To feel comfortable and confident having spontaneous conversations with others in Spanish, even if their Spanish is not perfect.  

I began my journey to Spanish proficiency by listening to Spanish music, watching Spanish movies, reading Spanish magazines, hanging out with Spanish speakers, traveling to and living in Spanish speaking countries.  This is the type of experience I desire to mimic for my students as much as possible.  My ultimate aim for them is to be able to communicate confidently, correctly, and without hesitation.
 I am married to a Spanish speaker, raising bilingual children and am a certified Spanish teacher currently teaching part-time at a high school. I have taught Spanish using comprehensible input (CI) for the last 8 years. CI involves a mix of stories, conversations, songs, gestures, videos, readings, and writing centered around student interest and Spanish culture.     
Using this approach  I was named District Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2012 and was nominated for Building Teacher of the Year in 2016, before leaving to start the first Acton Academy in Missouri. I have presented to educators in both local and state foreign language conferences, and received an educator grant from the local Gifted Support Network.  I have also mentored teachers in this teaching style across the country.