Teacher Appreciation Week: Señora Silva

Whether you’re stressed for a test or simply having a bad day, you can count on Señora Silva to make you laugh and feel better. Silva has been a Spanish teacher at City High for nine years and has enjoyed getting to connect with students and watch them expand their skills in the Spanish language. One of my favorite things about Silva is that she is always in a good mood and how it reflects in her teaching. Everyone is always smiling and laughing during Spanish class, which makes it a great environment to learn in. One of her favorite parts of being a teacher is getting to find similarities and connect with students.

“My favorite part is sharing the cultural aspect and learning and finding some commonalities and connecting with anything in [students’] backgrounds whether it’s what they like or their ideals or the language itself,” Silva said.

My classmates and I have loved getting to learn about culture in Spanish-speaking countries from Silva over the course of this school year. One of my favorite things about her class is getting to read and learn about real-world examples of concepts that have been taught to me for years.  

“I think it’s super important to get to know each other, to trust each other regardless of whether we agree with each other,” Silva said.

Silva encourages her students to ask questions and be okay with being uncomfortable with the language. Getting to see students become competent enough in the language to start expressing their own ideas is one of the great payoffs of teaching a language.

“That’s really exciting for me because it means that you’re going to take something with you and there’s more possibilities of you guys continuing with the language,” Silva said.

I would highly recommend taking a class with Señora Silva, as it is an amazing learning opportunity and a truly enjoyable experience.