First post!

After perusing a multitude of other Spanish teacher blogs out there, I have decided to start one of my own! This is a third blog that I am writing on, the other two being personal blogs. If my consistency in posting for this blog is like the other two, then I will be sporadic. However, I hope that I post enough information and ideas to make this worthwhile.

A little about myself: I have been teaching Spanish in Upstate NY since 2003. My first year teaching was a one year LTS position at a large suburban HS. It was a good experience for a first year teacher, even though I cried every other day. If I taught at that school now, they wouldn't recognize me! Then I spent two miserable years in a tiny, rural Junior/Senior HS. I hated it there so much that even though I was on a tenure track, I resigned the position. I received no support from the principal or the assistant principals, even though I begged for it. I then took a .8 position at a large suburban/urban Middle School. This was the year that transformed me professionally. I got so much help from the district, my department coworkers were fantastic, and they had a dedicated teacher coach who met with me monthly. It's very unfortunate that the position was a one year contract, and that they failed to explain to me that I had to reapply for the position. I was young and naive and figured I would be automatically considered as a candidate. But as I said, that year was the best for my professional growth, and I will be forever grateful to them.

Because I was not rehired for that position, I decided to expand my search area for my next job hunt, and received a job offer at a high school within the state but in a different region. I have been in this position since 2007. I love my coworkers, both within my department and in the entire building. I couldn't ask to work with a better group of people. The district is a small to medium sized suburban/rural district. We have children of engineers and farmers, doctors and retail workers. It is a very homogeneous district in terms of race, but largely varied in economics.

My intention for this blog is to share any and all thoughts and ideas about lesson planning, learning styles, teaching in general, organization, motivation, and not just for Spanish teachers, but all teachers. I want this blog to have a wide readership. I want new teachers to feel that they are not alone and I want experienced teachers to feel the same, but in a totally different sense! I want to inspire, I want to collaborate, I want to commiserate, I want to express, I want to do it all! I will write about anything and everything that has to do with teaching, so that new teachers can understand the process and experienced teachers can remember how far they've come, and how we all should keep learning. I hope that I accomplish this and will work hard to do so!