"Caroline, you've got what it takes, I believe in you, and I believe you will be the next Maryland Language Teacher of the Year." My supervisor Paula Moore in Washington County is without question the consummate professional and an exemplar of what every language supervisor across the nation should strive to be. It is funny how supportive words can change your life. I have always fancied myself a reflective practitioner, a supportive and collaborative colleague, and someone who loves to share my love for teaching language and culture with others through leading and attending professional learning. Those experiences and opportunities filled my curriculum vitae. Those experiences more importantly fueled my passion to continue to fill my classroom with meaningful, engaging, and relevant opportunities to explore Spanish. To my core, I believe that professional learning opportunities are what keep teachers committed to the profession. Personally, if it wasn't Dr. Arlene White connecting me to professional learning opportunities via attending and presenting, I might not be teaching today. What I am thankful for is relationships like the one I have with Dr. Arlene White and Mrs. Paula Moore. They have shown me what it is like to love what I do and have inspired me to persevere. The lessons I plan in my classes are inspired by the opportunities I have had to network with language professionals via Washington County Public Schools, the Maryland Foreign Language Association, the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language, and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language, These organizations exist to advocate for teachers, students, and language programs. They provide opportunities for scholarships, professional learning, researching, networking, reflecting, traveling, advocating, and the list goes on and on! When you are involved with these entities, you can truly thrive. Elevating the status of our language profession is the responsibility of each recipient of the Teacher of the Year award at the state, regional, and national level. Regardless of whether or not I would have gone on to to be named the 2018 Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year, it has always been and will always be my responsibility as a world language educator to advocate for my students, our programs, and our profession. I would argue that it is every educators responsibility to advocate for world language! Being named the 2018 Maryland World Language Teacher of the Year is an honor. It is a privilege to represent the amazing professionals from across our state. It is also a responsibility which I openly welcome. Becoming a language teacher of the year is not just simply being chosen. It is an intense process that challenges educators to reflect, refine their craft, and redefine the boundaries of they thought was possible in their classroom and beyond. So what does this process look like? Once nominated, you are invited to reflect on and include the following items in your portfolio at the state level:
In developing my essay regarding the value of world language and cultural competency, I was able to reflect on my own story, my why. I was able to see my why come alive in my classroom. I was able to reflect on my life, the opportunities I have been afforded, the people who and the relationships that have shaped me as a person and as a professional. I was able to actually feel my sense of purpose. I bet you I rewrote that essay 10 times on my journey as a candidate for NECTFL Teacher of the Year. I received feedback from 7 different people who were patient enough to read the 10 different versions of my essay. I am indebted to my dear friend Emanuel Welsh, my supervisor Paula Moore, my dear friend, colleague, and mentor Dr. Arlene White, my lead teacher Laurie Atwell, our AP English teacher Mrs. Jane Yoder, ACTFL TOY 2017 Katrina Griffin, and last but not least my husband Ryan Schlegel. These people devoted countless hours shaping, in different ways, an essay that attests to my core values and beliefs as a language teacher. I am so fortunate to have had a team of professionals with whom I could connect and rely. Surround yourself with those who will advocate for you and support you. I learned that constructive criticism is one of the most powerful reflective tools that exist. Teachers need true, honest feedback. We need to take a look at ourselves and define ourselves through not just our opinions or thoughts, but the perceptions of others who are willing to devote time to help us reflect on our own practice we are able to see our classroom almost as a mirror. Networking and building a community of practice and reflection is absolutely critical to the success of any person in any job in any part of this world. When I drafted my curriculum vitae for the MFLA TOY competition, it was a word document, plain and simple. How boring. Update your CV, take off the things that you did not actually win, focus on the amazing things you are doing, showcase your connections to the community, and stand out. That was the gist of the feedback I received. Funny how formatting can literally change everything. Once named MD TOY, I drafted and redrafted my CV, purchased a template to use, organized, sought feedback, reorganized, and then read over it everyday for months. I wanted my regional level CV to shine. I believe it did. Since my third year teaching I have presented at professional conferences, I have networked, taught with, and learned from the best. I have engaged my students both