Skip Crosby is the Teacher of the Month for January. Like Laurie Clarcq’s award, it is long overdue, as skip has been a major force in promoting CI/TPRS for years now. I first met skip in 2009 when I went up to talk to his group in Maine. Pure honesty and oneness of purpose. He gets what comprehension based instruction is and he sees the need to be proactive in getting the word out. He is a teacher’s teacher with a Master’s degree from Middlebury but without the snarkiness. Instead, skip is down home and approachable and direct. I asked another Teacher of the Month, Mary Beth Tietgens, who also teaches in Maine, to comment on skip’s regional effect up there in New England. Here is her response:
Dear Ben:
I know that I speak for ALL of Maine, Vermont, NH, Connecticut, MA, etc. etc. when I say that Skip Crosby gives SO MUCH of himself to the teachers of Maine (and Beyond)!
I first met Skip in 2011, after his principal told me that he would help me learn about TPRS (read my bio). He immediately became my mentor in this journey of TCI. He invited me to his school prior to school starting so I could see his and his colleague’s rooms and talk to both of them (thank you, Therese Tolliver). He even opened up his classroom and let me teach his students while he observed – both he and the students gave me feedback! It was such an opportunity for growth!
But, that is Skip’s main focus…..not just teaching his high school students Spanish, but teaching his peers how to teach. He started the great conference here in Maine each October: TCI Maine and Beyond (because it has grown to include attendees from ALL over!) and now hosts our interim peer coaching sessions. These October conferences are so great – Skip has managed to bring the BIG rollers of TPRS/TCI to our little out-of-the-way state: Jason Fritze, Joe Nielson, Ben Slavic, Susie Gross, Laurie Clarcq, Sabrina Janczak (just to name a few!) This has been a godsend for many here who do not have the means to make it to a national conference. He puts SO much work into the October conference, that he starts working on it for the next year the day it ends! This TCI journey is such a big part of him, that he includes his family too – and his passion is so infectious that his wife, Beth, and son, Gabe, are now very well-known in the TCI/TPRS family, as Beth and Gabe join him each year at the National Conference.
Skip works tirelessly promoting TCI in our state – even amid the many detractors, he has stood his ground and is winning! He is still my mentor. There have been many nights when I have emailed Skip late at night either asking for help (or crying! haha) and he has always responded with very insightful advice, and always acts genuinely concerned and desirous to help in any way he can!
Thank you Skip for all you do for us here in Maine (and Beyond!).
Mary Beth
So congrats to you skip, for all your efforts. We are so happy you are in the mix.
