Today an instructional coach in a PD I’m in asked if I would present on jGR to the group. I said of course, and so Annick and Barbara (Vallejos) and Jane (Little) and I will do that next month. The reason I think it is a good idea is that jGR asks of students – not necessarily those in language classes – that they develop skills that will directly impact their ability to work in groups in the human way. I personally believe that the interpersonal skill of the Three Modes is going to get a lot of attention from non-language teachers as we continue unthawing from the last century. So that is the first bit of news.
Also, I was speaking yesterday with Annick and one of her star Chinese students (a senior fluent in English and Spanish and already really good in Chinese after three years with Annick). I saw in this student real talent, with good communication skills and full command of two language and great progress already made on a third. We talked about how a person with those particular three languages would be highly employable. Now she wants to continue her Chinese training in China as part of college. We sketched out a possible career.
Here is her response in a wonderful note to me this morning:
Mr. Slavic:
I wanted to tell you that I appreciate the conversation we had. It really makes me believe in myself as well as to see that there are teachers who care for their students. I also wanted thank you for giving me access to the blog and books. As I started to read them it made me see that the passion for teaching emerged in me. I didn’t realize that I had potential in me until you made me see it. Now my plans for the future changed. I plan on pursuing a career in teaching and in mastering Chinese. As my senior year comes to an end I would really love to work with you in the future, well after living in China, of course.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Orozco