Laura Ibarra
Philosophy
On Her Profession
My teaching philosophy is to lay a strong foundation for future language study by fostering the student's interest and motivation in the Preschool and Elementary years. Practicing this early on will give students a strong anchor for future second language study in Middle School and beyond. To encourage a child’s interest in second language, it’s important to remember that learning is a journey and the process takes time. Learning another language requires frequent exposure over time and my primary focus is to engage students into learning Spanish by choosing relevant and meaningful themes and to make a connection about the benefits from their acquired knowledge.
On Kingsbury
One of the most gratifying rewards of teaching is to hear from students that I’ve changed the way they felt about Spanish, or simply that they learned more in my class than they expected. One key to effective teaching is to create an environment in which students enjoy learning and gain confidence in their own abilities which undeniably is a shared philosophy of Kingsbury School. Many students come to my Spanish class with a sense of inhibition – even dread – because they feel they are simply “not good at language”. While it’s true that students have differing levels of proficiency and ability in language learning, I encourage all my students to participate as much as they can and to learn as much as they can. I often tell them that I too, can sympathize with them since I also learned how to speak English and I didn’t think I was good at it at the beginning.
It is not enough, however, to simply create a positive environment in the classroom. Students also deserve clear explanations of the material, and thoughtful activities and discussion. It is particularly important to set a high standard for class activities and discussion in my Spanish class, I like to make sure students understand my expectations of them. It is my experience that when I present difficult concepts as clearly as possible, students tend to rise to the challenge.
Bio
This is my 8th year teaching Spanish in K-8th grade. I started teaching at Notre Dame Schools in Warren Ohio, and then here in Michigan in different schools such as Lakeville Elementary, Carpenter Elementary, Our Lady Academy and St. Joseph’s school. I was involved teaching also at Queen of the Family Home schooling group for 6 years.
I have also taught and tutor Spanish to adults at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community, the Oxford community and Catholic Social Services/Hispanic Outreach.
