Jennie Borland is a Spanish teacher at Liberty Park Middle School. In this interview, she shares what she loves about teaching and how she found her way to teaching Spanish.
Q: How long have you been a teacher and what subjects do you teach?
A: So, this is my 15th year teaching Spanish. I have taught from sixth grade through ninth grade, but I currently am at Liberty Park Middle School and teach seventh and eighth grade Spanish One.
Q: What inspired you to become an educator?
A: I knew that I had a passion for the Spanish language, but it took until about my junior year at Auburn when I was able to take the Strong Interest Inventory and my number one result was foreign language teacher. So, at that point, I knew that, with a Spanish major, that I needed to start looking at grad schools to be able to figure out how to become a Spanish teacher.
Q: Tell us about your favorite teacher from when you were in school.
A: My absolute favorite teacher from Vestavia is Senora Hardin. She was my Spanish teacher for Spanish Three and Spanish Four, and she made the language come alive for us, which is something that I always hope to do with my students as well. She and I still remain in contact. She is one of my mentors to this day.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of being a teacher?
A: I love being a middle school teacher especially because I feel that I get a front row seat at watching these kids grow up.
They come to us in sixth grade and they're basically post-elementary. And then, by the time they leave us at the end of eighth grade, they're young adults. And I love that I am able to be a privileged part of that journey.
