Before choosing to pursue my current path I asked myself, “Why do I want to become a Spanish teacher?” Many thoughts and ideas went through my mind, as my undergraduate degree was in a completely different field than education this would be a big change of direction for my career and life.

 

          In order to understand how I made my decision to become a teacher, I have to explain a little of my background first. I come from Peru, where the education system is not developed throughout the whole country. Having said that, I didn’t feel that my schooling was the best, as our teachers never encouraged us, as students, to be curious and want more. We were just studying what we were told.

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          Significantly, I realized I wanted to become a teacher, and grow in the field every year. In addition, I want to make sure I lead my pupils in a positive direction to become the great thinkers of tomorrow, and guide them to be better members of our society. Furthermore, I would like to help my students to build on their own curiosity, by not being afraid of asking questions, searching for more information, aspiring to improve their own lives, and challenging themselves instead of being in settings where the “knowledge” is given and it’s all about memorization. I, as an educator, desire not only to share the importance of cooperation with each other thru being respectful, humble, helpful and kind to another, but also by hard work, being persistent, productive and committed.

 

          Thinking back to my schooling years, I felt there was no teacher who inspired the students to fall in love with the courses and their content, especially language. This is where I felt concerned. Why didn’t they find a way to make it fun for the students? For instance, the teachers were more focused on whether the children learned the process of reading and writing in another language, rather than finding a way for the kids to love the journey of studying another language. That led me to want to show my future students the beauty of intercultural communication. It is important for me to share my passion for Spanish and culture with them, as well as expose how great it is to be more worldly, how speaking another language opens many doors and connects you to amazing people, different cultures and so much more. Having said that, how do we expect for the kids to be ready to explore the world? How do we pretend that the kids of the future will be able to respectfully communicate with foreign countries and cultures if they don’t speak other languages? With this in mind, I want to make sure that my classroom is having fun and loving the experience of learning Spanish, by basing my methods/styles on their interests.

 

           Last but not the least important objective during my educational profession is for me to improve my way of teaching every year, by being creative and using a variety of methods. Certainly, it is important for me to learn from my mentors, my future colleagues and students daily. It is essential for the kids to know that we all, as people, can learn something new every day and it’s ok to make mistakes, as long as you keep trying and learn from them.

 

           I’ve realized how meaningful is for me to become a Spanish teacher, and I can’t wait to continue this teaching path, keep learning about education day by day and share the language with my future students through fun game and activities that involve real situations (that they could encounter in Spanish countries), such as cooking, dancing and crafting. I am excited for the opportunity of becoming a Spanish teacher in a foreign country. Additionally, I am working on passing my Praxis for PE, as I have found that I've always been passionate about being active, doing sports since I was little and teaching dancing through different opportunities the last few years. I know from both personal experience and research that physical activity is an extremely important factor that aids in students’ mental health, physical well-being and increased scholastic achievement.  During this COVID pandemic when many students are having reduced physical activity in response to the need for online, and often stationary learning, I believe these mental and physical benefits are now more important than ever.  My goal is, when I get my Praxis in PE, to help students find what they love in order to stay healthy in the short and long term.  Using physical activity that the students find enjoyable is the most effective way to create healthy habits that last a lifetime.