Please check the tab for your specific class for materials and/or any specific announcements. Also, please refer to this website throughout the year as I will update the Lesson Plans tab for each class on the Friday before each new week begins.
All Spanish students are expected to memorize the Charger Way in Spanish; please click on the tab labeled "Charger Way" to learn it.
Profe. Anders Peterson
SPANISH, Benjamin Franklin High School
Email: apeterson@bfcsaz.com
¡Hola! In Spanish "Mr." does translate to "Sr." (Señor), however, this is not a normal title for a teacher in Spanish. In Spanish, the term "profesor" refers to a person who teaches, and it is the most common title for a teacher in middle school or high school and the university. For this reason, I have chosen to be called "Profesor Peterson" or the nickname "Profe" (with Spanish pronunciation) and not Señor Peterson. This will be my sixth year teaching Spanish at BFHS, and I am very excited to teach Spanish 2, Spanish 3 Honors, and AP Spanish again. Before coming to this school, I had taught Spanish at the University of Arizona for 10 years. I was happy to transition to Benjamin Franklin High School because this has been an amazing learning and social environment for my three sons, two of which graduated here in May of 2022 and my youngest graduated in May with the class of 2024. A few fun facts about me are that I am from a small town in southern Arizona called Ajo, I have visited all 50 U.S. States, Spanish is my first language, and I am a dual citizen of the United States and the small South American nation of Uruguay.
A.A. in Sociology and A.A. in Languages, Eastern Arizona College
B.A. in Spanish Interpretation & Translation with a minor in French, University of Arizona
M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics, University of Arizona
Post Degree in Secondary Education, Pima Community College
Arizona Teaching Endorsements in Spanish, English, History, Middle School Social Studies
I was first a student and then a teacher; however, I have never stopped being a student. As a teacher, my philosophy is based largely on my initial role and this has aided me in creating a student-centered environment where effective learning is achieved.
“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens...Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
I am looking forward to interacting with a dedicated community of scholars and facilitating and expanding the use of Spanish in their lives. Many people think that it is not possible to learn a new language in high school, however, I have seen students progress from zero speaking to becoming highly conversational in 2 years years. I am excited to see more students become bilingual at BFHS.