PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A local Spanish teacher is showing students at the Porterville military academy just how much fun it can be to learn two languages. 

This school year students couldn’t wait to join Mr. Kurt Escobar’s Spanish class at the Porterville Military Academy. 

After teaching at the academy for three years now, you can say he knows how to have fun.  

“He makes flashcard games that we can talk to our peers about and it helps grow connections between us so were not just like oh what does this mean back in fourth were actually talking and having conversations and I think it’s so fun,” says Faith Manss, a student at Porterville Military Academy.

Teaching freshman to seniors you could say he’s busy. He’s always crafting new and exciting ways for students to learn.  

“Being engaged seeing them willingly participate seeing them smile seeing them laugh seeing them have a good time to me it that drives me” says Escobar.

Whether it’s music games or interactive class group work, Mr. Escobar is all about mixing fun and learning. Sometimes he takes the extra step to become a character to help his class learn the language he loves so much.  

“Chef Pepe he came in and he’s all dressed in really fancy chef costume and he taught us how to make salsa all in Spanish,” says Andrew Dohnke, another student at Porterville Military Academy.

And when he’s not Chef Pepe, he’s creating a fun atmosphere. Music can be heard from the outside hallways that have others passing by wanting to join in on the fun. 

“You can see that by if they’re smiling if their eyes are big if they’re engaged that means that you know their kind of enjoying what’s taking place,” says Escobar.

But the biggest lesson of all is helping these students develop skills when they reach adulthood. 

“If you have the availability to understand the audibly and then communicate orally that just makes you so much more a part of the community and more employable it looks good on college resumes,” says Escobar.

 So a big congratulations to Mr. Escobar at the Porterville military academy your hard work has earned you the honor of KSEE24’s Educator of the Week.