Living in Charles Town, West Virginia, Señor Joel Poortenga teaches high school Spanish 1 through 5 and AP Spanish. He has been teaching at TPS since 2009 but started at a public school in 2003. Considering that he has seven kids, he doesn’t have much free time, but when he gets the chance, he loves reading aloud to his family, going outdoors, taking care of his animals, gardening, and woodworking.
Abby: Why did you decide to start teaching Spanish?
Sr. Poortenga: I hadn’t ever planned to teach Spanish since I majored in English education. But both times I applied to a school to teach English, what they needed at the time was a Spanish teacher. Since I had a minor in Spanish, it worked out well, and I found that I liked teaching Spanish more than I did English!
Abby: I’m glad that it worked out for the better! Have you ever visited Spain or Mexico?
Sr. Poortenga: I learned Spanish by doing a semester in Spain when I was in college. I lived for four months with a Spanish family, went to school in Spain, and had Spanish friends. It was a very rich, colorful, delicious, and adventurous time! I have also been to Mexico nearly ten times. Once was for a vacation, and the rest were for service projects of various kinds. I have only seen the northwest corner (near the California border), and I would love to see more of the country. I’ve also been to Nicaragua once, and I was a part of the TPS missions trip to Honduras for four years.
Abby: That is so cool. I find Spain fascinating! What is something challenging about teaching Spanish?
Sr. Poortenga: A challenging aspect of Spanish is that several aspects of grammar work backwards to how English does, so we need to think in new ways. Also, there are many verb tenses in Spanish, and some of them don’t exist in English, so we need to develop new mental categories. Also, with learning Spanish in an online setting, it is harder to get the verbal interactions that are necessary for mastering a language. That’s why our classes spend so much time on verbal activities.
Abby: That totally makes sense. Can you tell us about your family? Do you have any pets?
Sr. Poortenga: I have seven children. The oldest is seventeen and taking college classes, and the youngest are two-year-old twins. In total, there are four boys and three girls. We have a busy home! My wife grew up in Taiwan in a missionary family, and we have been married for almost twenty years. We have a cat and eleven chickens.
Abby: What is one of your favorite bible verses?
Sr. Poortenga: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” This verse is very important to me because it gives me full confidence that God will help me remain faithful and reach the end of this life well.
Abby: Do you have any random or cool talents?
Sr. Poortenga: I worked for one summer in underwater gold mining. Not exactly a talent, but a pretty random thing I learned how to do!
Abby: That is such a unique job. What is one question you wish people would ask you less, in a school setting or just in general?
Sr. Poortenga: My kids often ask me, “Can I have screen time?”
Abby: Are there any strange or unique food combinations that you like?
Sr. Poortenga: I ate peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches as a kid. I still kind of like the flavor combination, but I almost never eat it anymore. I also really like chocolate and bananas, but I don’t think that’s as odd.
Abby: I’ve never tried that before, but maybe I should give it a shot! Do you know any interesting trivia or facts?
Sr. Poortenga: The Spanish word for sloth is “lazy bear” (oso perezoso). I think that’s pretty awesome!
Abby: Interesting! Where did you grow up as a kid? What was it like?
Sr. Poortenga: I was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. It’s a beautiful place, very green, with lots of mountains, rivers, lakes, and not far from the ocean. I loved it! But it did rain a lot. You could go for a month without seeing the sun. Other than those things, it was a fairly typical North American suburban place to live.
Abby: That does sound amazing. Would you call yourself an introvert or extrovert?
Sr. Poortenga: Definitely an introvert. I don’t mind speaking in front of large groups, but I really feel uncomfortable in conversations with one or two people that I don’t know well. I need to push myself to do it anyways!
Abby: What is a piece of advice that you’ve been given that you still remember today?
Sr. Poortenga: When I was little and my dad was taking me to a pool to swim, I saw that kids up to a certain age could get in for free. I was one year older than that (but I don’t remember what age it was exactly, maybe 7 or 8). I told my dad that we could just say I was a year younger, and he wouldn’t have to pay for me to get in. He told me that your integrity isn’t worth sacrificing in order to save money like that. I’ve never forgotten that, and it has had a strong impact on my life for over 30 years.
We are so thankful for all the teachers here on TPS and I hope you’ve learned something new today! Sr Poortenga has been a wonderful teacher and has blessed so many people here, but this is his last year of teaching at TPS. If you have been in one of his classes or are in one of his classes, take some time to thank him and pray for him and his family as they go through some changes. Have a great week!
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. [These] are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun…In the end it will not be the seas or the mountains or the canyons…that fill our hearts to breaking with wonder and fill our mouth with eternal praise. It will be God.” – John Piper, The Pleasures of God
Photo Credit: Joel Poortenga