As a Michigan native, and a Grand Valley State University graduate, Jodi began her career in education teaching English literature and composition at Southwestern Michigan College.  From 1993 she was hired by Baltimore County Public Schools to teach Spanish at Randallstown High.  In her ten years there she advised the Class of 1977, coached cheerleading, led her squad to the school’s first County Championship, co-chaired the Faculty Council, and became the World Languages Department Chair.  She has led students on trips to Mexico and Costa Rica where they experienced the culture in a way that cannot be duplicated in a classroom.  On a countywide level, Jodi has written curriculum and presented workshops to colleagues on a variety of topics.  She presented here use of white board technology at the state wide MICCA conference in April.  She has been honored three times in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.  Currently she heads the World Languages Department at New Town High School where she is part of the AVID team, advises Club Caliente and started Es Academico, an interscholastic quiz bowl competition in Spanish.

How has the way you teach changed over the course of your career? What lessons have you learned?

Making Spanish my profession was a journey based on love that began with a twist of fate.  I came to Maryland with hopes of teaching literature and composition.  I enrolled in a community college and was a student by night and teacher by day.   In both roles I focused on grammar and memorization.  With the help of a textbook that focused on proficiency I was able to take the grammar out of the focal point and place it in the background.  The English teacher in me had to die and be born again in order for the Spanish teacher to take over. 

Language acquisition does not begin with grammar.  It begins with pictures, then sounds, then words, then sentences, then grammar.  And while every good teacher should begin with the end in mind, I had placed the engine of my train in the wrong car.  Once I placed grammar in the caboose, like the period at the end of a sentence, I was able to help my students speak Spanish rather than just study it. 

I learned that “we” is a lot more powerful than “you” or “I” alone.  I went from being a teacher with a one act show to a teacher of an eight member cast.  

What advice would you give to a teacher who's starting their first year and feels overwhelmed?

It is incredibly difficult to stay on top of lesson planning, paper grading, and communicating with parents.  First and foremost find someone who can help you plan meaningful, engaging, student centered lessons.  Find out if your school has a mentor or whether your department colleagues are teaching the same courses.  Sharing the load of planning will not only help you create better lessons, but it can often help free up time to catch up on grading.  Think with the end in mind and only grade those papers that really help you see where a student has come and not necessarily every step he has taken. 

What role does technology play in your teaching? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Embracing the new technology that became available to me a few years ago was the best thing I could have ever done to reenergize myself and to engage my students.  I no longer use an overhead projector.  It is collecting dust in a closet somewhere.  Instead, I use an LCD projector.  I never used a chalkboard other than as a place to hang up more visuals.  Instead, I use an interactive whiteboard that commands attention like no other inanimate object could.   I no longer use a computer to calculate my grades (I can even say I NEVER used a calculator for that).  Instead, I use my palm pilot and, here’s the best part, I insert most of my grades while I’m walking around the room teaching.  I don’t use files and folders to keep track of a day’s lesson.  I use one power point presentation that is electronically stored.   The strengths are endless.  The possibilities are endless.  Simply stated, using technology empowers me and my students.  
Weaknesses?  One day I couldn’t teach because there was a power outage in the neighborhood.  On other days I realize I’ve spent a half an hour searching for that perfect piece of clipart to help my students make a visual connection.

How do you involve the community in your classroom?

As a world language teacher it is my job to help students see that the world is made up of communities.  It is my job to foster the desire to communicate and connect with other communities.  How do I do that?  First I make my classroom feel like a warm, friendly and inviting community.  But one that smells different, looks different, and definitely sounds different.  Then I do a lot to advertise what my community is doing and invite others to share in the experience.  I send home newsletters that highlight the teachers in my community, the students in my community and upcoming events.  I send home flyers to the community stake holders (a.k.a parents) when important tests and projects are due.  I use outside communities as a resource and offer students during school and after school field trips so that they can see that Spanish is no longer something spoken in a foreign country but is something sitting in their own grocery store, spoken on their own block, and even living right next door.