Occupational Insight: What it Really Means to be a Spanish Teacher

“My favorite thing about teaching is the relationships I get to form with students and just to see how they grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and to form good bonds with my students,” stated Señora Serfass. As a current AP Spanish student, I am interested in becoming a Spanish teacher when I am older and I hope to create relationships with my future students as well. Having relationships with teachers helps students do better in the class. Becoming a Spanish teacher has been my dream occupation since I was a 7th grade student, which helped me decide what language to take in 8th grade. 

Teaching Spanish has always been a dream of mine with the help of all my Spanish teachers, but the teacher who impacted me the most was my Spanish 3 teacher, Señora England. England made Spanish so enjoyable and made me want to continue speaking it and learn more about it. “I went back to one of my professors, who was basically my second mom and she convinced me to try teaching since I hated my business job; it was so boring,” said Señora Coppolino. Coppolino discussed how her one college professor basically convinced her to teach Spanish since she was very good at it. Señora Coppolino decided to listen to her professor and she taught in Philadelphia. They emergency certified her because she technically wasn’t considered a teacher, but it was so crazy for her since she had a child at home and she was taking college classes at the same time to become certified. Coppolino recalls, “ I was teaching during the day without a certification and I was doing classes at night and this was driving my crazy.” 

The best thing about teaching Spanish is definitely going to be the relationships formed with my future students and the whole idea of traveling sounds fun to me. Both Serfass and Coppolino have been able to travel to other Spanish speaking countries since they are teachers. Coppolino said, “ I think the best thing about teaching is for the first time in a long time, I have students for the second time in their high school career and it makes me see how these students have grown and how their interest in Spanish still lives on and to know that I somewhere along the way have helped spark their interest.” Hearing that statement inspires me so much to be able to feel that happiness that Coppolino felt when she realized that she is teaching some of the same kids she taught in Spanish 1 or Spanish 2. 

Spanish has affected both these teachers’ lives in positive ways. “It has been an amazing career; it has provided me with lots of relationships. I have been able to travel to Spain and Costa Rica through this job, and it is the source of my happiness, “ said Serfass. Señora Serfass has enjoyed her career and has enjoyed the outcome of this career. Señora Coppolino has also stated that “ there has been both good and bad years. If you have a bad year you have a fresh start in September.  I have also enjoyed the fact that I have been given the opportunity to learn about students and other teachers and not focus on just myself. I have taught in all different places and this has molded me into the person that I am today,” stated Coppolino. Coppolino has also enjoyed this career and has learned to have a love for teaching Spanish. 

All my Spanish teachers that I’ve had, have always told me to chase after your dreams and do what makes you happy. They all have impacted my life and have encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming a Spanish teacher. They also have made me realize how much fun being a teacher will be. From all my teachers, I have learned not only about Spanish and the language, but they have taught me so many life lessons and I can’t thank them enough. I hope that I can eventually be as successful as my past and current Spanish teachers.