Day 10The Countdown 5-4-3-2-1

Share 5 random facts about yourself, 4 things from your bucket list, 3 things you hope for this year as an educator, 2 things that made you laugh or cry as an educator, 1 think you wish more people knew about you.

5 Random Facts:
I am 1/2 Ecuadorian, 1/4 Chilean and 1/4 Croatian.

I  lived on a ship for 2.5 years between 18-21 years old and traveled to 20 countries in South America and Europe.

As a 21 year old in Ecuador I interpreted for an ambassador from the United Nations and was supposed to  interpret for León Febres Cordero, the then President of the Republic of Ecuador. At the last minute he changed his mind and handed the speech to the Ministers of Mining and Engineering. So, I translated for him instead.


My major in college was International Studies and I started my career working as a translator/interpreter for a multinational corporation. HATED it!

I came to the US as an International Student and attended Lincroft Community College in NJ and then USC in Columbia, S C.

The Bucket List Top 4
Visit Australia and the Mediterranean countries
Get NBCT
Take my family to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador
Visit the Southwest and West coast of the US

3 Things I want to accomplish this year
Fully transition towards SBL teaching and aim towards proficiency based assessments
Go to ACTFL and SCOLT
Present at my state conference

2 things that make me laugh or cry as an educator
Cry - when I see teachers who are stuck in a grammar based approach, teaching my former students
Laugh - when I see my kids' faces at some crazy of goofy thing I do

I wish that people knew about me that I want to make a difference in this world, starting with my family, my community, my students. I want people to know that nothing in my life has been wasted, both the positive experiences and the difficult times have made me who I am. I want to live my life with reckless abandonment creating and experimenting new things. I also feel this desire born out of gratitude to pay it forward because I stand on the shoulders of great parents, teachers, friends, mentors, husband and colleagues.

Day 9 They may not remember what you said....

... but they will remember how you made them feel.

Some of the achievements that have gotten me most recognition have been the things that I have done or said in public. Since this is not about the seen accomplishments but the unseen, I won't mention my claim to "fame".

Some of my most rewarding achievements have taken place when I have made individual students feel that they were worth it. I showed them in words and actions that they were worth my time, my effort, my love, and my investment in them.

A few come to mind. There is the senior at a public charter virtual school, who had horrible family problems and who was so despondent that he wanted to quit school. I spent many hours on the phone with him and his grandmother pouring myself into his life and making him believe that he was kind, smart, and important. He graduated from high school and it changed the direction of his life. I remember another senior a couple years ago, who had to testify against his mother in court because she stole from him. He quit coming to school within a few days of graduation. Once again, I was on the phone with grandma and I tracked him down until I convinced him to come to school to take his final exams. He did and he also graduated. Then, there was A. a handsome, tall, blond and affluent junior who hated Spanish and who was completely shut down and disengaged. He would try to sleep on my class and I would refuse to allow him to even lay his head against my book shelf. I called on him every day and his response was a shrug of the shoulders. Then, one day he realized that I was never EVER going to let up on him, so he managed to get a B on a quiz and I celebrated him publicly and called his Mom. I told him that if he became engaged in class, he would pass my class and that was a turning point for him. I've had a particular soft spot for my kiddos who have lost a parent.
I could go on but this has really brought me a perspective of what really makes a difference in students' lives. It is how we make them feel each day that they are in our classes because the deepest desire of every human being is to feel validated by someone. I may be the only person that day that can or will meet that need.

Day 8 - What Lurks Underneath The Desktop

I'm not at school today because I'm sitting with my almost 18 year old daughter who had wisdom teeth surgery. So, not pictures about my desk drawers. But, I have a pretty good idea of what is in there.

