This was the eighth year the school has participated in the program, which brings native speakers from foreign countries into the classrooms for students to experience different cultures first hand. Similar to student teachers, the interns assist and learn how to become teachers themselves. They stay with host families so they are completely immersed in U.S. culture.

 

Clearview was home to seven Amity Interns this year, Angélica Jiménez, Ruth Diaz and Yordy Camacho from Colombia, Maria Gamero from El Salvador, and Cristina Toledano, Anna Molins and Luis Ángel Garcia from Spain. 

 

Yordy Camacho said over the school year he learned a lot about methodology and classroom management, which is very different than in his country. He admires the commitment of families for the school’s events.

 

“I’ve noticed the Spanish Immersion program really works,” he said. “I taught kinders and fifth grade, and when I spoke to them in my country’s language 80% understood everything I said.”

 

Camacho said he will miss the landscape and lakes, BBQs and hamburgers on the grill, which they don’t do in Colombia. He plans to keep teaching, although he’s undecided if he wants to teach Spanish or English, as he discovered he likes the way Spanish is taught here.

 

“I’m going to miss my host families, they’ve been essential to me,” said Anna Molins. “I’ll also miss the other Amities, they’ve become my friends.”

 

She learned the importance of being ready before class starts, and to be creative in order to get students engaged with what she’s teaching. This July she’ll be working at a summer camp back in Spain, and will be applying for jobs as an elementary teacher in the fall.

 

Ruth Diaz learned to be prepared for anything during class, because at any moment something unexpected can happen. Her goal is to teach after finishing her last undergrad year in Colombia, although she’s undecided what age, as during her time at Clearview she learned how much patience she needs to have with young children.

 

“I’m going to miss all the different activities here,” she said. “Ice fishing, snowmobiling, deer hunting; they’re things I don’t have in my country. I’ll totally miss my kids, I think I learned more from them than they learned from me.”

 

Luis Ángel Garcia learned to read students’ eyes to see if they understand what he’s saying. His goal in the next year is to get a job teaching elementary school.

 

“I’ll miss my host families and the children of the school,” he said. “You get very close to them. You can’t fish or ski or travel to bigger cities in my country, so I’ll miss that, too.”

 

“I learned how to live with a family and go the extra mile,” said Angélica Jiménez. “Always push yourself to learn and achieve better things. At Clearview, I learned better classroom management, like new strategies to get students’ attention. I was struggling before.”

 

She’ll miss her host families as she grew attached to them. She’s hoping to get a job teaching at a middle school so she can put into practice everything she learned at Clearview.

 

Maria Gamero already had experience teaching at a university, but Clearview was her first time working with kids so she was a bit scared at first. Now she wants to continue teaching either age group.

 

“I grew attached to my host family and students, so I know it’s going to be hard to leave them,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking of the new culture and all the experiences I would have to adapt to when I came here. It was really nice, I enjoyed it.”

 

“This experience helped me to grow as a person and as a teacher,” said Cristina Toledano. “My host families are always there and really took care of me. I really appreciate this experience because I learned a lot about American culture and about teaching.”

 

She said she would miss her host families, students, and all her Amity friends, which have become like family to her. She’s already started applying for teaching positions back in Spain.

 

“Amity is priceless,” District 742 Coordinator of Immersion and World Languages Sue Linn-Hasbrouck told the crowd. “They’re here to receive knowledge about teaching and share their culture. This group is phenomenal. They’re kind, compassionate, hardworking, funny, positive and conscientious.”

 

At the end of the event, the Amity Interns were gifted with a Clearview yearbook and M is for Minnesota ABC book.

 

The farewell picnic was hosted by Clearview’s PTA. Host families are currently being sought for next year; interested parties don’t need to have children attending Clearview to qualify.