Sra. T was my high school Spanish teacher. I started Spanish in 9th grade and because of Sra. T, I fell in LOVE with it instantly. She loved us like we were her own children, she put stickers on our papers when we did well (hadn't seen those since elementary school!), and she made her classroom feel like HOME.
Today, I am a Spanish teacher. I majored in Spanish in college because she turned the language into my passion. I was pre-med at first, but then I realized I loved all things school, loved people, and didn't want to "just see them when they were sick".
When I made the decision to teach and started taking education courses, I realized that most of my ideas of what it meant to teach language all came from my 4 years in Sra. T's classroom. The games, the songs, the videos, the FUN and joy of learning...The way she would give us nicknames, let us choose Spanish names, and would call us "Señor" and "Señorita", her goofy voices and random tunes... I do them too! :) She also would make worksheets that had sentences about EACH of us on them and create fun themed translations based on what was going on in the world-- holidays/Winter Olympics, etc.
To have her class was to love her.
When I realized how much she'd fully impacted my life's course, I sat down and wrote a heartfelt and lengthy letter...
SHE WROTE BACK! And better yet, she did so in the form of an "I Love Lucy" postcard! (She used to reference I <3 Lucy all the time). It was the most exciting piece of mail in my dorm mailbox! :)
I had the honor of observing in her classroom (see below) as well as helping teach her students for a day. Sra. T retired the year before I began my career, so she bequeathed me much of her classroom items.
I literally felt that she passed on the torch to me. To this day I am honored and humbled to have been her student and to carry on her legacy in my own classroom.
Gracias, Sra. T.
Usted es mi inspiración y el centro de mi corazón español.
Ahora y siempre.
Con amor y gratitud sin fin,
"Margarita"
For photos, Click HERE and scroll down.
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