Señora Ponte-Porto, a Spanish teacher, recently sat down with The Breeze to answer to answer some questions.

Q: If you were not a teacher, what would you be?

A: If I was not a teacher, I would be a psychologist.  I’ve always known that I wanted to work with kids/young adults and that I wanted to be in a school setting.  When I started high school, I used to always say I would be a psychologist, until I had a great Spanish teacher who inspired me to become one.  She encouraged me to pursue my Spanish studies, and to get involved in activities that involved foreign languages, such as taking the National Spanish Exam every year.

Q: What did you want to be when you were a kid?

A: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher.  My mother owned a preschool when we lived in Brazil and I spent a lot of time there.  I used to help take care of the children, and sometimes go in an empty classroom and pretend that I was teaching.  The fact that my mother is a teacher influenced me a lot.  As I grew older, I had the idea of becoming a psychologist, but then came full circle to teaching!

Q: If you could have dinner with a historical person, living or dead, who would it be?

A: If I could have dinner with a historical person, it would be Mahatma Gandhi.  He was the leader of Indian Independence and had a non-violent approach to defending his beliefs.  I took a class about him in college and learned so much about Indian culture and about the inspirational man he was.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant?

A: My favorite restaurant (and my family’s) is The Brazilian Grill in Dartmouth.  We like it because it serves authentic Brazilian food, the service is great and it reminds us of home.  We eat there at least once a month!

Q: What is your favorite movie? Why?

A: One of my favorite movies is Toy Story 1.  I watch a lot of Disney movies because of my sons, and Toy Story 1 is one that we never get tired of watching together!

Q: What is your favorite topic to teach about?

A: I love teaching about all things Spanish!  I enjoy teaching culture, especially about the Día de los Muertos, because it enlightens students on different points of view.  I believe it also teaches them to be respectful of differences and to learn to appreciate them.  I also like teaching grammar (although it seems like a boring topic for most people).  I like helping students to see the patterns of the Spanish language and compare them to English.

Q: What is the subject you would least like to teach?

A: I would least like to teach any subject that would require a lot of lecturing or anything too mechanical.  I like to be creative in my teaching style and make it meaningful.  To teach a class in which I wouldn’t be able to encourage students to learn in a fun way would not interesting to teach!