Slice of Life: Eavesdropping on teaching genius

One of the best parts of working from home this year is the opportunities I have had to learn more about what a great teacher my husband is. This has been so heartwarming to witness. Even though it gets frustrating at times for him, I know he is so thankful for the opportunity to be doing this thing that he loves now, but did not see himself doing earlier in life.

You see, my husband grew up in Spain. He did not have a great experience in school. He is a twin and he is very, very, creative. His twin is very book smart. School, taught in the rigid, traditional way of his Catholic school in Spain, did not come easily to my husband. He had many teachers tell his parents how dumb he was and that he wasn’t going to make it very far in life. (I don’t know how many teachers actually said these words, but this is how they were perceived by him, which is what matters in this story) His mother adores him, but believed his teachers and they had epic homework breakdowns and very difficult times when he was young.

So, when it came time for him to choose, at age 12, whether he would go to the college preparation high school or the technical high school, he chose the latter. And, all through his childhood and young adulthood, he believed the story that he was not intelligent and he couldn’t learn. He finished his technical high school and then entered the work force in Spain, with absolutely no plans for higher education.

Then, he met me. I was studying abroad in my last year of college. We met, we dated, we fell in love, we considered where to live, he moved to the USA. At the time, he did not speak English at all.

It was rough. Immigration is no joke and trying to learn a new language while immersed in a completely different culture and moving out of your mother’s house for the first time and trying to figure out the first year of marriage and living together is overwhelmingly hard. But he was determined to learn English and get a job. He worked his butt off that first year.

I was floored by the complete dedication and the hard work that he put in. We put him in English as a Second Language classes at the community college, we switched to speaking English at home, the television always had the captions on and I rarely was able to get through an entire episode of anything without explaining at least two or three idioms or phrases to him. He was able to communicate in English to almost everyone around him in about three months. It was impressive.

Around this same time, we moved to Milwaukee so that I could do an alternative certification program to become a teacher. I had always wanted to be a teacher, but there were some other detours along the way and I did not study education in college. I quickly became obsessed with education and all that I was learning and experiencing as an intern teacher. I remember how my husband used to make fun of me because it was all I talked about.

Over the years of living here, Ramon had a succession of jobs, mostly as administrative assistant. His technical high school education was in this field, so it was the most closely matched for him. He hated it. However, in Spain, the unemployment situation is horrible and has been for a very long time. So, for him, the idea of trying to do anything about not liking your job was, literally, a foreign concept.

I spent years planting the seed of the idea of going back to school. About ten years ago, he finally listened. He went to school and decided to go into education. He worked hard and was certified as a World Languages teacher in Spanish. His decision, at first, was really based on the idea that we would both have summers off and the ability to travel for extended times to visit his family.

That is not the reason he continues to teach. Now, he loves it! I love hearing him joke with his students and chat about video games. I love brainstorming lessons and units with him. I love hearing the passion he has for helping students learn a second language or refine their literacy skills in their first language. He has so much more of a natural talent for this profession than either of us would have realized. I feel privileged to witness this talent every day.

This post is a part of the 14th annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. After a few years away, I am challenging myself to write every day in March this year, along with an amazing community of other bloggers. You can find our writing linked up on the Two Writing Teachers blog.

Author: Andrea

I am an instructional technology coach in a middle school in Milwaukee, WI. I have been teaching for over 20 years in many grade levels ranging from first through eighth grade. I am a lifelong book nerd.

3 thoughts on “Slice of Life: Eavesdropping on teaching genius”

  1. This is such an inspiring story. Your husband must be a great role model for his students, as well as being a great teacher. I am so glad he was finally able to find the work that he enjoys and loves, and so glad you were able to help him find his way there. Congratulations to both of you.

  2. Wow! Kyle and I can relate just a bit. We married in July, and I started my first year of teaching in August. He began working at an oil company and simply hated it more and more every month.
    When you wrote, “I quickly became obsessed with education and all that I was learning and experiencing as an intern teacher. I remember how my husband used to make fun of me because it was all I talked about.” THIS WAS US! When I hear him retelling the story of what inspired him to switch professions and become a teacher, he says “listening to all of Britt’s stories every night!!” LOL. We work at the same school now, and he won teacher of the year this year. Like you, I am so proud of how he has embraced this profession and truly become such a natural!

    1. That is great! Congratulations to your husband! It certainly seems as if our stories are very similar.

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