senoracmt

The Year that is Going to Ruin my Life

Last year was hard. I have said many times that I spent the whole year trying to re-invent my lessons to engage a group of very quiet 4s and a group of VERY boisterous 2s… but this year is going to be the one to ruin the rest of my career.

They love everything. Level 4… loves everything.  The 2s who went on to 3… love everything. The new 2s… love everything.

They think my jokes are funny.

They think 10 min FVR twice a week is relaxing and stress relieving.

They think stories are fun.

They love Internado and Gran Hotel…

And guys…

Yesterday Spanish 2 was excited to do their written retell of Martina’s Oktapodi movie talk.

At first I thought it was just that they “seemed easy” because last year was difficult. Or that they were just waiting to show their true colors…

But they’re all.really.happy.

What am I going to do when I have a normal year again? A year with mostly happy kids and a few grouches? A year with students who don’t laugh at my dumb memes? A year when someone complains about everything?

I’ve decided I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I am going to THANK GOD and plan some great social justice stuff for these guys! 🙂

Hope your year treats you well and that if it is a hard one, next year is like this for you!!

Published by senoracmt

I began teaching Spanish in Illinois in 1994. I have taught levels 1-4 in a small rural high school, 8th grade introductory Spanish, Biology 1, and 101 and 102 at the community college level. My Spanish classes are partnered with the community college to offer students 8 semester hours of dual credit on completion of Spanish 4. In 2011 I met Carol Gaab and Kristy Placido and have since co-authored the book "La hija del sastre" with Carol Gaab and authored the novels "La Calaca Alegre", "Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos." "Vector," "48 horas","Bananas", "Sostenible", and "Papálotl" through Fluency Matters. In 2006 I became National Board certified and I have been serving as a mentor both for candidates seeking certification in world languages other than English and a virtual mentor for candidates in all certificate areas. I completed my Masters degree in Spanish education in 2011 and did my research on the use of Understanding by Design to create meaningful cultural units for the language classroom. I am a frequent presenter on this topic, please consider me if you are interested in a workshop on backward design. In 2013 I was named the ICTFL Foreign Language teacher of the year and in 2014 I was selected as CSCTFL's teacher of the year. In November of 2014 I was lucky enough to be one of the five finalists for the ACTFL National Teacher of the Year in San Antonio, TX. What a "Cinderella" experience! You can reach me via email at carrie at somewheretoshare dot com.

5 comments

  1. Dear Sra. Toth:
    Kudos to you! Embrace it all and think of this as the norm instead of the exception! Good things come to those who, like you, are answering a calling and continue to love our profession. Thank you for sharing and for continuing to be an inspiration to us all. ¡Enhorabuen!

    Reply

  4. That’s awesome!!!! Now tell me, where can I get access to Internado? I can’t find it on Netflix.

    Reply

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