Woodstock educator from Spain uses wealth of experience - and his guitar – to share knowledge with students

As Ivan Cisneros Cabanas reflects on the last eight years he has spent using music and humor to teach Spanish at Olson Elementary in Woodstock, he said he is preparing to return home to Spain, where it all began.

Cisneros, 48, is a guitar player and teacher whose first teaching job was teaching the children of circus employees and artists. He traveled with four different circuses to multiple countries, including Luxembourg and Belgium. It was work he said he “really loved.”

Since he was 25, Cisneros said he has taught various subjects to students in kindergarten through middle school, including music. He moved to Woodstock knowing little English eight years ago to teach Spanish in Olson Elementary School in District 200. He came knowing very little English but with help from people he met, including those in the district, his English got better, he said.

Though Cisneros loves and appreciates the experiences he’s had, he is moving back to Spain after this school year. It is time to see what may be next, he said. The move back home to where his family is may lead him on another path to another country and new experiences, he said.

Still, those he is leaving behind say they are sad to see him go. Olson Principal Jennifer Malecke described Cisneros as “always happy and so positive.”

“He is an amazing teacher,” Malecke said. “His kids love him. He’s so very musical and he brings his music into his class. He brings joy to his classroom and with his students.”

Kelly McAdow, whose daughter was in his class last year, and her younger child would have been in his class next year, said Cisneros is “a phenomenal teacher and person.”

McAdow said she and her family are going to miss him terribly, but are also happy for him that he is able to go back to his home in Spain. Cisneros truly cares and connects with his students. She especially saw that during COVID-19, when students attended school online.

Her daughter McKenna was upset over an activity and “her face changed and she started to walk away upset from the screen. Mr. Cisneros recognized this as not like her ... and I could hear him calling to her to come and sit and talk to him and asking why she was upset. He knew just by seeing and hearing her on a screen that she was upset and needed some extra time.”

McAdow marveled that, even teaching remotely, Cisneros “knew his student’s demeanor and cared. ... He truly cared about her feelings and wanted to help her work through what she was feeling. He didn’t minimize her feelings and listened and helped her work through it. I will never forget that and it makes me tear up a little just thinking about him at that moment.”

Cisneros said when teaching, he relies on his sense of humor, which he says is ”key to establishing a good and trusting relationship with students.“

But his greatest teaching tool likely is his guitar, which he said is “a good way to create a good learning path and ... good group relationships,” and the students “love it.”

Cisneros, who with another Spanish teacher plays in two local bands, one of which is recording an album, said he uses “a lot of music” to connect with students. Music comes naturally to him.

“But it doesn’t mean that I am a good guitar player or musician,” he said. “I am still struggling a lot to play the instrument well, but I love to keep trying. As I say to my students: Consistency is key.”

He especially looks forward to Fridays, when he plays his guitar and the kids sing songs in Spanish. His students “have fun while learning,” he said, and he has taught his students about 25 songs in Spanish.

“You can work a lot of content through music, orally and culturally,” he said. ”Song lyrics are repetitive, which helps the learning process and keeps it fun."

Cisneros said he will miss the district, his students, Woodstock and Chicago, but not the winters or the food.

“I am grateful for everything here and everyone has been super nice,” he said. “It is just time to leave, time to move on.”