From Ms. Angeles Barba’s first high school Spanish class, a love for language took root, and never faded. Now, that love has become her career. At Arcadia High School (AHS), she teaches Spanish and English Language Development (ELD).
“It was my first Spanish class when I fell in love with learning my own culture and how it has a connection to other cultures; I felt like having that connection and learning about myself was really cool,” Ms. Barba said. “I wanted to project that in my future classroom to have students learn about themselves and what they love and their assets.”
Before AHS, she served as a teacher aide and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) tutor at Covina, and as a teacher in the El Monte Unified District after earning her teaching credentials from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
A month into the school year, Ms. Barba said she loves her experience at AHS.
“I have a lot of support here, which is really important, especially if you’re new,” she said. “So I really like the support and the community base to have a lot of time on campus and stuff.”
Ms. Barba also credits her appreciation for AHS to her students. She describes them as motivated and “high achievers,” believing that their intellectual curiosity is key to their success.
“In my class they ask a lot of questions every single day,” she said, emphasizing the importance of asking questions regardless of whether one thinks they’re dumb or not. “I think asking questions not only benefits students, but it also helps the teacher see what they’re understanding and how I can change my lesson plan.”
In addition to traditional language class methods like memorization and verbal communication, Ms. Barba brings her own techniques into the classroom. Currently, she uses interactive group puzzles to encourage students to collaborate and solve problems together. She finds this approach effective for promoting communication, teamwork, and critical thinking among her students.
“I just always loved language, so I got into Spanish for that reason; I also got into ELD because it goes into very explicit learning,” Ms. Barba said. “You learn the culture of the language and connect to the culture.”
While Ms. Barba enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, and trying new foods outside of school, her work at AHS is characterized by a simple phrase: appreciation for culture. To her, this phrase translates into a broader meaning within the context of U.S. culture. Growing up in the U.S., Ms. Barba felt she had limited opportunities to learn about her own culture and others, and she believes it’s crucial to provide her students with these lessons.
“You know, you have your customs. You never learn the background of it, or how we came about, especially living in the U.S.; it’s just such an extra culture that you never really think about,” Ms. Barba said. “The importance of [the language] helps you not lose your culture in such a diverse country.”
