Day One as a Spanish College "Kid"

I suppose introductions are in order. I'm David Dotson, though if you're here I suppose you already knew that. On to more important topics - how did I end up in Spain, enrolled in a Master's Degree? Well, it's kind of a long story.

My mother was a teacher and a single mother of two children. Read correctly all of that is to say that my sister and I grew up at school. We were there before the sun came up and still there long after the school bell rang. When I was young I appreciated this time to get to know my teachers as people and it made school feel like home, but that changed as I got older and moved on to secondary education. When I arrived to Middle School it felt rather impersonal and quite frankly unnecessarily so. None of these teachers were interested in me as a person, I was there to work - which is of course, partially true. I admittedly had problems with authority and was far too quick to respond before thinking about potential consequences. These factors led me to being fairly consistently in trouble at school, which in turn led me to hang out with other people who were frequently in the principal's office. These people introduced me to, let's just say, less than reputable ways of making money. Eventually, whether it was fate, or karma, or whatever cosmic force you may believe in - I was kicked out of school. Not just school, but I was barred from every school in the district. My mother, the educator, was mortified and informed me that I was going to finish my studies at home AND get a job. I, of course, said I would look for a job (spoiler alert: I did not). After a week of not having a job my mother informed me she had found one for me - working as a Kindergarten Teacher's Assistant.

Sounds like a cushy gig right? Show up and herd cats until the real professional reads them a story, does a dance, and everybody falls asleep until their parents come. In practice I was assigned to a class that had a chronically absent teacher (vodka and teaching don't mix) - so I spent my first year in a classroom as a 16 year old, in charge of 22 five year old children. It was hell, someone literally vomited on me (and my new shoes) the first day! Strangely enough though, when I picked my head up to catch my breath I realized something...I kind of enjoyed it. After a couple of years working as an "assistant" I made a decision and informed my mom, I wanted to go into education and be the teacher I always needed, but never had. She cried. No joke, she actually cried, but she'd seen the positive impact teaching had on me and she gave in.

Sounds like a cushy gig right? Show up and herd cats until the real professional reads them a story, does a dance, and everybody falls asleep until their parents come. In practice I was assigned to a class that had a chronically absent teacher (vodka and teaching don't mix) - so I spent my first year in a classroom as a 16 year old, in charge of 22 five year old children. It was hell, someone litera6lly vomited on me (and my new shoes) the first day! Strangely enough though, when I picked my head up to catch my breath I realized something...I kind of enjoyed it. After a couple of years working as an "assistant" I made a decision and informed my mom, I wanted to go into education and be the teacher I always needed, but never had. She cried. No joke, she actually cried, but she'd seen the positive impact teaching had on me and she gave in.

So, where have I been since then? Well, that's where my teaching career really began I suppose. I went to college, got a degree, and started teaching 6th grade. That year I had knives pulled on me, desks thrown between students, and had multiple students arrested. It was a rough first year, but I survived and in the mean time bumped into an exchange teacher from Spain - who would later become my wife. Fast forward a few years (jumping past teaching 3rd grade in Spanish and English and taking kids who'd never been on a plane to a National Debate Championship in Florida) and I followed my wife back to Spain. Since here I've been working in a private American school teaching mainly Junior and Senior level Social Science classes. I've really enjoyed it and I'm not sure I'll want to leave it, but this Master will help open doors if I want them.

Why am I excited about this class more than most of the others? Well, the cheap answer is that many of my other classes are things that are taught in a basic Teaching Bachelor's in the states (i.e. Educational Psychology, etc.). However, the real reason? Because after 7 years of teaching I've been pidgeon-holed as two things. First, the "tech" guy - I'm the one pushing the school to adopt all things Google or begging to have an eSports class; and second and probably less relevant, the "relationship" guy - the one who builds relationships with kids. I hope those two things are relevant strengths in this class and the Master overall, but I will admit to being a bit intimidated by studying in a new country.

Until Next Time!