personal information

My teaching philosophy:

I have known that I wanted to be a teacher since my freshman year in college.  I have met a lot of people who say that they have known what they wanted to be since they were in elementary school, but it was not so for me.  Even when I decided that teaching would be the career to follow I stayed uncertain as to the subject I wanted to teach.  I started my college experience preparing to become an elementary school teacher but half way through it I realized that teaching at that level was not what I wanted to do.  I finally realized I wanted to teach Spanish, and have been studying, preparing and revising what I know to be the best teacher I can be.

I have always loved language in general, be it Spanish or English.  I love sharing what I know, and helping others to become involved in language learning.  I firmly believe that every child can learn, and learning a second language can be one of the most important things a student at any level can learn.  A second language can open many doors, it can serve as a bridge to learn more on other school subjects, and it can open the eyes of the learners to many new experiences.  I think that learning a second language can be seen as a doorway to explore new concepts, not only of language, but also of culture, to enhance our understanding of the world around us, and to allow all learners the opportunity to view and understand concepts in an entirely different way.

I was not born knowing that I was going to be a teacher, but I have made my decision based on everything I have learned in my life.  There is nothing I enjoy more than being in a classroom, and there is nothing I will enjoy more than teaching a subject that I love to eager students to learn.  I know that I am not perfect and that I make and will make mistakes when teaching but I also know that I will continue to grow professionally every chance I have.  I will continue to attend professional conferences, read about my subject matter, travel to Spanish speaking countries, and even take more classes, all in an effort to continue to grow as a professional.

I plan on being a good foreign language teacher by providing my students the opportunity to learn Spanish.  I will explore the necessary foreign language teaching methods in an effort to teach all my students.  I will not give up on any of them, because I know that all of them can learn a foreign language if they want to, and as a teacher I will be there to support them in their learning.  I will use all of my experience and knowledge of language teaching to bring to my students different perspectives and materials to enrich their learning.

My classroom rules:

Señorita Ibarra’s Classroom Rules

En la clase de Español…

You will always need:

• Your homework completed when you come in through the door.  (If you are seen working on your homework in class it will result in an automatic 0 for the assignment.)
• Spanish binder with blank notebook paper in it.
• Pencil or pen (not red)
• You have a right to two passes every quarter, if you use both of them or forget them one day you will not get another one.  If you do not use them you can turn them in at the end of the quarter as 5 extra credit points each.

Remember:

• Be on time.  You should be in your seat when the bell stops ringing.
• Per school policy no cell phones or electronic devices are allowed on during the school day.
• No talking is allowed while the teacher is talking, or while working on listening activities. 
• Do not work on anything for other classes in my class.  (If you are seen working on something for another class I will collect it and will not give it back to you, instead I will give it to the teacher that assigned it.)
• When working with a partner, focus on the activity and not on off-class off-school topics.  If you cannot focus on partner activities you will loose the right to work with a partner.
• When working with a group, focus on the activity at hand and not on off-task off-school topics.  If you cannot focus on the activity at hand you will loose the right to work with a group.
• Be supportive and respectful toward everyone in the class.  Do not use swear words, racial slurs, words that downgrade you or others, or make any inappropriate comments.
• As soon as the bell rings take out paper and pen or pencil and follow the instructions given and or written.
• The class is 50 minutes long, not 49, 48 or anything less, do not put your things away until you are told you can.
• Speak Spanish as much as you can, practice is the key to learning a second language.
• If you need help understanding a concept, come and see me after school as soon as possible or seek a tutor for help.  The foreign language department offers peer tutoring on Tuesdays after school from 2:30-3:30 p.m.
• If you are absent one day check the website to see what your homework was for that day (www.district87.org/staff/ibarraa), ask a classmate for his/her notes for the day and see me after school as soon as possible if there are materials that were handed in that day that you need.

Consequences of Violating Rules

1^st time             Verbal warning of violation.

2^nd time            Verbal warning and one or more of the following:  conference after class, phone call to parents, 15 minute detention with Señorita Ibarra during which the student will be expected to write a behavior improvement plan and will be expected to work on Spanish.

3^rd time             You will be asked to leave the room and I will write a referral to the Assistant Principal’s office.

***In the case of severe or chronic behavior, steps one and two may be bypassed.

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