Why The Spanish Clubhouse?

Hola amigos! When people ask me where I am working for the summer and I say, “The Spanish Clubhouse”, they almost always follow up with, “How did you decide to work there?”. For me, The Spanish Clubhouse had everything I was looking for. As a local business, I was excited by the idea of working for a company that is directly connected to my community. Experience proved my hypothesis true and I have come to realize that the staff is directly involved and invested in the program and strives to form friendly relationships with the families that take classes at the clubhouse. As a Kirkwood Alum, I have frequently passed the cute and inviting Spanish Clubhouse on my way to hang out in downtown Kirkwood or head to school or my church- which brings me to my next point of interest. The Spanish Clubhouse is very accessible for Kirkwood families and those in surrounding cities. And it is truly one of a kind. I know students that travel from St. Charles, O’Fallon and Belleville to take classes at the Clubhouse because they see the unique value in the classes and teachers we offer and they recognize that The Spanish Clubhouse is worth the drive.  I also realized during my initial interview that The Spanish Clubhouse was exactly what I was looking for because the curriculum coordinator, Amy, is dedicated to creating unique and fun ways to learn Spanish, specifically for The Spanish Clubhouse. The Spanish Clubhouse avoids a boring pre-made curriculum that a giant corporation mass produces for hundreds of other Spanish schools. And Amy is not only creating unique curriculum for the students but she is also a teacher at the clubhouse and she is able to directly mold the lessons to fit the ages, experience levels and personalities of the students she is teaching.  As a graduated Montessori student myself, I love that the Clubhouse uses a Montessori model as a teaching guide based on “self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play” (https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education/). And lastly, I decided to work at The Spanish Clubhouse because it is geared toward teaching children. While I had to wait until middle school to get proper Spanish instruction, I was thrilled to find a place that was geared towards teaching younger children how to speak another language, while their minds are the most receptive to learning a second language. So when people ask me “How did you decide to work there?”, I usually reply with something along the lines of, “It had everything that I would be looking for as a young Spanish student and I wanted to be part of such a collaborative environment”.