Teacher Virginia Guidry: Sharing Spanish culture with students is “the most beautiful experience”
Published at 5:00 AM Friday, December 8, 2023
- Virginia Guidry is this week’s Benoit Motors Teacher of the Week. (Exclusive to Beauregard News)
Written by Emily Burley
Spanish teacher Virginia Guidry, 52, believes in the importance of learning Spanish as a second language.
She was born in Oviedo, Spain and graduated from Osif High School in her hometown. She then moved to the United States to attend Northwestern State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
Two of her brothers are Spanish teachers in Louisiana and her sister is a Spanish teacher in Gulf Shores, Ala. She gained her first teaching experience as a freshman in college who returned to Spain every summer to teach English as a foreign language at a school. A Spanish summer camp called “The Ferreria”.
She said this experience was amazing and strengthened her motivation to become a teacher. She has now been teaching for 25 years, beginning her career as a psychology teacher at NSU for five years and Spanish for Louisiana Virtual School before coming to Lake Charles — a move that followed her marriage. I started teaching Spanish at Sulfur High School.
Over the years, she also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching and completed all coursework required for her Doctor of Education in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University.
Currently, she is the 9th grade Spanish and AP Spanish teacher at the Sulfur 9th Grade Campus.
With the growing number of Spanish speakers in Southwest Louisiana, Guidry provides students with the tools needed to communicate and interact effectively.
“Being able to communicate with them can have a huge impact on the lives of people in our community. Additionally, by learning Spanish, students will have more positive attitudes in society, and this will lead to less prejudice toward people who are different.”
She greatly enjoys teaching ninth grade and understands her responsibility as an educator during a lifespan that represents a pivotal moment in every teen’s success story.
To further her work with this grade level, she is sponsor of the Sulfur Center’s ninth grade literature assembly. In this role, she works alongside Robert Preggin, a math teacher at Sulfur High School, to prepare students for district and state meet. She said the literature assembly allows her to witness one of her favorite parts of teaching, seeing her students apply their knowledge and succeed.
Her time teaching students in Southwest Louisiana has been special. She said that the opportunity to share her passion for her Spanish culture with her students is the most beautiful experience.
“As a Spanish teacher, I have a strong love for Spain, and it is a true honor to be able to share my story with my students.”
Many of her students have not had the opportunity to travel abroad, so in her classroom they are given the opportunity to be travelers and learn about her favorite Spanish experiences and traditions – Las Tapas, La Siesta, Flamenco.
This is a vital practice for a well-rounded foreign language education, and Guidry’s goal is to encourage her students—past, present, and future—to continue their education in the Spanish language and culture.
“I believe that when students learn a language, as well as its culture and symptoms, the student’s global perspective expands dramatically.”
Her students validate her when they come to visit with stories of speaking Spanish in the wilderness.
“Over the years, students have told me that they were able to order something in Spanish at a Mexican restaurant, or that they were able to strike up a conversation while dancing with a cute boy who didn’t speak English or help a stranger who needed help communicating in English in the community. And, of course, talk These “aha” moments happen in all disciplines, but there is something beautiful about learning a language that allows students to connect with someone they never understood.
When they look back, her students will remember the positive classroom environment filled with interactive learning, meaningful connections, and lessons with the personal touch of Guidry’s Spanish stories.
“The material has to be interesting, engaging, and exciting. If I don’t have fun, the students won’t have fun, and we won’t learn. …This allows me to get to know my students on a personal level. Of course, I know I have the best students in the parish.”