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Start School Kindergarten
The start of my education -
2nd Grade
Second grade is when my school started teaching Spanish as a class. It was assumed that everyone would take the class unless decided with your teacher if something else was to happen. -
Decision to talk me out of Spanish class
Before I even started class it was decided that I would not take Spanish starting in 2nd grade. I was taken out of class and instead, I was put into a tutoring program where I would develop better reading and writing skills in English. -
5th Grade
At this time my teachers have decided that my English is now at the same level as my fellow students. I am now back in Spanish class at the 5th-grade level after never talking Spanish. -
Confusion
At this point, I had never been in a Spanish class and i was expected to catch up with the rest of the students that had been taking it since 2nd Grade. Because of this, I was the most confused student, I do not remember being offered extra help and I felt so lost in class. -
5th- 8th Grade
Because I never got the introduction to Spanish in second and third grade I was confused from fifth grade all the way until I left this school for my high school education. Every year was a new year of me trying to just get by in Spanish class. -
High school
At my high school, I was required to take two years of Spanish. When I found this out I had some amount of dread because I did not want to go through more Spanish class being confused but at the same time it was an opportunity for me to actually learn a good amount of Spanish. -
Sophomore year
I took Spanish 1 freshman year and now into Sophomore year I felt okay, I was a lot better with Spanish this year than I was in elementary through middle school but I still felt behind. Not being caught up with my class in 5th-8th grade left me feeling like I was always going to be behind the rest of my class. -
Graduating High school
After Sophomore year I did not take any more Spanish class because I did not feel confident enough to pass the class. Now thinking back I wish i did but at the same time, I do not think these programs that I went through were made to make students bilingual or anywhere near that. I think it was mainly for college admissions to see that I did take the required amount of two Spanish classes. -
Beginning of ED 472
I was very excited about this class because my education did not result in becoming fluent in Spanish, from this class I was excited to learn some strategies to help bilingual learners. This past week from our course readings I learned, having students work as partners on computers is a great resource (García and Kleifgen, 100). I think this would be something that I would like to do in my future class to help provide more support for my student's learning. -
Now
Currently, I think that being bilingual is a great asset when you are a teacher because as a teacher you come in contact with a very diverse population. Knowing a second language and knowing the importance of that language is very valuable. Along with this knowing how language and culture are intertwined is very important because language is a part of many bilinguals' cultural identities. This will shape me as a future educator because I see the importance of a second language.