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Student Teaching
Student teaching was a rude awakening. I felt ill prepared for the requirements of the job and consequently pushed the idea of teaching off for 9 years. -
First trip to France
My first trip to Europe changed my perspective on the world and fanned my passion for the French language and culture. -
Coming home to teaching
After an extensive tour of several other careers, I returned to teach because it offered me an opportunity to combine my passion for my subject matter, French with my calling to work with young people. I have always wanted to have meaningful work that would impact others positively, I finally felt that I had found that in teaching -
Quest for Knowledge & Expertise
Almost immediately, I recognized the need to continue growing and learning as an instructor. and how important it was to continue to seek out positive role models, mentors and advisors so that I could grow stronger as an educator. I have continuously sought opportunities to attend trainings at conferences such as the High Schools That Work in search of inspiration and models for best practices that I could emulate in my own career. -
Babies change everything, especially about what matters most
Becoming a parent heightened my awareness of how important my job as a teacher. I became acutely aware of how much teachers contribute to our community as a whole. We, as parents and citizens, entrust teachers with our most precious resources and our most valuable gifts, our children. Teachers are professionals and yet they are so much more. From the perspective of my own family, I recognize the tremendous responsibility that we place upon our teachers, because, now I see it from both sides. -
Time to think of teaching as a career
Accepting the opportunity to assume more responsibility in the role of Culture Café Coordinator.
This position afforded me the chance to work creatively with members from the local community to expose students to world languages and cultures in an authentic environment. Incidentally, Culture Café program has become a fixture in our Global Studies and World Languages Academy program and has provided students a chance to apply classroom learning in the real world, and on a Global level. Assumi -
A little recognition goes a long way
Being nominated for Teacher of the Year and receiving commendation of Teacher of Distinction, validates my efforts and affirms that my contributions are appreciated and invigorate me in my pursuit to grow and improve my skills as an educator -
Stop complaining and do something about it
Realization in reviewing how the United States ranks in educational performance against other industrialized nations, that we are in an educational crisis. Never has it been so important to be an educator. I want to be a part of an improved system which will empower our students to compete and succeed in the Global Market -
With recognition comes responsibility
Becoming Department Chairperson, has made me a part of the leadership team in my school and teaching community. I took on this responsibility with much trepidation as the time commitment and responsibilities bestowed leave little room for uncertainty. But I have been gratified by the chance to implement strategies intended to improve the quality of instruction and our work environment. I strive to influence my colleagues positively toward more continuous improvement and to learn from the va