Avery Cotton, Reporter
@averyccourant
The conclusion of the school year will mark the end of a storied career—Spanish language teacher and former language department chair Dr. Lisa Arbués will be retiring after her 21-year tenure at the high school.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Arbués has taught in a variety of classroom environments. “I’ve been teaching here since September 2001, and I’ve taught all the offered Spanish classes except Spanish 1 and Spanish AP Literature and Culture,” she said. “I was also a college professor for 12 years, and before that I was in graduate school and worked with students.”
There are many aspects of teaching that Dr. Arbués enjoys. “I love interacting in class with students,” Dr. Arbués said. “My favorite part of teaching is lesson planning and I really love designing units and lessons. I feel close to my students. I hope they know that I really care about them and I want to work with them, help them, and support them.”
Dr. Arbués has employed a variety of approaches to teaching and has altered her style over the years. “One thing I’m proud of is working with the Understanding by Design (UBD) units, which are conceptual units that involve backward learning,” Dr. Arbués said. “My teaching style has changed a lot. It’s much more student-centered now, I’m always trying to find strategies that get the students to be doing the discovering rather than just teaching it to them.”
Dr. Arbués is also involved with the Spanish Club, a student club whose goal is to “give students more opportunities to experience the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world”, according to its Club Fair overview. “Dr. Arbués helps supervise the club and aids us in organizing events and ensuring our Spanish is accurate,” junior Elena Dashi and co-president of the club said. “She’s always available for any questions if we need support.”
Photo by Jack Jensen
For Dr. Arbués, a number of memorable experiences come to mind upon reflecting on her career. “I have very fond memories of AP field trips to the Spanish theater in New York,” Dr. Arbués said. “Another thing that was very fulfilling was chairing the department for some years, and collaborating with colleagues has been very rewarding.”
One novel tradition that Dr. Arbués brought to the high school was the Mesa Española. “The Mesa Española was a lunchtime Spanish conversation hour I used to hold during the whole lunch block, once a cycle,” Dr. Arbués said. “Students brought their lunch and the only requirement was to speak Spanish. I loved this activity because I had the opportunity to get to know and spend time with students who enjoyed Spanish and wanted to improve their proficiency in an informal, relaxed and non-judgmental atmosphere.”
However, Dr. Arbués has also encountered her fair share of challenges while teaching. “All students learn in different ways, so one of my challenges is motivating and reaching them,” Dr. Arbués said. “For me, it’s important to get students to think and analyze. At every level of Spanish that I’ve taught, I’ve attempted to get students to question, think, and read critically.”
For aspiring teachers, Dr. Arbués has a couple pieces of counsel. “You need to have the vocation and the passion, because teaching is one of those fields where you really have to love it and love working with kids,” she said. “One thing I’ve always advised is to spend time in an immersion situation to truly become fluent and proficient.”
