Junior Josh Shockley goes from sitting in the classroom to teaching in one as a Spanish teacher for high school sophomores and juniors at Crosspointe, a preparatory school in Searcy, Arkansas.
Shockley started speaking Spanish in high school and discovered a love for it that grew into his future career goals. He is studying to earn a Spanish degree with licensure and a missions minor; he sees himself teaching and possibly translating after he graduates.
Shockley said he enjoys this field because he genuinely enjoys learning new languages and how they work.
“Making connections through a different language brings another level to conversation,” Shockley said.
Shockley heard of the teaching opportunity at Crosspointe from one of his previous professors, and chairman of the department of foreign language, Dr. Kristi Bond. Bond said that Crosspointe has meetings at the Cloverdale Church of Christ and had mentioned their need for a Spanish teaching position to be filled. Thinking it could be beneficial for the school, Bond suggested they take on a Harding student, if it were allowed. Since Crosspointe is a private institution, the position could be filled by an individual that did not have the certifications required to teach for a public school. Bond said Shockley came to mind when she heard of the opportunity because he is majoring in the field and felt his schedule could allow him to manage it.
Shockley said he prayed about the opportunity and tried to make sure he could manage it with school. Once he made that step, he met with the Crosspointe administration to go through the curriculum so he would know the ropes. He is required to turn in a weekly outline to the students to show them what is going to happen in the week with the curriculum. The class he teaches consists of three students, and they are modeled after a university schedule, so he only meets with them in person two days a week. On the other days, they work on various assignments and projects that he creates based on the material covered.
Bond said this opportunity is a good experience for Shockley because it gives him a glimpse of what he would possibly be doing after he gets his degree, and it will give him something beneficial to put on his resume.
“It speaks well of him and our program that he is already getting a chance to use those valuable skills,” Bond said.
Junior Deanna Hutson has had Spanish classes with Shockley in the past and studied abroad with him. Hutson said this teaching job is an incredible opportunity for him as a student to already be pursuing his career, even as a junior.
“I am curious to see how this increases his passion for Spanish and helps him get more comfortable with his speaking ability,” Hutson said. “He definitely is doing it for others and for the idea of mission work instead of just doing it for himself.”