in and out of the classroom through cultural experiences that leave lasting impressions. I have studied educational leadership and truly had the opportunity to use what I learned in my graduate studies. I have recorded 2 podcasts for the amazing We Teach Languages Podcast series with colleagues from across the state of Maryland. I have hosted 4 world language teaching interns and mentored them through the acclaimed professional development schools co-teaching model at Salisbury University. Two of these teachers serve students in the state of Maryland, another in Delaware, and the final is a leading language teacher for VIP Kid. I have mentored a native Spanish-speaking paraprofessional in our county through an alternative student teaching experience to become conditionally certified and he is now teaching Spanish to grades 6-8. Through drafting my CV, I was able to see my own accomplishments. I felt empowered by what I have done but even more so I felt inspired to continue to be invested in my students learning through my own professional growth. I am steadfast and committed to connecting language teachers with opportunities to learn and grow. I believe with every ounce of my soul that passionate teachers spark the curiosity that inspires students to persist through language study and apply the valuable skills they learn whether they are traveling, working, or simply conversing. Language programs need teachers to survive. Professional learning is the key to informed teaching and the longevity of programs. I am looking forward to continual growth and adding to that CV! I just submitted my first ever proposal to ACTFL with my colleagues and friends Dr. Arlene White and Paula Moore entitled, "Building Teacher Leadership Capacity Through Professional Learning." I hope that it is accepted so that we can share our passion for growth and what we believe are the keys to informed teaching that will keep educators committed to our profession. The letters of recommendation that I received to support my application were humbling. As a teacher you always hope that you are doing the right thing. That you are sending a positive message to your students, their families, and your community. You know your content and your students, you know how they learn and how to use strategies in the classroom that reflect the needs of all learners across all of their intelligences. But when you read, from the lens of a parent or the lens of a student, that you actually are doing those things, wow. How impactful. It makes every late night, every Saturday, every ounce of clickbait you get sucked into searching on Youtube for the perfect video clip, every article you've read, every event you have planned, coordinated, attended, or supported TOTALLY worth it. Teachers! YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! At the state level, the teacher of the year process truly allows you to reflect on your strengths, focus on your philosophy of teaching and how you take your philosophy and inspire your students to be life-long learners. I was not aware of how many other candidates were being interviewed the day I walked in to Howard County Community College, but I was confident with what I had to bring to the table to share. I have always said, I am what I am- which is constantly striving to improve. It paid off. When MFLA, my supervisor, my principal, assistant principal, lead teacher, superintendent, and a reporter with a camera came into the room that I floated into for first period in May, I was SHOCKED! Utter amazement and excitement filled the air! I couldn't stop speaking in Spanish- my supervisor finally had to politely ask me to speak English! What an honor. I'm still in shock honestly. There are so many amazing educators across the state of Maryland that are deserving of the honor to represent Maryland. In fact, in the past 5 years, 2 of my colleagues from Washington County have been named Maryland Language Teacher of year, Amber Sheffler and Ayako Shiga. If that doesn't tell you about the caliber of our programs and our supervisor Paula Moore here in Washington County, Maryland I don't know what does! I also have one of my best friends, Sherri Harkins, from Wicomico County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (where I taught for 9 years) who won MFLA in 2010 and went on to be named NECTFL TOY in 2011. Sherri has been critical in my career. There were times in the past that if it wasn't for her, I am not exactly sure what I would have done! I am so grateful to all of my colleagues who have helped me grow and to really evolve into the passionate and dedicated professional I feel as though I am. Aubrey Swisher, Rachel Dayley, Beth Ann Shaffer, and Jenny May- you are my rocks here in Washington County! I am so grateful for your contributions to world language education and for the great things that each of you continue to do as we all learn and grow together. I am a better teacher because of you and have grown as an educator because I am surrounded by your passion for language and teaching. Stefanie Neal (a Latin teacher in Wicomico County) was the reason I survived my first year teaching. I still use procedures that she taught me to manage my classroom! Once the announcement of Maryland TOY came, it was time to focus my efforts on the additional components to elevate my application for NECTFL Teacher of the Year. At the regional level, your portfolio must contain 2 samples of student work that demonstrate the ACTFL World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and a 4 page