Mabi Fernandes has taught Spanish to Madrona School grades students since 2016. Ms. Mabi grew up in Lima, Perú with her parents and three siblings. She studied education at San Ignacio de Loyola University in Lima and received her Master’s Degree in Education for Sustainable Development at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.
More about Mabi:
Pastimes. I love swimming in open waters, hiking, camping, gardening, any outdoor activities. I also like dancing and playing music. I am quite good at cooking and baking. And of course, I love traveling and opening my eyes to other cultures.
Motivation. I always wanted to be a teacher. My mother is a teacher, and I remember seeing how dedicated she was with her students. I taught my first student to play the electric organ when I was 15 and still learning as well. I was a swimming instructor at 18. So when the time came to choose a profession, it was quite natural for me to pursue teaching. It flows from my love for learning and sharing with others what I know.
Favorite Teaching Moment. A major goal of teaching “Languages of the World” in Waldorf Schools is to be able to offer our children another way of seeing the world, opening their minds to an extended and more diverse worldwide community. This implies an understanding of language as a window to the entirety of a culture and not merely as a utilitarian tool. A couple of years ago, my seventh-grade class read an original script in Spanish of a ghost legend written in 1860 by the classic Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. I first recounted the story from memory, and from their expressions of horror and deep concentration it was clear they were seeing the whole story in front of their eyes. Next, they received the piece of literature and simply devoured it, deducing many new words. We also had conversations about old and modern believes about life, death and other cultural aspects, and I could see with fascination the magical learning moment we were having together. My students were so engaged that they wrote their own adaptation of the script and performed it for the younger grades at Halloween.
Madrona School. I love the small community environment, and the fact that we can just focus on our students 100%. I am given freedom to be creative and natural as I consider what, when and how my students need to learn in order to pursue the goal of the course. I am deeply grateful for all the families that share their children with us.