In the middle drawer there are lots and lots of office supplies. I am a pack rat when it comes to supplies. I hoard them but I do use most of them. Like my room, my supplies reflect my personality. I have multicolored thumb tacks, clips of all sizes, lots of colorful dry erase markers, latex free gloves, pencils and erasers (I have a latex allergy), hair bands, salt and pepper packets (obviously I eat at my desk), some make up (for when I don't have time to put make up on before I leave for work, staple refills, white out, etc. My middle drawer is really well organized and I'm only going to talk about it! Well, maybe not...

But, if you were to take a peak at my other drawers, they would tell a WHOLE different story. The drawer to the right can't be opened because it hits the computer cart, so I don't even know what it's in there and I'm scared to find out. The drawers on my left are a bit of a catch all. In there, you'll find: the nurse bag with emergency supplies, deodorant, tooth brush, paste and floss, plastic eating utensils, as well as napkins, Lysol wipes, hand sanitizer, extra office supplies (of course, because you can never have enough!), various essential oils, snacks (raising, almond, Craisins, fruit leather, M&Ms, etc., scissors and notes that I have put there so that I can check on later.

I think my drawers say about me that...

• I like color and variety
• I try to be organized but don't always succeed
• I am a Mom on the go
• I like to be prepared in case of emergencies or creative bursts 
• I like to be clean and smell good
• I'm into alternative medicine
• I'm popular with my kids' friends who stop by for snacks 

Day 7 Ode to My Virtual Colleagues

Day 7: "Who is your best colleague?"

My best colleagues are in my virtual PLN in Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ groups. I´ve written about them before in my post ¨My Twitter PLN¨.

So, here it goes again for the sake of the @Teachthought Blog Challenge. Yes, I'm cheating but didn't want to skip a day of the challenge even if I already wrote about it.

 Twitter is where I can learn, grow and exchange ideas with educators who are hungry for learning about best instructional practices for World Languages, technology and other fields. These are passionate "crazy" people, like me, who want to continue learning after we leave school. I have learned more about teaching Spanish, from my Twitter PLN than from any other college course, WL conference, or PD. Twitter puts everyone on an even playing field. It is a place where the novice teacher has equal access to generous veteran teachers who want to share their experience and knowledge. It allows me to talk to experts in the field, writers, and people who otherwise would not be accessible to me unless I traveled to a conference. Twitter is a lab where we are all experimenting with various evidence based techniques for the same purpose: to spread knowledge about WLs, to bring our kids to proficiency in TL, to get them to experience target cultures, to make the United States into a multi-lingual country where the rule is that people speak more than English. 

I am humbled and awed by the incredible generosity of so many teachers who spend hours sharing their knowledge with others. So, this is my thank you letter to those who host #langchats, to those who write for Edudemic, to those who write blogs and to those who have personally reached out to me and encouraged me in this journey. You have made me believe that I CAN teach in a way that brings results. Thank you, @Sraspanglish, @msfrenchteach, @dr_dmd, @ColeeSensei, @SECottrell, @alenord,@placido, @tmsauer, @ZJonesSpanish, @csctfl, @SenoraWienhold, @bleidolf67, +SenoraCMT, @ProfeCochran, among others. 

 

Post 6 The Man Who Believed in Me

Mentors - I wouldn't be where I am today, if it weren't for the mentors that I've had in my life. I've have mentors for different areas in my life, but here I am just going to focus on one mentor who helped me educationally and career wise. Dr. Albert Eyde, the Director of the American High School in Guayaquil, Ecuador, was my principal. All of us girls had a massive crush on him because he was so good looking. He smoke an aromatic pipe which added to his Hollywood type of elegance and allure. He saw me doing presentations and spotted potential as a teacher in me. He encouraged me to pursue education. When I came back after 3 gap years, where I travelled around South American and Europe, he asked me to come teach at the American school. I was called an instructional assistant, since I didn't have a college degree, but I was teaching classes on my own. He also offered me a scholarship to attend the night time American community college. I did that for a year and he felt that I would get further if I came to the US to finish my studies.  During my studies in NJ, he secured a scholarship for me and a home to live in. He also secured a job for me so that I could pay for my expenses. He did this again, when I transferred to The University of South Carolina as a Junior. He always checked in on me and had encouraging words letting me know that he believed in me. His dream for me was that I would be an educator. I'm glad that he laid the groundwork for me to achieve his dream, even when it wasn't my dream. Dr. Eyde is no longer on this earth but I was able to thank him for making it possible for me to get a great education in the United States. He had the satisfaction to know that I became a teacher.

