My Spanish Passion

How a Spanish teacher influenced my life

Spanish

I looked down at my schedule, room 253 and ascertained that I was walking into the right classroom. I walked into the room and couldn’t believe my eyes; I had heard that he was a strange teacher, but I hadn’t expect to see puzzles covering the walls. Little did I know that the intensity of Mr. Hult’s classroom would grow even more. At one point there would be a kid sitting inside of a box if he was being a distraction. Mr. Hult’s Spanish II classroom was a life-changer for me; before my sophomore year, I truly believed that I did not have a talent or a passion for anything. Throughout Spanish II, taught by Mr. Hult, I discovered my true passion.

The first thing that I realized in Mr. Hult’s Spanish II classroom was that last year all I did was memorize vocabulary when I should have been learning grammar patterns that were essential for Spanish II. I despaired that I would never be able to catch up, how was I supposed to remember that you had to match up a feminine la with a feminine noun amiga. There were simple concepts that I had not focused on. I was too concerned with learning these new words; I was so excited to learn a new language that I got caught up in the vocabulary and not the grammar. Through Mr. Hult’s perseverance and passion for teaching, however, I overcame these obstacles and succeeded in the class of Spanish II.

One thing that you must know about Mr. Hult is that his passion is contagious. When Mr. Hult is talking to you, you can feel his passion radiating off of him. Whenever Mr. Hult is animatedly teaching a new aspect of Spanish, and I or another student asks a question that intrigues him or helps to explain the concept, his passion intensifies. He will not just dismiss the question, as some teachers may, he will delve into the topic and ensure that all students understand. Mr. Hult’s passion expands extensively past the language of Spanish alone. He is also passionate about countless other topics. Oftentimes, he goes into tangents about current events, what he believes should be changed in school systems, or even just daily, conversational topics. Mr. Hult’s passion for Spanish, caused me to continue learning the concepts that we were currently learning in class, and the concepts that we would soon be learning.

My craving for knowledge of the Spanish language expanded far past the syllabus. I wanted to know the sayings in Spanish that locals would use, I wanted to know conversational Spanish amongst friends, and I wanted to know as many new words in Spanish as possible. Mr. Hult fueled my passion by taking extra time during class and after class to personally tutor me in current concepts and future concepts. I would often stay after school with Mr. Hult to learn more about the Spanish language, and he even started teaching me what I would be learning in Spanish III. Eventually, I started to teach my fellow students the Spanish II concepts that we were learning, but they were struggling with. A successful teacher is one who can teach their pupil to become a teacher themselves.

Mr. Hult did not limit what he was tutoring me to only Spanish. I would also come to Mr. Hult for advice on learning concepts in other courses that I was taking. Recently, I was struggling to learn the terminology for my AP Language and Composition class, so I went to Mr. Hult, and he gave me strategies for learning each word. Then, I went to my friends who were also in that class, and I attempted to teach them the ways to remember each word. I was successful in teaching for some of the words, but not all of them. However, I believe that if I had more time with the words, or more time with my friends, I would be able to bring them to fully comprehending the terminology.

I am currently in Spanish III, but I still return to Mr. Hult’s classroom for additional tutoring. He began by teaching me concepts that we were going over in Spanish III, and is now teaching me Spanish IV concepts. Mr. Hult is tutoring me, now, in order to take the AP Spanish test at the end of my junior year. Typically, students take the AP test at the end of their senior year.

Mr. Hult has been a huge influence on me. He helped bridge the gaps of my knowledge from Spanish I that allowed me to enjoy Spanish II. He’s given me countless strategies to improve my studying for other courses. He has helped me to discover my passion, even when I believed that I didn’t have one. Mr. Hult is the reason why I am as passionate about Spanish as I am. He is the teacher who went above and beyond all expectations.