In Mountain Ridge High School, in Phoenix Arizona, Sara Godby, also known as Señora Godby, is an enthusiastic and happy Spanish 1-2 teacher that loves her job. Her inspiration to teach Spanish rooted from her childhood and her family. Señora Godby’s mother speaks Spanish but her dad does not. Due to this, she was inspired to learn more Spanish so that she could better connect to her mom’s side of the family. During college, she lived in Mexico for 10 months and was completely attracted to the cultural tradition in the country. She spent her time in college learning Spanish, and because of this she wanted to help other people have the same opportunity for such an eye-opening experience.

Favorite Part of Teaching

Students, to Señora Godby, are the favorite part of her career. She states that she gets to meet “so many hilarious, brilliant, curious young adults who surprise me every day.” This shows how much she truly loves her students as well as her career. “No two days are ever the same,” she says, elaborating that some days are either chaotic, others magical.

Relationship With Students

Señora Godby truly enjoys the presence of her students. She has stated that they “keep her on her toes,” they make her laugh and even teach her things about the newer generation, such as Generation Z slang. She even uses the things she learns from her students and incorporates them into her teaching. She uses new slang she learns to engage her students into learning, avoiding being dry and unenthusiastic.

Students Perspective

Two students who have taken her class have provided insight on how they think of her. Karthick Ponkali is a freshman in Mountain Ridge High School, who is in Señora Godby’s Spanish 1-2 class. He says “I think she is very enthusiastic and knows how to teach well. Her overall way of teaching Spanish is very clever. I have learned a lot, being in her class.”

Michael Ebenzeezer is also Ridge freshman in Godby’s Spanish class. He says “Mrs. Godby’s teaching skills are exceptional in my opinion, she delivers the material gracefully and makes sure that all the students understand the topic. She even talks to us in Spanish to make sure we are learning well”

Situation Management

To continue on with her story, whenever there is a bad situation that takes place in class, such as an argument or, when her students get too loud, she takes a deep breath and tries to think through different ways she could handle the situation. “Sometimes what I think isn’t what actually happened,” she states, so taking that into account, she asks her students what actually happened so that she can properly understand the full picture before she reacts. Most of the time, instead of reacting in an upset or angry tone, she is calm and waits for her students to settle the problem on their own. This shows how understanding Señora Godby is, making sure not to react in a bad way, or making her students feel like she doesn’t like them.

Hardships

Although being a high school teacher can be fun and enthusiastic, there are some parts of the job that are difficult and challenging. Moreover, the balance between personal life and work add on to this pressure. “Time. There is just not enough of it. My husband has brain cancer and needs full-time care, and being a teacher also takes everything I’ve got.” Everyday, she goes to school and gives it all she got. This showcases her dedication to her job and love to her husband.

Conclusion

Taking everything into conclusion, it can be said that Señora Godby is a passionate and dedicated Spanish teacher at Mountain Ridge High School of Phoenix, Arizona. Out of everything, she values her students that bring her much joy. Overall, Señora Godby’s enthusiasm, positive attitude, and genuine care for her students and her career, makes her an exceptional educator that positively influences those around her.