Teacher Panel in Washington, DC Discusses Bilingual Education in the U.S.
Note: Panel Discussion Press Release from Bilingual Teacher Exchange.
WASHINGTON, DC (1 February 2018) — WeWork Manhattan Laundry was the venue for the first ever Bilingual Teacher Exchange (BTE) panel discussion in the nation’s capital about the importance of bilingual education in the U.S. and abroad.
Panel participants and BTE educators involved in the discussion included: Moderator: Jose Luis Lopez (Colombia), a World Language Teacher at Cleveland Elementary School; Elvis Fuentes (El Salvador), a World Language Teacher at Brightwood Education Campus; Eva Mazier (Honduras), a World Language Teacher at Oyster Adams; Kelly Acevedo (Colombia), a World Language Teacher at Anacostia High School; and Nauris Ortiz (Colombia), a World Language Teacher at King Elementary School.
In response to a series of questions asked by the panel moderator, the panelist had these words to say about bilingual education and specifically in the U.S.
In terms of addressing the advantages that BTE educators offer over others not born and/or raised abroad, Eva Mazier said: “the biggest advantage we have [as BTE educators] is that we are relatable and identifiable with kids.” She continued, “Since a large demographic [of students] tends to be from Central America and South America versus Mexico, [the students] are able to bond with you and not just the students but the parents as well.”
BTE educator Elvis Fuentes agreed with Mazier. “The advantage we have as BTE educators is knowing how to connect with students,” said Fuentes. “We create this confidence where they can approach us other than somebody else that probably doesn’t know the culture,” said Fuentes, who studied at the Universidad de Oriente in El Salvador and in the past also taught ESL in El Salvador as well as in New York.
All the panelist agreed classroom management was a very important area to address in their classrooms with their students.
In that regards, Kelly Acevedo added, “just reminding students isn’t enough, we have to engage them.” Following the same tone, Nauris Ortiz added, “in regards classroom management: it’s good to establish expectations early.”
In response to concluding questions about how the BTE program has impacted bilingual education in the U.S. and specifically District of Columbia Public Schools, Eva Mazier, who teaches Algebra, said: “BTE offers a new perspective of what a bilingual or Spanish teacher is.” She concluded: “just having a bilingual teacher with a background in the subject has helped DCPS completely.”
Teaching remains a tough profession for many reasons, but one BTE educator put it in perspective.
“I used to always be running away from kids. I would be like wow this is so stressful,” said Fuentes, referring to previous work teaching strictly with adults. “But, now I love working with them.”
A full transcript of the1 February 2018 discussion will be available shortly.
Washington, D.C.-based BTE — a one stop recruitment and staffing source matching schools and bilingual teachers — provides native speaking bilingual educators to support global language and cultural learning. For information contact BTE at 1–844–338–8444 or via email at team@bilingualteacher.org
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