Tag Archives: Foreign Language Teachers

Former World Languages educator Heather Webb becomes award-winning novelist

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Former  high school World Languages teacher Heather Webb has become an award-winning novelist. Photo credit: Heather Webb

Many excellent educators have also earned acclaim as novelists. One of these is Heather Webb, a former World Languages teacher who has become an award-winning author.

Heather earned her Bachelor’s degree in French and Education, and she earned her Master’s degree in Cultural Geography. Then she taught French and Spanish at the high school level for nearly ten years. By her account, shelved her job as a teacher, but left the classroom to become a stay-at-home mother for her two small children. Shortly after that, Heather decided to try her hand at writing, and that is how her career as an author of historical fiction was launched.

The former teacher is not shy about declaring her appreciation of history. “What’s not to love about history?” she asks. “I think it gets a bad rap from our grade school and high school days where many teachers force-fed us timelines and names to memorize, as opposed to teaching us to explore movements and larger concepts–never mind all of those juicy stories,” she says. “This is what history, and historical fiction, really is: juicy stories,” she reveals. And she credits her early interest in history on her father. “I blame my initial love of history on my dad, a retired military colonel, lover of history, museums, and old movies, and geography nut,” Heather concludes.

Heather has written nine novels in the historical fiction genre. Her first, Becoming Josephine, was published in 2014. She also published Rodin’s Lover (2015), a Goodread’s Top Pick. Her next novel, Last Christmas in Paris (2018), garnered the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. She also published The Phantom’s Apprentice in 2018. Her novel Meet Me in Monaco (2020), earned Heather a 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize and was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA Award in Great Britain. She published The Next Ship Home in 2022 and Strangers in the Night in 2023. Her next novel, Queens of London, is set for release in 2024. She has also contributed to the historical fiction work Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women (2019), and published “Hour of the Bells: A Short Story” from Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War (2016). She collaborated with author Hazel Gaynor for the 2021 book Three Words for Goodbye. To date, Heather’s books have been translated to 17 languages.

Currently, Heather lives in New England. She instructs courses for the Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia and she also works as a freelance editor.

NYC teacher Cindy Wang garners 2022-2023 Big Apple Award

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Educator Cindy Wang, who teaches English as a Second language, has earned a 2022-2023 New York City Big Apple Award. Photo credit:New York City Public Schools

I always enjoy sharing the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Cindy Wang, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher from New York City. She has earned a 2022-2023 Big Apple Award.

Cindy teaches ESL to juniors at International High School at Lafayette in Brooklyn, New York. The school offers a home to international students where they can develop their linguistic, intellectual, cultural, and collaborative abilities. As an immigrant herself, Cindy is uniquely qualified to help these students. “Growing up in an immigrant family, the struggles of learning a new language, as well as navigating a new culture, were deeply personal to me. I knew that I wanted to work with and empower immigrant students,” she once confessed.

To achieve this goal, Cindy earned a 7-12 certification in Teaching Chinese (Mandarin) as a foreign language. Shortly after, she invested her talents as the VELLOP coordinator at Vassar, providing programming and extra support for K-12 English Language Learners in the Poughkeepsie City School District. At the same time, Cindy enrolled in courses in a Master’s program in Applied Linguistcs and TESOL at Teachers College in New York City. She graduated from the program in May, 2018.

Today, Cindy works with a diverse group of English Language Learners at International High School at Lafayette in Brooklyn. In her classroom, she integrates the experiences of her students into projects designs to create an environment where students feel safe to take risks with language. As an educator, she brings culturally responsive education practices into every project that she organizes, including the use of literature.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Cindy has made numerous contributions to her school community. She is a team leader at her site. In this role, she facilitates weekly meetings where the team examines curriculum, reviews date, and plans supports for students. In addition, she serves as an advisor for the school’s student government, where she promotes the voices of students in decision-making, fosters peer tutoring and supports, advises a student newsletter, and guides a leadership development program. And as if all that were not enough, Cindy and her team also coordinate a 100-hour internship experience for every junior. Outside of the classroom, Cindy strengthens her practice through participation in an Early Career Fellowship with the Academy for Teachers.

The Big Apple Awards recognize and celebrate New York City teachers who Inspire students to be their best selves, dream, and advocate for their future; who. model equitable learning with high expectations for the diverse and dynamic needs of all students; who affirm students’ identities, unique gifts, and genius; who enrich their school communities by partnering with families, community members, and community-based organizations.

 

Illinois educator Kimberly Radostits garners Teacher of the Year honors

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Kimberly Radostits, a Spanish teacher from Oregon, Illinois, has been selected her state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year and is one of five finalists for the 2023 National Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Oregon Community District 220

It is always my pleasure to highlight exemplary educators who have earned honors for their work in the classroom. Today, the spotlight falls on Kimberly Radostits, a Spanish teacher from Oregon, Illinois. She was selected 2022 Teacher of the Year for Illinois, and is one of five finalists selected for 2023 National Teacher of the Year honors.

Kimberly teaches Spanish to students in grades eight through twelve at Oregon Junior/Senior High School at Oregon Community Unit District 220. She has worked there for the past 15 years.

