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. 

Year 2 Teaching Reflections

Another year in the books; my second year at my current school and in my teaching career my fourth (or my seventh if you count Sunday school teaching, hehe). It was a pretty good year; obviously a little easier than year 1 back into the game, but still a lot to learn from and grow and improve.  This is a pretty long post, so if you're a total teacher nerd (like me!) read on. Otherwise, scroll through the pics and check out what I'm thinking about already for next year at the bottom.

Year 2 Teaching Reflections --

First and best thing this year was my new space; I got a new room that is much bigger and included tables left over from it's former life as a computer lab. There was so much room for movement, dancing, and lots of wall space for signs, artwork, and student work. I spend at least eight hours of my day in that room, I want it to be a place that feels inspiring and beautiful so it gets decked out with Mexican Papel Picado banners, and country flags, paintings from the Dominican Republic that we've picked up from our travels, fake flower arrangements, and lightbulb strings. I try to make it a space that kids want to be in; that inspires them to be creative and feel safe. Do some my fellow teachers make fun of me for my enthusiasm of brightness and loudness and general wackiness?  Of course! Do I care? heck no! It's normal for the foreign language teacher to be a bit of a nut, right? It's definitely the case at our school - she cray.

There was a lot of great things that happened this year. I had two incredible teacher assistants (hi Ana and Lysh!) that were helpful, patient, and sweet. I taught all periods this year except period2 (prep) and period9 (lunch) but there there kids in my room almost every single part of the day - studying, needing a space to regroup, catch up on work, or just to chat. I taught 2 sections of Spanish 1, 2 sections of Spanish 1 Honors, and one section each of Spanish 2, Spanish 2 Honors, and Spanish 3 Honors. My biggest class was 25 (too many) and my smallest class was of 13 (ideal). We do música miércoles on Wednesday (watch a Spanish music video) and Baile Viernes on Friday (Just Dance videos to start class) and the kids love both of them - reminding me immediately if I forget that day. 

We read lots of Spanish books this year and it was incredible to see how the students can go from disbelief in themselves and their language learning to telling me how easy a dictation quiz after reading a few chapters is because they understand what I'm saying in Spanish. There were a lot of great new learning tools we incorporated into our novel reads this year too including - predictions (bunches of hunches), Gimkit & Quizlet Live reviews, Pear Deck for chapter comprehension, and Reader's Theater with props! We built forts, read while playing the Floor is Lava, completed Walk-Around quizzes, cut & paste in chronological order, and summary 'snowball' fights with crumpled paper. 

We participated in Wooly Week and it was hilariously fun and meaningful. Kids were invested and totally locked into the activities. We celebrated with door decorating, a food day, voting on our favorite Wooly song, playing Ojo Sabio until our eyes crossed, and so much Una Cancion Original. By the end of the year, my kids were still randomly singing Wooly songs; especially Ganga Girls and Feo. How incredibly lucky I feel to be a Spanish teacher with so many amazing resources out there to get my kids excited to learn and really comprehending another language!!

We made awesome strides in language learning through comprehensible units too with Martina Bex's Somos Units. I started out with intentions to just use the Somos Units with my Honors classes and take more of a traditional route with my general Spanish classes. But halfway through the year, after seeing the kinds of confidence and progress that my students using comprehensible input were making - I switched everyone over and will never look back. We wrote our own class stories using specific target structures for each unit, learned about interesting cultural topics, listened to music for missing lyrics, and gave mini presentations in Spanish. We also studied the Super 7 Verbs in various tenses thanks to Allison Weinhold;s Mis Clases Locas units. Where we held personal interviews and listened to music for specific verbs.

And we tried to have fun too. Because if there's one big benefit of being a Spanish teacher it is reminding the kids that life does not have to be so serious. Learning language is about messing up, and communicating in any way possible - through hand gestures, facial expressions, putting funny phrases together just to get your point across. It is silly and messy and so much fun! We don't come to Spanish class to sit in a desk and memorize vocab or conjugate verbs until our ears bleed. We USE the language and TRY it even if it makes us look a little dumb, and listen to it, and act it out, and make language jokes that only the kids who can figure it out laugh hysterically because they actually get it. It's goofy and maybe the only part of their high school day that they get to move and dance and sing and be a weirdo. 

