The gift of learning continues to pass on as students teach beginning level Spanish to elementary students at Davis Elementary. Art teacher Elizabeth Ozbun sponsors the club for her students and advertised the opportunity to teach in the high school announcements.
“The first day I saw it, I asked Mrs. Dees about it and she helped me contact Mrs. Ozbun who was ecstatic to receive a reply,” junior Alex Tatem said.
Tatem signed up and convinced others in her Spanish III class to teach as well.
“Alex asked me and since I went to Davis and I loved to work with kids, I agreed,” junior Jacob Nanthalangsy said.
Starting in January, with 24, third through fifth graders, the students met with high school students and studied the language from 3:45 to 5 p.m. as well as make crafts that go along with the culture.
“This was something I was interested in doing because I love teaching and I want to continue my study of Spanish,” Tatem said, “This will be a good opportunity to practice since I would love to be able to speak it fluently.”
Both Tatem and Nanthalangsy intend to study Spanish throughout their high school career and hopefully continue to share their passion for the Spanish language.
“Spanish is easy and entertaining. I tried French but it just didn’t meet the expectations of Spanish so I’ll probably continue on to AP Spanish,” Nathalangsly said.
The volunteers plan with Ozbun the activities to match her crafts and keep a well-rounded learning environment. The students watched Señor Wooly videos, learned the basics of Spanish and have seen art from Spanish artists like Salvador Dali.
“These kids are here because they want to learn. They asked for paper to take notes and they went home and looked things up,” Tatem said. “Unlike high school kids in Spanish I who are like ‘ugh I hate this class’ these kids are excited to learn.”
Considered as a way to give back to the community, it not only looks good on paper to volunteer but also gives the students a chance to test their knowledge of Spanish.
“I think that everyone should have two or three places that they volunteer at regularly, whether that is teaching or tutoring, or Habitat for Humanity,” Tatem said, “I encourage everyone to be involved in the community as for me, well this is my way.”
