This week, students and teachers arrived from France for the annual exchange with LMS. We are so proud of all of our language teachers, students, families and administrators that make this type of exchange possible. School Board member, Cyndi Smith, shared during the welcome breakfast that the French exchange was one of her daughter's favorite memories from middle school. What will your students' favorite memories be?
Spanish and French class are some of my favorite recollections from high school as well, which probably led to me becoming a Spanish teacher eventually. But this passion for languages is also what motivated me to travel to underdeveloped countries during my high school and college years during the summers to help bring aid and relief. It also sparked the work I did with the non-profit community in Columbia for English Language Learners. My interest in other languages and cultures has also given me a wide circle of friends and acquaintances who are diverse, interesting, intelligent and who share their unique perspectives with me, and help me to see beyond my own life experiences. I would not be who I am today if not for the eccentric, fun, crazy and loving Spanish and French teachers I had in school. Charlemagne is credited with saying, "To have another language is to possess a second soul." In my case, this is certainly true, and I think most of you feel the same way about your second, third, fourth or even fifth language. As you grow weary in these last few weeks of school, just remember, you are not just teaching French, German, Spanish, Russian, Latin or Chinese, you are also giving your students the opportunity to possess a second soul.
4 Comments
Elizabeth Ben Yahia
4/27/2018 08:29:37 am
How inspiring! Thank you for sharing, Liza!
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maria smith
7/16/2019 08:50:28 am
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Lydia A. Shumpert
4/27/2018 09:14:46 am
WOW!!!! Amiga, this was deep! I love it!!!
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Maria Alejandra Zimmerman
4/27/2018 09:34:57 am
I am really excited for the wonderful experience these students are about to have. Their lives are about to experience something really special.
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