In addition to her Spanish curriculum, Kimberly serves as the faculty advisor for a freshmen mentoring program known as “Hawks Take Flight.” The goal of the program is to give students the skills and support they need to stay on track for graduation. The program, which flags missing work, absences, and a lack of school connectedness in junior high, allows the school to identify incoming freshmen who are in need of additional support. The numbers prove her program is successful. In 2007-2008, the average number of “F” grades a year for a class of 130 freshmen was 273. By 2019-2020, there were only 16 failing grades in the freshman class.

What inspired Kimberly to develop this program? “In 2011, I left freshmen orientation in tears after having an interaction with a boy who said that he hated school and there was nothing I could do to change that,” she recalls. “The four years I spent trying to prove him wrong have strongly impacted me as a person and an educator and solidified the beliefs I have about education,” she says.

In addition this mentoring program, Kimberly co-directs a New Teacher Academy that provides support and professional development to all new hires in her district. The purpose of this Academy is to promote a connection to the district and achieve teacher retention.

Kimberly’s selection as the Illinois 2022 Teacher of the Year is not the only honor this Chalkboard Champion has earned. In 2015, she was named an Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Emerging Leader.

Kimberly earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University in 2007. She earned her a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Aurora University in 2014. She was designated a National Board Certified Teacher in 2011.

Lydia Aholo taught traditional language to Native Hawaiian students

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Lydia Kaonohiponiponiokalani Aholo taught traditional language to Native Hawaiian students at Kamehameha School. Photo Credit: Kamehameha Schools Archives

I always enjoy sharing stories about educators who have worked with indigenous groups of students. One of these educators was Lydia Kaonohiponiponiokalani Aholo, a Native Hawaiian teacher who taught aspects of the traditional culture to other indigenous Hawaiian students.

Lydia was born on February 6, 1878, in the little town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. She was the third child born to mother Keahi Aholo, who died when Lydia was only six years old, and father Luther Aholo, the Secretary to John Owen Dominis, who was serving as the Governor of Maui at the time. Dominis was the husband of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. The royal adopted Lydia, even over the strong objections of her husband and other members of her family.

As a young girl, Lydia attended first Kawaiahao Female Seminary, and then Kamehameha School, a private school for Native Hawaiian girls. In fact, she was a member of the first graduating class for girls in 1897. She then studied Music and Secretarial Sciences at Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music located in Oberlin, Ohio.

Once she returned to the Islands, Lydia accepted a teaching position at her alma mater, Kamehameha School for Girls. She worked under Principal Ida May Pope. There Lydia taught the Hawaiian language. As a teacher, former students and family members described her as very strict about matters of etiquette and the proper way to conduct oneself in public. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Lydia performed secretarial services as a stenographer and accountant, and she also worked for the Hawaiian Homes Commission and for the Federal Credit Union as a Secretary-Treasurer. She retired from the teaching profession at the age of 75.

All of her life, Lydia’s talent for. music was well-known, particularly in the area of traditional Hawaiian songs. She served as a mentor to her grand-nephew, Alfred Apaka, Jr, and instructed him in the proper enunciation, phrasing, and interpretation of traditional Hawaiian songs. In addition she became the Director of the Liahona Glee Club, which had been organized in the 1920s.

Lydia Aholo never married or had children of her own. She passed away on July 7, 1979. She was 101 years old. She is interred at Nuuanu Memorial Park. To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion, see this link to Kaiwakiloumoku Indigenous Institute.

Actress and comedian Lennon Parham is a former French teacher

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Actress and comedian Lennon Parham is a former French teacher from Georgia. Photo Credit: Hollywood Handbook

Anyone who has been up in front of a classroom knows that teaching is, in part, a performance. So it’s no surprise when talented teachers make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. One teacher who has done this is former high school French teacher Lennon Parham, who now works as a celebrated actress and comedian.

Lennon was born on October 27, 1976, in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. Her parents named her after the musician John Lennon. As a young girl, she attended Parkview High School in Lilburn, Gwinnett County, Georgia.

After her high school graduation, Lennon enrolled at the University of Evansville, a small private university located in Evansville, Indiana, under the Teach for America program. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Theater. Once she completed the requirements for her degree, Lennon accepted a position as a French teacher at T.L. Weston High School in Greenville, Washington County, Mississippi, where she taught for two years.

After fulfilling her obligation for Teach for America, Lennon began her career in the entertainment industry in earnest. She began performing comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Aneles. She also starred in the two-person show The Adventures of Lock & Kay and the one-woman show She Tried to be Normal. Over the years, she has wracked up an impressive resume. She has made appearances in 26 episodes of the television show Playing House, 18 episodes of Accidentally on Purpose, 12 shows of Lady Dynamite, six episodes of Veep, six shows of Best Friends Forever, two episodes of Better Things, and 26 episodes of Bless This Mess. She also appeared in roles on Children’s Hospital, Parks and Recreation, Bad Judge, Arrested Development, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Minx. Lennon also performed in the movies Pretty Bird, Confessions of a Splinterheads, Shopaholic, and Horrible Bosses 2.

Despite her success, the former French teacher has not entirely left the classroom. She has taught improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) training center. The UCB is the only accredited improv and sketch comedy school in the country. You can learn more about this organization at this link: UCB.