Miss Spanish Teacher

That’s what my Kindergarteners call me when they can’t remember my name.

Puzzling Conversations
When I tell people what I do for a living, well . . . here’s a sample conversation:

Person: So, what are you doing now that you’ve graduated?
Me: I teach Spanish to elementary and middle schoolers.
Person: Spanish? (puzzled look) I didn’t know you were . . . are you Spanish?
Me: (with a more puzzled look) Uh, no.
Person: Does anyone in your family . . . speak Spanish?
Me: No. I’m the only one.
Person: Well, how did you get interested in Spanish?

Ah. I’m glad you asked.

How I Came to Love Spanish
As I mentioned earlier, I’m a former military brat. Actually, we hadn’t moved around as much as most military families, but we spent some time in Italy. 5 ½ years, to be exact. We lived in the heel of the boot. Har har. We lived in an Italian neighborhood for about a year or so, and I picked up a bit of Italian. I used to order ham and cheese from the deli across the street for my mom. Due centi grami di prosciutto cotto. (Two hundred grams of cured ham.) Anyway, when we moved back to the States, they didn’t offer Italian, so I took the next closest thing—Spanish. I went on with it all through high school and college. I started out as a Language Arts Secondary Education major, but I had developed such a love for Spanish that I added on Spanish Secondary Education, which took an extra year, but I don’t regret a minute of it. (Especially the studying abroad.)

Getting the Job
Before graduation, at an educator’s recruitment day, a well-known Montgomery area private school was present. The academic dean took a look at my resume and seemed impressed. She made me feel very valued and was highly interested in scheduling an interview. There was a catch, though: “Would you be interested in teaching elementary?”

I’m a Secondary major and had done all my student teaching in middle school. I love little kids to death, but the fact is that I was a little apprehensive about the prospect of teaching them. Private schools have the freedom to hire anyone they want, regardless of certification area, but the truth was that I didn’t feel qualified.

Loving the Job, in Spite of It All
The interview went well, however, and I was led to accept the job, despite my initial reservations. God really knows what He’s doing because I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in spite of my inexperience with elementary. I fell in love with those little guys. I teach at the elementary school for part of the day and three periods of middle school Spanish as well. (My middle schoolers are pretty cool, too. Just had to show them some love.) I have a huge range of ages—from 4-year-olds to 8th graders—but I love it. I get a lot of exposure and there is never a dull moment.

Spanish word/phrase of the day: Soy profesora de español. (soy pro-fay-SO-rah day es-pa-NYOL) = I’m a (female) Spanish teacher.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!