For those of you who aren't aware, I got a job! working at a school about two minutes away from my house! Nice! It's part-time, which I am sooooo happy about, and I'm teaching Spanish to all the students grades 1-6. I was pretty nervous to start (this last Monday was my first day) because I've been trained to teach secondary students and I love secondary students, but things have gone well so far! It's been a lot of fun, and there have only been a couple of tricky classes, classroom management-wise. I've been making some good friendships with both students and teachers. Here's an excerpt from my journal last night that I wrote after a great first week...
I've been collecting nice things for when I have hard weeks, and here are a few that I heard this week. Some were said to me and some I overheard as I was walking down the hallways... All of them made me feel so happy that this is my job :)
"You are so fun."
"I used to never like Spanish, but now I do."
"I think I understand you even better than our normal [English-speaking] teacher!" (Said by an English-speaking girl. This was quite possibly one of the best compliments ever.)
"Who's that?" "That's our new Spanish teacher. She's really [fun]." (Okay, I'm making up that adjective because she was walking away and I didn't hear what she said, but this quote came from a girl whose whole face lights up every time she sees me.)
"I love Spanish now. I LOVE SPANISH!"
"Thank you so much. That was an entirely new environment [from last year] [said twice]. *I* even understood some of what you were saying!" (Said by a teacher.)
"Spanish is fun now."
"You're so fun!" (Yes, I know I've already written that. A lot of people have said it this week:)
"You're better than the last Spanish teacher."
Really. Pretty much every time I walk through the halls, I get stopped by teachers or students to tell me how much fun Spanish has been and how much they're loving it. Kids wave and say "Hola" everywhere I go, and teachers are completely backing me in my use of 100% Spanish in the classroom. In fact, almost every kid in that school is convinced that I don't speak any English, which was my goal. :)
THIS IS SO AWESOME! This is completely why I wanted to be a Spanish teacher - to give children an exciting foundation that would make them want to keep studying Spanish. I didn't ever really think about accomplishing that goal at an elementary level, but since about a month ago, I've realized that it might be even more doable here than at a secondary level because the students are still so excited about learning. Woohoo!!
(Although it kind of puts on the pressure for next week's lesson... I hope people think Spanish is as fun next week!)
I'll be honest. I don't know if I've ever felt so much that a job and I were perfect for each other. Everytime I leave school, I'm in a good mood. It's a constant constant reminder that Heavenly Father has put me in the right place. I really feel like I (my training, my attitude, the Spirit, I'm not sure what exactly...) was really just exactly what this school needed. Is that arrogant? Oh well. I feel it. <3 comment-3--="" nbsp="">
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