So we play spoons the Spanish verb kind, and we practice Spanish hand clapping games like Chocolate, and we dance the merengue, and go outside during Screen Free Week, and we do Running dictation in the gym or auditorium, and we color while we listen to Spanish podcasts, and we review with Write, Draw, Pass games, and learn numbers with card games, and we have food days (!).

We did some non-Spanish reading this year too. I started the #whatseñorastuderisreading hashtag on instagram to share my for-fun reads with the kids and most of them were actually borrowed/suggested from one of my students. It has led to meaningful conversations and connections with kids who have read or been thinking about reading the same books. And a dear friend, Shelly, passed along the TATBILB series to share with my classes after I posted about how we all had Peter Kavinsky fever! Those three books were passed around all year long and Noah Centineo has been a key character in many of our Spanish class stories (LOL).

Our Spanish club was a little bigger and better this year too. We had an awesome president (Ana!) who really took the lead on the Elementary school visits which was so helpful to me. Our 'elementary school teachers' visited K-2 classes once a month to teach them a few Spanish words which is meaningful to the little kiddos and my big kids. What an important lesson for my high school kids to see how their influence can make a difference (and how those little kids warm my students' hearts!) 

We participated in the Homecoming parade, painted faces for a school fútbol game, designed and ordered new club shirts, and held two dances this year. 

I was thankful to be part of my school community this year and join in on all the traditional events we celebrate including the Veteran's Day breakfast, PI day pep rally, the Homecoming pep rally (it was haunted themed and I was Pennywise!). I loved attending my students' games, and art shows, and the musical. It's one of my favorite teacher moments when a student recognizes you outside of your classroom at a school event, they have this great expression transformation from confusion, to understanding, to joyful surprise. 

My new neighbors in my wing were friends that helped laugh through the passing periods (even on the toughest days - thanks Chad, Mark, and Malinda!) My school besties, Renee and Nicki, were always willing to listen with an encouraging ear before giving me the pep talk and rally chant out the door to try again. We are a small community, but we are fierce and I feel so grateful to be a part of a place that takes all my dancing, singing, and enthusiasm in stride. 

It would be dishonest to not mention though that it was also a tough year. I am still (always?) working on creating boundaries between my heart and all.the.things. It has been so easy for me to get overwhelmed in everything I can't change for my students and for education as a whole. Many times this year, I looked around and felt like I was just a drop in the bucket; any good I do is swallowed whole in the bigger issues that I can't change by myself. 

There has been a quote that has been rattling around in my heart this year that goes something like, "Some kids come to school to learn, and others come to be loved." It's the truest thing and I could name which of those students each and every one of my kids are. I spend fifty percent of my day being a Spanish teacher and the other half being a Mom. Many of my students really just need someone to look them in the face and listen to anything they have to say. Many of my students need me to be standing outside my door in the morning with a huge smile shouting '¡Buen día, mi amor!" to be that constant in their day. My students need me to say, 'Yes! we are working today?! If you think you get a free day in here, you are crazy, dude." Most often, my students need me to catch their glance and mouth to them, "hey, you okay?" and give them a piece of paper to write down on a note about what's up. 

I love this profession so much. I love working with kids and watching their progression in learning and their progression in life! I can't believe my job is to go to school each day and look across the room at THE LITERAL FUTURE and try to make a positive impact on it. But it can also be taxing on the spirit, to hold my kids' worries and struggles and challenges in my heart. To look at a student who could do anything in the world but who can't see it for themselves. To look at kids today and see how the world has beat them down in all the ways and try to convince them that they can do it even though it's hard. To help them realize that education and hard work is the only way to better - that no matter how many shortcuts the world tries to advertise to you, the only thing that will get you to a successful and proud ending is through yourself and the positive relationships you build with people.

