Biography and Philosophy

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

¡Hola! Me llamo Señorita María del Carmen Díaz. It is a joy and honor to be Hoboken Charter School's K-8 Spanish Teacher. I have worked with languages in one form or another for a number of years. I have taught either as a Spanish Teacher, a Bilingual Teacher or as an English as a Second Language Teacher to students of all ages. When I was not teaching, I worked as a Broadcast Journalist at CNN, CNN en Español, CNBC and MSNBC. Yet, after many years in news, I returned to my first love - teaching. On the weekends, you can find my family and I in Jersey City Heights gardening at the River View Community Garden or in North Bergen with family and friends. See you soon! ¡Nos vemos pronto!

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Acquiring another language is a great investment in our children's future! I believe students should not be limited to learning one language but in fact to learn a second, third, even a fourth language. If we, are able to show our future leaders to appreciate another language and its culture while they are young, then we are cultivating well-rounded citizens that will have the linguistic and cultural tools to help them maneuver and succeed in our ever growing global community.

My goals as a Spanish Teacher are to create independent thinkers and instill them with a love of learning. Motivation is an essential key to that development. So I like to motivate students by using different techniques, integrating technology and bringing in real world language uses into the classroom. It is also, important to base lessons on student interests and what they already know. For that reason students are constantly being assessed so the lessons can meet each student on their level in order to ensure confident growth and success at their own pace.