This blogpost is my tribute to my mentor, Dr. Albert Eyde.

Day 5 - A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

 Allow me to introduce you to my Spanish room.

 When I see this picture, I have to laugh, because my room reflects me so well. There is a lot of color and texture from various authentic items from Spanish speaking countries. I want to create an atmosphere in my room that feels as if my students are at a "mercado artesanal" in Ecuador. I have an hamaca (hammock), wall hangings, modern and indigenous clothing, art prints, posters, curiosidades, student work, etc. The items come from various countries reflecting both my heritage and my travels. Notice that a poster has fallen off the bulletin board and is on the ground propped against the wall. I obviously missed the empty space on the board. As I say... this room reflects me well.

I have the classroom set up in a sort of square shaped U. I like to keep the middle as a wide open space so that students can get up and dance, do group activities, get on the floor to work on big papers and because I need a big stage for my teaching. This year I have 26 students in my Spanish 3 Honors classes, so the kids are pretty crowded. It has been a challenge keeping this shape with so many kids.

The things that I want to change about my room are:

• Get rid of the textbooks - store them somewhere to make room for authentic books, mags, etc
• Create an inviting library corner with these print materials.
• Bring in some lamps to get rid of that mood killing fluorescent lightning. 
• Create language ladders or word walls. The kids NEED them! 
• Maybe next year, get some tables so that students can collaborate better. Almost took the plunge this year, but I am not sold on this idea yet. 

Would love some suggestions from you fellow teachers.

Day 4 - If I am an awesome teacher but have no love......

Day 4 challenge "What do you love about teaching?

It would seem as if this would be an easy topic to answer, after all teachers generally go into teaching because there is some aspect of the profession that they love. For me, my love of teaching has been an evolution. There is the "what I selfishly LOVE about teaching" aka "All about Me" and where I have evolved in my love of teaching.

My selfish love of teaching has to do with my lifelong love and passion for performance, creativity, and learning. I am a born actress and since I can remember, I played teacher. I taught my dolls, cousins, younger siblings, Sunday school toddlers, preschoolers, elementary children, etc. I even taught at one of the American High Schools in Ecuador while I was in college. I only had a HS diploma (which I had gotten 3 years before) but in spite of my lack of credentials I was hired because teaching was such a natural process for me. So, on a daily basis, when I stand before that captive audience of kids and I can hold them spell bound with my acting, I simply LOVE teaching for the excitement that it provides to my life. I am a creative person. I am one of the dually "blessed" with a divergent brain that won't quit cranking ideas that I want to use in my classroom. However, I would never be able to implement them if it were not for the AWESOME people in my virtual PD, who have put those ideas in an organized fashion that makes sense. I also love learning new things, new ways of doing things, and growing as a learner, a person and a teacher. This is why #langchat and Google + groups are so awesome because I can literally learn something new every single day.

Even though all of these things are wonderful to have, for a number of years, they were in conflict with the reality of my students. Because, those precious children couldn't always meet the expectations of my wild imagination and they didn't always have my passion for learning. That frustrated me but I kept right on riding my high horse pulling along those who could keep up with my love and passion for teaching and learning.

That was the case until last year, when I got a Masters in Ed and found the #langchat group. I understood that there was a piece of my love which was missing and that was a love for my students - all of them. So, this year, I have worked and prayed hard so that I will love all of my kids. The thing is that I still love all of the things I mentioned before but now my focus in on the kids. The results so far have been amazing. After all... if I am a born performer, a creative teacher, and a lifelong learner but have no love, I am just a bunch of noisy maracas making a racket in the air.