"more books; more liberated"

As hard (and sometimes lonely) this job can be - I am so astounded by the people who find a way to reach out a hand filled with kindness to my little classroom.  I had a bonafide classroom fairy godmother this year (Ashley) who sent me monthly surprises, supplies, and little gifts. My students all know her as our fairy godmother and the gratitude I felt, not only for the gifts, but to feel seen and valued as a teacher helped me dig my feet into the ground another day. Truly, Ashley, your kindness and support has meant so much to me and my kids.

I have hugged and congratulated our class of 2019. I've disassembled my whole room so the maintenance staff can clean and repaint. I carted home three huge bags of 'to organize over the summer' stuff. And already three days into summer vacation, I've texted a fellow teacher about next year's stairwell bulletin board - HAH! Luckily, she's a teacher nerd too - so we're good. 

I am looking forward to finalizing next year's curriculum map, opening a big box of all the class sets of new novels I ordered (!), and daydreaming about my classroom decorations. Until then, it is a lot of yoga, reading, certification research, and re-energizing my soul to get back in there and do it all again.

And because always thinking about growing and getting better, here's some things I'm thinking about this summer to prepare for next school year. What worked and needs a little re-work for you fellow teacher friends? xxoxo

8 things that worked

1. Gimkit
2. Leave Me Alone Passes
3. Novels
4. classroom resources - word wall, chromebook organization, signage, etc
5. Just Dance & Baile viernes
6. year long curriculum map
7. Wooly Week
8. Pear Deck (for a novel)

6 things I'd like to re-work

1. comprehensible input at every level
2. classroom procedures
3. deskless/flexible seating
4. blending units and resources
5. Notebooks
6. Spanish Club meetings, study abroad (!), fundraisers

an open letter to the kind student

dear kind and decent student,

I am grateful for all my kids. The shy ones, the quiet ones, the weird ones, the smart ones, the too smart for their own good ones, the silly ones, the class clowns, the teachers' pets, the athletes, the bookworms, the i'm-just-here-because-i-have-to-be ones, the sad ones, the puppy-love eyed ones, the ones with awesome&meaningful questions, the one that is always willing to participate, the ones that write me notes, the ones that leave me shaking my head, the ones that are still in my head with pride as I'm falling asleep, the ones that are still in my head with worry as I'm waking up-
every.single.one of them.
I love 'em.

but you, kind kid, I am most grateful for you.

thank you.
thank you for being exactly you.
thank you for coming to class on time and sitting in your seat and getting your work out.
thanks for saying hi to me in the hallway on the way to your other classes.
thanks for waiting your turn and sharing and cleaning up.

but most of all, thank you for being the one I know I can trust with the kid that no one else wants to partner with.

Maybe it's the kid who doesn't ever have their work, or the kid of 1000 immature jokes, or the kid who isn't so good at hygiene yet, or the kid who is so quiet and shy, or the kid who talks about off topic subjects that no one else has ever heard of, or the kid who is a perfectionist, or the kid who gets so mad they crumple their paper up in a ball, or the kid who won't stop tapping the pen, or the kid who answers all the questions without raising their hand.

thank you. thank you. thank you.
to the ends of the marking period, to the ends of the school year, to the ends of all the Earth.
thank you.

I know I rely too much on you, I know I probably take advantage of your patience and kindness too often. I also know I don't nearly enough tell your momma (or coach, or dad, or grandma, or other teachers, or whoever it is that you care about) how your kindness changes the dynamic in our classroom. How you are my most favorite kid because of your goodness and patience. I am promising you, I will try better on this.

but for good measure - just so it's clear -
How grateful I am that I get to be your teacher.
How grateful I am that your peers get to be your classmates.
How grateful I am that our school gets to be your alma mater.
How grateful I am that this world, who needs you so badly, gets to have you a part of it.

thank you kind kid.
your indebted forever teacher.
xxo

ps1. teachers teaching a kind kid, please tell that kid's momma (or coach, or dad, or grandma, or other teachers, or whoever it is that they care about) how awesome it is to have them in your class.

ps2. parents raising the kind kid - you are doing things so right. please write a manual.