Last June students from 5 th Year B interviewed Viktoria Henderson. We want to share with you that virtual communication.
Viktoria Henderson is a Digital Learning Specialist in Ector County ISD (Independent School
District) this means that she works at a lot of schools, not just in one school. She teaches
teachers how to blend online digital learning with regular paper/pencil learning. Her school
district is in Odessa, Texas. Although Odessa is a very small town, they have lots of bilingual
classrooms. Viktoria said that they were way in the middle of the desert! It reminds her of
Salinas Grandes in Argentina. Some years ago she was in Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta and Jujuy.
As for her personally, she has four kids. Two of her kids are twins! She is always busy! Her
husband is a geology professor at the University of Texas-Permian Basin.
Five years ago we interviewed Viktoria. Our first interview can be read here:
This year we want to keep on our virtual exchange so we’ve sent her these questions.
About You
Viktoria: Hello! Hola!! I am delighted to answer any questions you have!
Students: How old are your kids? Do they go to school?
Viktoria: I have four kids. Kora is 6 years old. Grant is 3 years old. Juliet and Jack are 2
years old. Kora attends elementary school at Austin Montessori. Do you have
Montessori schools in Argentina?
Students: How many siblings do you have? Do they live in the US?
Viktoria: I have two siblings. My sister lives in Denver, Colorado. She loves the
mountains! My brother lives in Santa Barbara, California, and he loves the beach! My
parents live near Washington D.C., which is actually where I am right now! I’m visiting
my parents for summer vacation.
Students: Do you have time to play sports?
Viktoria: I do not play sports unless you consider chasing toddlers and changing
diapers a sport! My daughter Kora does ballet and wants to try basketball.
Students: What are the most popular sports in Texas?
Viktoria: I’m not sure what the most popular sports are in all of Texas, but in my side of Texas (called West Texas), the main sport is soccer!
About Your Job
Students: How do you go to the different schools where you work? Are they far from one
another?
Viktoria: I work with teachers at 5 different schools. I can walk to one of my schools
from my office, but I drive to the other schools.
Students: What are the main duties that you have in your job?
Viktoria: I help teachers blend technology and tech apps into their classrooms! For
example, I teach how to use Flipgrid or Google Docs to teachers. Sometimes teachers
get nervous when they are trying new things because they are afraid that their students
will go wild or won’t know what to do. I help teachers get more comfortable so they can
try new things in their classrooms.
Students: What do you enjoy the most about teaching teachers?
Viktoria: I like teaching teachers because I think they shouldn’t stop learning!
Students and schools are different than they were 20 or 40 years ago! Our teaching
should reflect those changes, too.
About you Texas- Odessa
Students: What do you like the most of Odessa and of Texas?
Viktoria: I don’t really like Odessa! It’s very hot and very boring. We are 5 hours from
the big cities. The people are very nice, but the weather is terrible. We have huge dust
storms called haboobs that can be very dangerous. Have you heard of a haboob?
(Pronounced ha-boob) Here is a link that shows what it is:
Students: What is it like to live in Odessa? Is it a safe place?
Viktoria: Odessa is fairly safe, but it’s boring! There is not much to do. We drive 5
hours to go shopping in big cities! Most of the people who live in Odessa work in the oil
fields. We eat a lot of steak and Mexican food. Odessa is pretty close to the border of
Mexico, and a lot of my friends’ parents and grandparents are from Mexico. Most of my
coworkers speak Spanish and we have schools that are bilingual schools. We do not get
a lot of rain and its hot most of the year. We are always praying for rain because we
need it so badly!
Students: Why did you move from Knoxville to Odessa?
Viktoria: My family moved to Odessa 4 summers ago because my husband got a job at
the University of Texas Permian Basin. He is a geology professor. He earned his PhD in
geology from the University of Tennessee.
About Argentina
Students: What would you like to do in our country if you had the opportunity of coming
back?
Viktoria: I would love to take my kids to see the penguins in Patagonia! I’d also love to
see Iguazu Falls. I’ve heard both areas are beautiful! I would love to go back soon, but it
will be a few years before we fly internationally with so many kids! Have you all been to
those places before?
Students: Do you still eat dulce de leche? Do your kids like it?
Viktoria: I haven’t had dulce de leche in a long time, but I recently saw some for sale
at our local grocery store. I bought a jar and have been waiting for a special occasion to
have it. My kids haven’t had it before.
Comentarios