Happy hunting!

It's getting close to that time of year again. Parent-teacher conferences are looming, grade cards are being printed, we're just about over the hump of Winter, and pretty soon you'll start seeing postings for teaching positions, as well as "kindergarten round-up" meetings, all over the internet. Whether you are in a program that is still growing, adding a new grade level each year, or are in a seasoned Immersion program, I'm pretty sure you'll need someone new this year. How will we find each other?

Some of our districts are accustomed to being "the best" and consequently have teachers clamoring to get their resumes in first. Other districts struggle to woo teachers into their district. Either way, I find that with each passing year, the funnel of applicants gets narrower. In Michigan it didn't help that the State decided to eliminate the elementary certification with a foreign language major. Really? What were they thinking? We have seen a groundswell of Immersion programs in West Michigan, and yet the State discouraged students from pursuing these teaching opportunities. In order to teach in our schools now, they will need double majors: elementary education and Spanish.

If you're a competent language teacher looking for a job, or if you're a concerned administrator looking for a new teacher to complement your Immersion program, how will we find each other? Teachers, get your name out there! Talk to EVERYONE you know! I know it's hard today to get "face time" with HR people; most schools now require that you apply online first. But call and ask to visit our schools! Talk to other teachers you know who are in an Immersion program. Tell your friends, your mom's friends, your doctor, your counselor, your pastor, your bus driver....get the word out! Let everyone know you'd love to teach in an Immersion program! If you're still looking for a school in which to do your student teaching, request an Immersion program!

If you're an administrator, and you KNOW you're going to need a new teacher in your Immersion program, start talking to colleges now. Don't limit your calls to in-state colleges. Contact heads of language departments and education departments at the colleges to let them know exactly what kind of teacher you're looking for. Give yourself some breathing room--don't wait till the last minute to start the interview process. The funnel is smaller for Immersion, so make your contacts before your competitor does. It is such an encouragement to your current staff to see your proactive search to complete and enhance your teaching team.

If you're a seasoned teacher, please offer your services to a student teacher. Let them come to your classroom, learn from you, work out their bugs, spread their wings, and catch the Immersion fever! I try to encourage High School students who are preparing to enter college to consider Immersion education. Hey, I even encourage my first graders to consider being a teacher one day! I figure it's never too early to start recruiting! 

Happy hunting, everyone! I look forward to meeting our new 7th grade Immersion teacher, and my new student teacher! ¡Bienvenidos!

~Sheryl René

Lessons from the ditch

It's a snowy, blowy day in GR, but I'm trying to not be wimpy, and show up for my dental appointment anyway. However, as I follow the curve on the entry ramp to I-131, my car goes into a spin and off the road... pluf! No injury to me or the car, just immobilized in a ditch filled with snow. In spite of my mature years I tend to rely on my husband for a lot of help, but I decided, "no, I'm calling AAA before I ever let my husband know that I'm in a ditch." I called AAA and they were very polite, efficient, and let me know it would be about an hour before the local tow truck could get to me. OK, good thing I brought along a book to read.

What do you do when you're stuck? There was no point in getting out of the car; I was warmer staying inside the car. Thankfully the tank was full of gas, so I had no fear of running out of gas. I admit, after calling AAA, I did call my husband. He advised me to keep the car engine running if I could see the smoke from the exhaust (just making sure that the exhaust pipe was not blocked). I felt much better just knowing that the one who loves me the most, was well aware of my situation, and praying for my safe "rescue".

It wasn't long before a tow truck came. He stopped, got out of the truck & came to offer his services, but unfortunately he wasn't the AAA representative, so after making sure I was ok, he went on his way. A few minutes later a fire engine and ambulance arrived with lights flashing. As the fireman got out of his truck, I lowered the window & let him know I was alright. He looked over the car inside & out, making sure I wasn't hurt. I let him know that I hadn't dialed 911, to which he replied, "No, but a concerned passerby did." Later a woman in a mini-van stopped, lowered her window and asked if I needed help (probably knowing all the time about the only thing she could have done would be to make a phone call or just hold my hand). She too left when I let her know I was fine & just waiting for AAA to show up.

Then a policeman arrived. He got out of his car, politely asked about me first, then just as politely asked to see my car registration. I told him I had no idea what happened. He quickly responded, "I do. You were driving too fast." "Apparently" I said, "but I didn't think I had been driving too fast." He, too, went on his way once he had confirmed my registration, and found that I had everything under control.

My total wait time was actually under the estimated hour, during which I read and reassured those who stopped that I was just fine. When the AAA driver arrived, he hooked up my car to his towing engine, gave me some simple but necessary instructions, and then skillfully pulled the car (& me) out of the ditch. Even as strong as his engine was, there was a small "hitch" when the snow piled up around the hook, which actually caused it to fall off. But my skilled AAA driver also knew how to corrrect this problem & rehooked the cable to the car to finish off the tow. As he unhooked the cable, he said to me "You were my best rescue today! It's so much easier when the stranded driver can handle the car."

