get deliriously happy when I get new sharpies or post-its and if there were a fire, my planners are the thing I would grab from my classroom. (I have a daily planner for my regular life and a teacher planner for school life).

After graduating undergrad with a degree in Spanish, I taught English as a Second Language in Brooklyn, NY with Teach for America. My students were all different colors, from all different backgrounds; about 70% spoke Spanish as the primary language at home, and in grades K-4. Many of them were the translators for their parents; it wasn't just about doing well in their classes - their family was relying on them to be the bridge to a better life. I worked with students in small groups in my classroom giving them tools and patterns to recognize between Spanish and English. I pushed into classes full of kids and assisted general ed teachers on how to make it more accessible to language learners. I went home regularly with a heavy heart to know that my encouragement to kids about the importance to work hard in school was sometimes background noise to the loud sounds of their bigger issues at home. How can I explain to a second grader that he "really needs to learn how to read" when he hasn't eaten since his last school lunch?

Teach for America and teaching in Brooklyn was one of the things that most changed me on the timeline of my entire life. Working with my kids (still in contact with some of them) and learning first hand about the challenges that students face in their attempts at education - right here in our country! -have and will forever shape my beliefs and dreams about childhood and education and freedom. I truly believe that education is the answer to so many issues but that also education is so multi-faceted that to fix the system; you have to fix so many other busted and twisted pieces of the puzzle.

I care about your kids' education and that kid's who lives in the poorest part of our town's education, and that kid's who lives in the sticks in that middle state, and the kid's who lives at the southern border - because every single one of the kids are going to grow up to be an adult who lives in and votes and works and makes decisions in our country. If we want a safe, smart, incredible country - we should be educating kids no matter where they live and no matter how much money their parents make with the very best resources, teachers, and schools. full stop.

After teaching in Brooklyn, I went to the other side of education - testing/assessments and teacher training. Then I raised my own babies for awhile and now; by the ways of the universe, I am back in the classroom again.

I teach now in the (near polar) opposite setting of my classroom experience in Brooklyn. I am now a teacher in a very small (mostly white) town in rural Pennsylvania teaching Spanish to English speakers in high school. In every period of the day, I am usually the shortest person in the room and my kids still have struggles that keep me awake at night. Many of them are the same; hunger, healthcare, addicted parents - and then with the added bonus of hormones, boyfriends/girlfriends, and having after-school jobs.   And it's a different time, truly, only 10 years later - there is a new frontier of competing with the blue screen draw of cell phones and social media to contend with.

In a time where high stakes testing holds all the power (don't even get me started down that road!), and Math, Science, and ELA at the top of that concern - what importance does my subject as a foreign language teacher really have in today's world, right?

Well, you have come to the right place, because I take very seriously my responsibility as a foreign language teacher in a small town.

With the internet and access to all the world - you'd think that it would allow people to learn about new things, however it has instead allowed people to create strange bubbles around themselves that only include information that they already know and enjoy. In some cases this can be incredibly uplifting and supportive - for me, to be able to learn from and converse with other Spanish teachers for example. I am part of this strange little online community of other Spanish teachers who are teaching through comprehensible input and novels and Señor Wooly, which has allowed me to grow so much in the past three years in my practice.

But it can also mean that you can stay only within a strictly framed viewpoint that you already understand and agree with. The internet is tricky like that, right? It recognizes that you liked a video of a cat playing with a duck and suddenly you have ads for cat food and DIY duck coops popping up in your sidebars. My students have been living in that targeted cyber world since they became digital citizens - which could have been when they were in elementary school.  

I view my job as not only a responsibility to teach kids verb tenses and Spanish vocabulary for family members and clothing, but more so to offer a window into a new perspective. We listen to Spanish music and learn basic Merengue and Salsa dance steps. We celebrate Hispanic holidays to learn about how and why they celebrate and how we can make it special in our own way (more than just a day to have a 'fiesta'). We talk about how there are phrases that make so much sense in only one particular language; how that makes language so incredible and each one important. We try making and eating new foods and sharing them with classmates. We learn about the weather, geography, and customs of other countries and then talk about how odd our own customs might be to someone who didn't grow up here (I tell them how I struggled to explain Groundhog's Day to my host family in Costa Rica). We learn about the struggles of the past and current events around the world and many times the response from students is, "how didn't I hear about this?" 

My job is one part "did they learn the words and conjugations" and one part "are they getting opportunities to understand that the world is big and interesting and different but also there are commonalities between our differences." I want it to be fun and interesting and surprising because that is how you encourage the mind to ask questions and be curious and keep looking for new ways to understand the world and people around you. 

I am still growing and learning in my teaching too. I have a big dreams about taking students abroad in the summer of 2021 and I have just the group of Spanish club officers that will hold me accountable to making that happen! (thank you Olivia, Sarah, Jamie, Ryan, and Drew!)

And I don't think that my responsibility to children as a foreign language teacher is more important or valuable than other subjects. 

That's the thing - each subject, even if not tested, holds just as much weight and importance as any other. 

You amazing arts teachers giving kids tools to express themselves and introducing them to the brilliant artists and styles of the past, giving the opportunity to use their hands and voices to make something new for the world.

You fun and active gym teachers who give these kids (who are asked to sit in desks and be quiet all day) the opportunity to move and be competitive, who remind them that they can play no matter how grown they might think they are

You awesome English teachers who give kids books with characters who look, think, and worry like our own kids - who open up the whole world by giving the tools to have their voices heard in writing - I love you for that. 

You fantastic Math teachers who teach our kids to speak the universal language of numbers, who show kids that there is a solution to problems and all things can connect and make sense if you have the right tools and methods

and you creative Science teachers who let our kids experiment and make mistakes on purpose so they can try again until they get it right, how much of that bleeds into every little piece of living

and the elementary school teachers - BLESS YOU - who teach our kids to read and spell and use scissors and stand in a line and raise their hands. do you know how incredible the ability to go from learning to read to reading to learn is?! you are literal superheroes

and you preschool teachers, you potty training, coloring, mini science experimenting, teaching to share, making snacks, snuggling and hugging magical wizards, your patience and kindness comes from another planet. 

and the coaches who are teaching kids dedication, perseverance, collaboration, and hope

and the guidance counselors who are holding hands through each new next phase and stage 

and the social workers who listen and support and show up for our kids and the problems they are too young to carry

and the aids and paraprofessionals who build relationships with our kids that help them succeed

I don't know that anyone could convince me that there is more important work than that of working with, raising up, and supporting kids. This responsibility that we; teachers, coaches, school leaders, parents; all share is literally the tending to the future.  

I am grateful to each of you that is doing the hard work everyday of being the person that you needed when you were growing up. What you do for a young person today, matters for all of us tomorrow. 

just half more of summer before we are back at it, fellow teacher friends.

I am already cheering you on. 

i love you.