Q + A: Jaime Perez, Spanish Teacher
Spanish teacher, Jaime Perez, helps student Jessica Tober, Junior study for a test.
October 17, 2013
Spanish teacher Jaime Perez loves to see his students excel and learn new things. He finds inspiration from his two young boys and believes that you should live life one day at a time.
What do you love most about your job? “Seeing the different levels of students and seeing them use the language. There might be one student who has no knowledge of the language and then to see them speak it, even in the first year, it’s the best thing.”
What is your philosophy on life and how did you develop it? “In my childhood there was a song that dealt with the theme of living ‘One Day at a Time’ and that has kept me going.”
What super power would you like to have and why? ”Time Travel. Seeing the past and especially the future would be interesting.”
Did you always want to be a teacher growing up? “I wanted to be a priest at first, but going through the school environment made me realize that being a priest wasn’t for me.”
If you could teach any subject other than Spanish what subject would you teach? “I would teach math because Spanish and math were the subjects that always interested me.”
What is your favorite day of the week and why? “I would say Thursday because it’s the end of the week, and I don’t have to plan as much. On Thursday it feels more like the weekend.”
What drives or motivates you? “My two little kids, Jorge who is six and Jaime who is four. I want to set a good example for them.”
If you could have something for your classroom what would it be? “I’m satisfied with my classroom. I have one of the few classrooms that has computers for the students, so I feel lucky. If I was not in a computer lab I would ask for iPads for every student.”
What is the best thing about teaching at Tracy High? “I like the kids. They’re very positive. The students are mature.”
Do you have any guilty pleasures? “I have too much sugar. I drink too much Coke and have too many sweets.”
Do you have a bucket list and what are some of the things on it? “I would like to spend a whole summer in Spain. I would like to travel to each Spanish speaking country and bring that into the classroom for the students.”
What makes you happy? “I’m happy with my life. I have a pretty solid life, good job and the support of my family. I can’t ask for more.”
