First of all and simply: I feel that I have natural ability to teach, connect, and care for children, and I am passionate about teaching especially ESOL students. I believe that enthusiasm, love and passion for teaching inspire students to want to learn.
I have worked as an Elementary Art teacher in Buenos Aires, and in several underserved public schools in New York City, as an art integration -teaching artist with mostly Hispanic and Latino students as well as Special Ed students.
This year I started working as a 2nd grade classroom teacher in a TWI (two way immersion) program in a school in Beaverton, and it is the most wonderful job I ever had. A great fit for me, considering my experience, skills and background. Because of my background, I feel that I’m in a privileged situation to teach, nurture and further support students in a Two Way Immersion program. I am a native Spanish speaker, South-American, and thus culturally competent. I grew up in Buenos Aires and came to the US at the age of 25, like many immigrants, looking for opportunities to better my education and further my career.
Through a combination of hard work and visionary planning, I was able to pursue many of my dreams, like the one of continuing my studies. I’m now about to be the first individual in my extended family to have gone to college and achieved a Master Degree.
As many immigrants’ experience, my first few years in the US were extremely challenging and humbling. I tried very hard to adapt to the new culture, learn the language, and belong. Today can proudly share that I am able to incorporate valuable aspects of the North American culture, while preserving and honoring my own South-American roots.
I would like to continue to learn how to teach, exploring the use of the arts and media integrated into core curriculum. I feel that the Arts and Media Arts are both wonderful tools to aid literacy skills acquisition, in subjects such as Language Arts, Science, Math, and Social Studies.
I want to become good at planning lessons based on essential questions, and teaching using an inquiry based class facilitation style.
I can’t think of a better job for me than working as a team with my principal, and teacher colleagues, teaching a Two Way Immersion program in a diverse school. We can make a substantial contribution to help children develop their will, curiosity, creativity, creative thinking, inquiry skills, and research methods.
Another area where I feel proficient in is helping children develop self-love, self-knowledge and acceptance as well as building pro-social skills, community and leadership skills.
In a more personal level, I am positive than I can help provide a nurturing, healthy, respectful, safe, and creative environment for each child, since I have learned to create this type of environment, -not only in my classes-, but for myself. I am extremely interested in learning what each child in my classroom needs’ might be.
I would like to learn to create and apply lesson plans geared towards self-expression as well as developing literacy. These curriculum will be based on units including self-guided activities -as I engage in observation of my students’ behavior, learning moments, rhythm, and needs-.
One of my main skills and interests is to engage in these student observations to help me keep my planning and curriculum alive while –as much as possible- catered to each student needs.
I want to learn how to applying an Arts Pedagogy that will integrates the child’s mind, body, and spirit.
Attracting parents and kipping them engaged in their children education has been a challenge for me in the past; therefore, I am always trying to learn new ways to create meaningful connections with my students’ parents or caregivers and facilitate opportunities to meet and share family activities.