As an immersion teacher I get stumped or "stranded" sometimes. I need to use all the resources that I've been given (books, training, experience, intuition), but many times I still need to call in other help. I frequently have many people who want to help, people who are gifted, generous, kind; but they're not always the people I need at that time. I sometimes have to wait for, or look for just the right person to respond to my need. Sometimes the people who come to help me are the ones who just hold up the mirror to help me see what I really need or am really doing. They're not being critical, they're just telling me the obvious, what they really see happening. What a gift that is! I often wish I could "watch myself" in action. Either what I'm doing is not effective, or what I'm doing is not what I think I'm doing, and therefore still not effective. What a joy it is when I find the person who has just the right answer/tip/resource to help me with the issue at hand! I return to my classroom so excited about trying out this new idea and anticipating how my students will respond!

I was so relieved when the AAA driver was respectful and helpful, without making me feel stupid for ending up in a ditch. And that final message "you were my best rescue all day" so reminds me how important it is to let my kids know how each and every one of them is so special and important to me. Please forgive me for those days when I forget to tell you or show you that. You are very special and important to me! ¡TQM!

Sheryl René

I'm no Whitney Houston...

I'd LOVE to have her range, but it'll never happen this side of heaven! However, I do love to sing, and I love to learn new things through music. I still remember the jingle my 5th grade teacher taught me so I could remember the "helping verbs!"  Am is are, was were be, being been has have; had do done, did may might, can could shall should will would must..(all to the tune of Jingle Bells). I've learned the books of the Bible, Bible verses, and even how to remember a 3rd or 4th in a musical chord by associating it with a familiar song, like "Here Comes the Bride". So it only seemed logical to use music in my Immersion classroom as well.

Sometimes I make up my own little jingles...who cares if they never make it to the Top 10? What matters is that your students remember and apply the new knowledge to their language skills. I have translated songs from English to Spanish, & adapted them to better fit the rhythm of the 2nd language. I sing songs to sit down, line up, greet the students, and to send them off at the end of the day. During Writing Workshop, the students know that when the classical music is on, it's time to put on their thinking caps & start some serious writing. My student teacher last year got so inspired by the musical atmosphere, that she wrote her own version of a couple of familiar songs to go along with our Writing Workshop: "Somos Detectives" that lines up with the Lucy Calkins writing curriculum; and "Es Tiempo de Venir" which uses the Adam's family tune to call students to the rug to listen to their friends' stories. My colleague, Megan, was also inspired to use music in her classroom to help with grammatical understanding. Her idea to help students who struggle to use "Me Gusta" instead of "yo me gusta", is to use Beethoven's 5th with these lyrics:  A-A-A-A, mi-mi-mi-mi, me-me-me-me....gusta.

However, when it comes to teaching my students more about the language and culture, I work hard to find typical children's Spanish songs. I call on my memory from when my children were in school in Venezuela, the birthday party songs, and the recess playtime jingles. I hunt down CDs from Spanish speaking countries. And I totally accept offers from parents who vacation in Spanish speaking countries to bring back CDs from their vacation destination! I also make sure the students have a songs folder, which they use to sing, but also to read...Yea! more application!!!

I'm kind of picky, though. I won't use bi-lingual CDs, as I am a firm believer in keeping the instruction in the target language. I've also found that not all translators are as finicky as I am about words fitting the rhythm of the music, and the music fitting the rhythm of the words. These days there is so much available on youtube as well. Check it out under your Immersion language!  Take the plunge! Start your day with some music, end your day with some music, teach new vocabulary with some music!
¡A-A-A-A, mi-mi-mi-mi, me-me-me-me, gusta!

Sheryl René

What good is it?

My youngest daughter, Erica, was recently invited by the non-profit organization, First Hand Aide, to accompany them to Cuba. Because she is totally bilingual, she was a tremendous asset to the group. She was called upon to translate between doctors, lawyers, dignitaries and just plain ole' good folk. She even got a chance to dance a little merengue and salsa with a well known retired Cuban baseball player, Pedro Medina.

I know people go on mission trips, business trips or vacations all the time without knowing the language of their destination country. I have, too. But it is so much more enjoyable and enriching when you can interact with the culture you're visiting or living in. Without knowing Spanish, Erica could have traveled with First Hand Aide to help deliver the medical supplies that the hospitals so desperately need, enjoyed the local food, and gotten in some sight-seeing. But with the knowledge of Spanish, Erica was able to hear the heart of the people she met, able to feel the pulse of what's happening in that part of the world, as well as impart her blessings to lovely people she came in contact with.