reflection on the student work, inclusive of your feedback and how the work informs your decisions as an educator. Selecting the samples took some help and I was grateful for the input of my colleagues in choosing which samples were best. As teachers, we formatively assess our students to make adjustments in real time. We challenge our students in all 3 modes of communication to push to the next level. We use the data we receive through assessment to inform our instruction and develop i+1 lessons using authentic resources. Through the process of applying to be NECTFL Teacher of the Year, I truly got to analyze how I use the Backward Design Model to structure my lessons, how I give my students the opportunities to practice in all three modes of communication, how I scaffold my students' experiences in the classroom to create opportunities for authentic language in a real world setting. Then, I got to look at the feedback I provided to my students and how I helped them understand the expectations of the lesson. If you are interested in looking at my reflections, you can find them here, student samples included. What I learned through this process is that, even though I already knew that providing quality feedback to students was critical, I was reminded that if you want kids to actually learn and grow, they need prompt feedback that is honest and supportive. No, we cannot take time to provide insane amounts of feedback to students via handwritten personal comments when we teaching over 150 kids a day, but we can use rubrics and feedback tools to which we can add additional information to give students a more clear view of where they are on their own path to proficiency. And if you assign an essay, you better be willing to review the essays with the effort that the students put into them. Focusing on what the students can do is essential. They are all on different paths in different places in their lives and their path to proficiency may take a few more turns than others. That is ok! We just have to be willing as teachers to support their efforts and differentiate our lessons to meet the needs of the learners who we are lucky enough to serve, all the while providing them with feedback that fosters a growth mindset! NECTFL interviews for Teacher of the Year were just held. There are 7 other incredibly talented professionals from across the 14 states that NECTFL serves representing their respective state associations. All of whom I am certain would agree with me when I say that the process of application to become TOY is one of the most impactful experiences of my career thus far. The NECTFL Conference is upcoming on February 7-9 in the fabulous New York City. I absolutely cannot wait! Whatever the results may be when we learn who will represent the Northeast Conference in November at ACTFL 2019 in Washington, DC, I know that I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the State of Maryland. I am excited to meet and network with the other dedicated language teachers from across our region. I have had an opportunity to connect with a few of the state teachers of the year via Twitter, Rich Madel of Pennsylvania and Rebecca Blouwolff of Massachusetts. Their work is inspiring and motivating. These are the kind of people I want in my circle. Additionally, this opportunity has connected me with the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) 2018 Teacher of the Year from Virginia Region 4, Heidi Trude, who was among 5 candidates for ACTFL Teacher of the Year this past November in New Orleans. Her extension of kindness to me and her supportive words of wisdom are exactly how I want to network in the future with other teachers as they venture through the process of becoming a teacher of the year. I cannot stress enough to my dedicated colleagues across the state of Maryland, in the northeast, and across the nation, this process is altering in the best way possible. Noah Geisel, ACTFL 2013 Teacher of the Year discussed on a We Teach Languages Podcast, Episode 13, about his experience and how the process impacted him. I love the We Teach Languages series, Stacey Margarita Johnson is a gift to the world language profession. If you haven't given it a listen, you must! Consider contributing and sharing your expertise! We will all thank you for it and learn from it. This has been a process that has forever changed my sense of self efficacy as a teacher, my understanding of my own values and purpose, and has impacted both my students and me for the better. I look forward to continuing to serve the state of Maryland through leadership on the board of directors at MFLA and the Northeast Conference through the Advisory Council. World language needs each one of us to continue to serve our nation. Through our classes, students are able to understand and interact with others across cultures while maintaining a positive attitude towards cultural differences which empowers students to connect and communicate without prejudice or bias. The world needs more of that. NECTFL here we come! -With much respect and admiration for all that each of you do every single day, Caroline Below are some photos from the MFLA Banquet in October 2018. Pictured with me are my Supervisor Paula Moore, lead teacher Laurie Atwell and principal Gary Willow, Dr. Arlene White, and my husband Ryan. I am so thankful for all of their support through this endeavor!
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Author14th year Spanish teacher Archives
June 2020
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