Erin Calcara

Secondary Spanish Teacher

ecalcara@lincolnchristian.org

(402) 488-8888 x

About Me

My husband and I have been married for 16 years. His quick-witted hilarity brings continual joy and laughter into our home. Our 5 kids bring many adventures and smiles to our lives, and I love being a mom. In my spare time, I love to be outdoors. I also love playing piano and guitar. Other interests include baking, bike riding, bird watching & bubble tea! I fervently love God’s word; and I love to laugh.

Here is one of my favorite Bible verses:
Isaiah 61:10
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Church: Crossroads

Volunteer Roles: Worship Ministry

Philosophy

I love to ponder the way Jesus taught others during His earthly ministry. He taught in the synagogues at times, He used brilliant object lessons, He asked many individualized questions and He worked alongside the disciples frequently. He was devoted to investing in relationships. Research indicates that relationships contain the capacity for the greatest component in positive change. I believe that building secure relationships and a fortified cooperative learning environment is key to learning and growing our measure of change in long-lasting ways.

My hope is that through cooperative learning strategies, students will develop scaffolding techniques, increase social awareness, foster leadership development, and a confidence in their skill sets. Learning a foreign language is greatly strengthened when a learning experience maximizes a student’s interaction with others. It creates space for the new information to form a strong permanence in the brain.

Speaking Spanish is absolutely one of my favorite things! From the minute I began learning Spanish in a short-term class in 6th grade, I sought out ways to practice it and make it useful. During my years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I spent an extended time in Mexico in study abroad programs developing fluency, while also enjoying freshly picked avocados from my host family’s garden! I truly loved being in Mexico and developed a heartfelt love for the people and culture. I’ve also served as an interpreter in a number of professional roles over the years. More recently, I’ve also had the opportunity to spend a bit of time in Guatemala, and I hope to visit many more countries in my lifetime.