When you're a high school student sitting in a math class that seems more like a foreign language class, you sit there and wonder: do I really need to use sine and cosine when I get out into the real world, will I really care what x equals, will I ever see a quadrilateral on the side of the road and need a geometry proof? Sorry Mr. Lewis, Mr. Derwort, and Mrs. Danford but the answer is no!
Of course, certain classes like Mrs. Mercer and Mrs. Dodson's literature classes are very handy now that I have children who are starting to read chapter books. Hopefully they will continue to love to read into high school and we can share opinions on the books that I read when I was in high school. And thanks to Mrs. Monbrum's Typing I and Typing II classes, I am a whiz at all the typing games on the computer. But there are two classes that I took just for fun, to fill up time slots during my junior and senior year, Spanish I and Spanish II. Little did I know that these classes would be beneficial for me during the 2000's. I never thought in a million years that I would need to know Spanish. I dislike airplanes therefore, I will never be traveling to a Spanish speaking foreign country and need to ask, Donde esta el bano? (Imagine the little squiggly mark above the n). And I didn't live in an area where there was anybody that spoke Spanish as a first or second language.
Let's pause from the topic for a moment and let me tell you a few things about these Spanish classes. First, they were the weirdest classes, I ever took in my life. Second, the very first day of Spanish I the teacher, Mr. Salanik, brought out a guitar and sang La Bamba like it was no big deal. What?!? Teachers don't sing in the class! From then on I knew this class was different. Third, the homework sheets, quizzes, and tests were handwritten by him. He would use the names of the students in class for the sentences he used. Of course, he always thought it was funny if Harry el gusta bailar with Barbie, or Michelle, or Susan, or anybody else but me. The teacher would look at me and smile to see if it was bothering me. He was an odd duck I do have to admit. I did good in the classes. Got an A in both. It was fun at the time and then forgotten when I went to college.
It dawned on me the other day, that I took those Spanish classes all those years ago, so I could one day correctly read any Dora the Explorer book that was brought to me by my three girls! I know how to pronounce the words (still can't roll my R's) correctly, I can tell the girls what the Spanish words mean (without having to look at the index at the back of the book with the English words written next to them), and most importantly, I look like the smartest mom in the world to my three girls because I can understand a foreign language (to a certain extent).
So, I guess I do owe Mr. Salanik a thank you for teaching me Spanish. It's good to know that my time studying in high school is finally paying off! Adios!
Loved this!
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