...are you hispanic?

Shout out to my mom, Joan, for suggesting I tell the following story on my blog.

One of the special highlights of substitute teaching for me is that the two schools where I´m teaching both have significant Latin American immigrant populations, which sometimes gives me the opportunity to speak Spanish and always gives me the opportunity to gain insight into the lives of immigrant children in rural Nebraska.  And, sometimes, it just gives me a little laugh.

I recently substitute taught for the Spanish teacher at an Elementary school.  Ironically, all students take Spanish at this school, even if they are Spanish-speaking.  So although I was only teaching basics, as I moved from class to class many of the students could tell by the way I pronounced the words that I actually knew Spanish.  That was definitely the case as I started class with the 5th graders, and two students toward the back were whispering back and forth even as I began the lesson.

"Eyes up here and mouths closed, please," I stated firmly without losing my place in the lesson.  The whispering boy raised his hand.

"Do you have a question?" I asked him skeptically.  Satisfied, he lowered his hand and pointed to his friend.

"She wants to know if you're Hispanic."

I smiled, flattered.  I was often tempted to tell students I was Peruvian, but when the words came out I always ended up telling the truth.  So I explained that no, I am not Hispanic, but that I do speak pretty good Spanish because I lived in Peru.  From somewhere in the room I heard someone whisper, "See, I told you!"

We continued with the lesson, though classes with Spanish-speaking students are always more energy-charged once they know I know.

And that makes it all the more fun!