Gracias Señor Soto

GRACIAS

SEÑOR SOTO

Señor Soto’s welcoming “¡Hola, chavos, buenos días!,” has greeted nervous novices, thrilled third-years, and adventurous advanced students in York School Spanish classes for 27 years. The students followed along dutifully, holding out hope that their profe might eventually speak some English. What happened instead, through Gabriel’s thoughtful pedagogy and mucha paciencia, is that the students gained proficiency in Spanish and went on to use it for travel, summer abroad programs, university, work, and most importantly, soccer spectating. Gabriel Soto has provided thousands of hours of comprehensible input during his tenure at York, and has served as our authentic, living, fútbol-loving model of the culture of Spain, and more specifically, Catalonia. Gabriel has also intentionally followed a dynamic path of professional development, devoting time during summers and sabbaticals to the mastery of new teaching methods and technological tools. Let us recognize how often an enthusiasm for learning accompanies an admirable career in teaching.

In addition to his demonstrable dedication to the craft of language teaching, Gabe extends warm collegiality to the staff and his fellow educators. If you have chaperoned, coached, team-taught, or spent lunchtime with Gabe, you appreciate his humor and gift of debate. Gabriel Soto (our Ángel’s) retirement leaves a fine legacy of student linguists, and leaves his friends and colleagues with one fewer bright spot on this sunny hilltop.