Teachers are never seen as more than just a teacher, but they all have unique and interesting stories such as Mr. Smith, the Spanish teacher. 

Mr. Smith has been to many places around the globe, including Ireland, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Peru, and Brazil just to name a few. Smith frequented Peru three times and said he was, “partial to Peru.” His first visit there was to serve his Mission, and Peru was where he learned and became fluent in basic interaction skills in Spanish. Later on he furthered his academic knowledge of Spanish. 

It wasn’t until after his Mission in Peru that he wanted to be a Spanish teacher. Beforehand, when Smith was in high school he only knew he wanted to teach for a living, he just didn’t quite know what yet. But after his experience in Peru he found his calling. Mr. Smith started to understand the importance of language during his first stay there, learning that if only everyone could communicate the same, that would solve so many problems. Smith said, “issues start with miscommunication.” Upon discovering that truth for himself, he knew he wanted to teach Spanish. 

Now after having achieved that goal and being a Spanish teacher for some time, Smith stated that the only real challenge he has found in teaching it was that “there has just been a lack of interest in the class over the years.” As time progressed he noticed that more and more students are uninterested in learning and becoming bilingual even though it’s an incredibly useful skill to have. A common mindset that he encounters is that when someone lives in America, they only need to know English. 

But Mr. Smith finds it rewarding when at the end of the year he could have a student who started at nothing be able to carry a fluent conversation in Spanish by the time they leave at the end of the class. “It gives me confidence that they will be able to understand and communicate with fluent speakers in the future,” Mr. Smith said. He takes pride and a feeling of accomplishment with his work for this reason.