Mrs. Maria Hodapp
Personal Profile
I’m enjoying my sixth year at Timothy! I was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan; it’s nice to be close enough to visit my family for a weekend. I valued my Christian education and felt God nudging me to continue by attending Dordt College. The cornfields of Iowa were great, but I enjoy living in Chicago now. I’m enjoying working on my masters right now, but it’s also been fun to switch languages and teach English to Spanish-speakers at church.
I always enjoy an opportunity to travel, and had the wonderful opportunity of studying in Central America during time at Dordt. Living, volunteering, touring, and studying in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala was an amazing experience for me; I hope to share some of that with the students and also show them a bit of Hispanic culture around Chicago.
Professional Profile
I graduated from Dordt College in December of 2005 with a degree in K-12 Spanish education and K-6 special education. Before coming to TCS, I had some great experiences working as an aide and substitute at Elim Christian School, and as a long-term substitute at Southwest Chicago Christian Schools in their elementary Spanish program. I am earning my M.A. in TESOL and Intercultural Studies and Wheaton College Graduate School.
Philosophical profile
I could tell even during my first visits to Timothy that this school has a wonderful outlook and commitment to training students to be disciples in God’s kingdom. I think the Spanish program is a great way to broaden that commitment.
I approach teaching Spanish with three justifications that I will help my students understand:
- First, learning a language is another way of enjoying God’s creation.
- Second, knowing a foreign language will better equip us to welcome foreigners within our own borders.
- Third, knowing a second language will better equip us to be a blessing when we ourselves are in a foreign culture.
Visit Mrs. Hodapp's Spanish Website
click here to e-mail Mrs. Hodapp