What good is it? What good is knowing a 2nd or 3rd language? I don't know; what good is knowing a first language?! What good is knowing Math, Chemistry, Art, Biology, Computer technology, Auto mechanics, etc., etc., etc.? I am so thankful for our time living in Venezuela. I am so thankful that we decided to enroll our children in Venezuelan schools. I am so thankful that all 3 of our children view themselves as world citizens. And I'm very thankful that 4 of the 5 people in our immediate family are gainfully employed full time, in part because we are bilingual. Doesn't that seem like a good thing?
Sheryl René

P.S. (Actually, child #3 is also employed part-time, using her bilingual skills; she's a full-time college student, where she also uses her bilingual skills.)

Why Would Anyone Do That?

That's what a family member asked me when I was explaining to her what an immersion program was all about. Even though I had told her about my job many times before, apparently this was the first time that she really understood that my students are native English speakers, and that their parents had opted to enroll their child in the Spanish language immersion program! I could describe this family member to you, but it really wouldn't matter. There are many people who have asked this question. Their tone of voice ranges from  highly curioous, to very condescending.

When our children started school in Venezuela, the common practice for "missionary kids" was to either be homeschooled or attend a mission sponsored school. In our case, to choose the mission school would mean that we would have had to send our children 6 hours away to a boarding school. Our personal feeling was that we wanted to enjoy every moment of our children's lives, and to be available for all those structured lessons, as well as the random teachable moments. At that time in Venenzuela, we were the only family from our mission who chose to send our children to Venezuelan schools for most of  the 15 years that we lived there. Instead we enrolled our children in Venezuelan schools where they learned to read in Spanish first. Not only that, but because they were in Venezuelan schools, they not only learned the language, but were trained in the Venezuelan culture as well----not with specially designed lesson plans, power points, or special apps; rather they soaked it in from their teachers, friends, and friends' parents.

I realize our immersion experience is "to the max" so to speak, but the motivation remains the same. We immersed our family in a 2nd language because we wanted to really expand our horizons. We wanted to have friendships that we never could have had with just 1 language. We wanted our children to learn to accept and appreciate other cultures. We wanted to be effective communicators. We wanted to learn from others in ways that would stretch us. 

So if you're in an immersion program, why? Why would you do that? Tell us!

~Sheryl René

Where did I start?

I started learning Spanish at age 32! My husband and I and our first daughter moved to San José, Costa Rica to study Spanish at the Instituto de lengua española for 1 year. We actually ended up leaving after about 10 months, and continued our learning in Caracas, Venezuela. The motivation for learning Spanish was our vocation as missionaries. We were convinced that if we were to be effective as missionaries, we needed to have a good command of the language. Our first experience with Immersion was in Costa Rica. Our teachers NEVER used English with us. I would sit there day after day watching their mouths move, and the expressions on their faces. They were actually communicating something important to me, but I had no idea what it was.

Then I started catching a few patterns. For example, I caught the grammar pattern of I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they. But then I was really blown away by how many words there were for the same verb! And all in the present tense!! I remember feeling the embarrassment of not understanding. After all, I was an intelligent human being with an advanced education, and now I was reduced to a range of vocabulary that rivaled my 1 year old!

However, in any classroom, there's always someone who has just a little more experience than you do. I had studied Latin & French in High School, but that had been soooo long ago. There were a few others in the class who had studied Spanish before coming to Costa Rica. Even though they were surprised by their lack of fluency and understanding, they had enough of a base that they could help us total novices understand a few things. This was was my first experience with one of the key strategies in Immersion Education: students can interpret for students, but teachers must always maintain communication in the target language.

We chose Immersion education for ourselves partly because it was recommended by our Mission board, and partly because we were learning the language in a natural environment. We are so grateful for that opportunity. We never regretted that decision. What about you? Where did you start?

My first thoughts...

Greetings from Rockford, Michigan, where I am a 1st grade teacher in a Spanish Immersion program. I love the program, I love the students, and I love the parents. But that doesn't mean that I don't encounter lots of challenges. So I'm opening up my learning, teaching and my best thoughts to share with all of you. I'm sure hoping you'll do the same. Welcome to "The World of Immersion".

My question this month is, "Why did you choose Immersion Education?" As a teacher, I chose Immersion Education as a result of my experience of living overseas for 16 years. I started studying Spanish at 32 years of age in Costa Rica, and then honed my language skills over the next 15 years while living in Venezuela. My husband and I were committed to learning the language of the country we were living in, and teaching our children to appreciate both the language and the culture. That has proven to be an invaluable life skill for our family.  I teach in a Spanish Immersion school, my husband pastors a Hispanic congregation, and our 3 children use their Spanish and their understanding of the Latin culture every day in their jobs and education.
As a matter of fact, our bilingual skills have been key to maintaining our jobs in a shifting world of employment.

I can't wait to hear from you! Why did you choose Immersion Education? Are you glad you did? What advantages have you seen from making this choice? What kind of immersion program are you involved in?
~Sheryl René