Thirty-three years ago, I made the decision to travel to Salamanca, Spain with my new husband, Joe, to embark on an adventure that would change my life. I didn’t grow up in the kind of family that travelled the world or learned new languages, but Joe told me that I would be able to learn Spanish if only I gave up my own native English for our first year of our marriage. My undergraduate major at Montclair State College was Philosophy and General Humanities, so Spanish was brand new to me. Nevertheless, I agreed to follow Joe to Spain where my love for him led me to fall in love with the Spanish language and culture!

I came home from Spain, after four years of teaching English as a Second Language, to teach Spanish to American students. I am currently a Spanish teacher at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey. As a Spanish teacher, I bring the world into my classroom by encouraging my students to connect to global issues, media and to each other. By creating interest in world language and culture, I improve my students’ chances of becoming bilingual bridge makers who will use 21st Century skills to connect the people on our planet.

I use theater and simulations to help students use their imagination while they are learning Spanish. We debate, solve problems, have mock trade summits and conferences to use the target language in innovative and creative real world contexts. Our nation needs citizens with language skills to help increase our wealth and improve national security. Because of this, I help prepare my students to become linguistic and cultural ambassadors.

Living in Spain helped me to understand what it felt like to be an outsider. Fumbling for my first words in Spanish taught me what it’s like to be invisible and powerless. When I entered the classroom, I was better able to notice students who struggle because they are different from their peers. I wanted to help my students learn to build bridges among the diverse peer groups we find in schools to decrease stereotypes and increase school interpersonal connections.

Each May, I direct a conference for teens called “Teens Talk About Racism”, held at Fairleigh Dickinson University, in Teaneck. I work with a committee of teachers and student leaders who create a plan for radical conversation about race, stereotypes and the barriers we face in our schools. This youth-facilitated forum allows students to challenge their perceptions, uncover hidden bias and “become the change they want to see”.

I am the 2009-2010 New Jersey Teacher of the Year. Being the state teacher has given me access to people, professional development and experiences that I never would have had, without this recognition. In 2010, I was named the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language Teacher of the Year and a Horace Mann Teaching Excellence winner for 2011. Senator Bob Menendez named me an “Evangelina Menendez, Woman of Distinction” for 2010, in honor of his inspirational mother. These accolades have helped me see the larger picture of education in our country, as I have met teachers from all over the country, have heard their stories, struggles and concerns. I’ve learned that rural America and urban America need to talk with suburban America. I have had the good fortune of being chosen to represent my peers to engage in these important national conversations.

In public schools across America, the future of our nation is being scripted. I believe that we are ready to embrace the challenges we face in education, by rethinking our schools in ways that open the door to creativity, communication and collaboration among the teachers, students, parents and administrators who guide them. In order to accomplish this, I believe that we need to have a kind of energetic patience that invites input and collaboration, but which moves initiatives to closure. I believe that educators must possess the disposition of diplomacy in order to build trust among constituents. Each member of the collaborative team must know that there is respect for difference and that the atmosphere is inclusive, welcoming and charged with a mission to dramatically improve student achievement. I believe that by harnessing the power of dialog, we will reach unprecedented success.