Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rebeca Arndt
1. Wisconsin Teaching Standard (WTS) 10: Teachers are connected with other teachers
The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger
community to support students learning and well-being, and acts with integrity fairness, and in an
ethical manner.
community context and understands the operations of the relevant aspects of the system(s) within
Dispositions.
The teacher is committed to seeking out, developing, and continually refining practices that
Performances. The teacher draws upon professional colleagues within the school and
other professional areas as supports for reflection, problem-solving and new ideas, actively sharing
2. National Board Core Proposition #5: Teachers are members of learning communities
practice.
activities.
Introduction
I learned quite quickly in my educator career that the main ingredient to fosters
relationships with my students, school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community
creating a pathway to open communication with my students and provide feedback on a regular
basis. Simultaneously, I reach out to parents on a regular basis according to our school policy of
creating at least four weeklies positive contacts with parents. Alike, I established ways to
constantly communicate with other teacher colleagues, administrators and other members of our
community.
Though these communication channels I voiced out my support to my students in and outside of
the classroom (I initiated a tutoring program and foreign language club), provided a foundation for
advocate of foreign language programs which make the community and its schools more attractive
to potential residents and employers while contributing to a more diverse population and enhance
moment where I chose the profession of educator, when I learned enough about myself in order to
decide that what I truly wanted to do in life. In 2009, while living in Sweden and learning about
their educational system I decided that my calling is to serve the children, to help them reach their
fullest potential, to help them learn about themselves and about the world around them. I chose to
become an educational guide to my students as I consider that children learn from my lessons and
not teach, or fill out my students with knowledge as if they were empty vessels. I consider myself
an important tool that facilitates learning, a gatekeeper to an unknown world to them, a humble
partner on the road of knowledge and personal enrichment and from this unique position I am open
to learn from my students, to listen to them and allow myself to assimilate their culture, their
Thought my efforts of continuing my education and become aware of the literature, ideas, or trends
being produced in the field of my content, I strive to be a professional learner always thinking,
myself as the classroom teacher and parents inspired me to access new and old ways of
communicating with parents and create long lasting professional relationships that will benefit my
students, the school and the entire community. Connecting with parents is indeed a complex
process with various components and details to consider from choosing the right pathway of
communication, to timing, to choose of words, tone of voice and body language. It is a process
that undergoing different stages which might at any given time be impeded by barriers to
communication.
Generally, I either communicate in speaking or in writing, using one way or two ways
communication. One-way communication occurs when I want to inform parents about events,
activities, or student progress through a variety of sources, such as an introductory letter at the
beginning of the school year, the classrooms syllabus, pamphlets about ways parents can help
with French at home, classroom or school newsletters, report cards, communication books,
announcements, school Web sites, etc. I also use two-way communication which involves
dialogues between and the parents during telephone calls, e-mail exchange, parent-teacher
conferences, open houses, meetings, conventions, professional development activities and other
Furthermore, I was involved within an ongoing process of communication with community which
unfolded through the close relationships built with the agencies and service providers such as the
parents and families to assure equal opportunities for services and shared information about
community, though the establishment of clear policies about the magnitude of confidentiality of
the school policy or BYOD policy (bring your own device), through the extension of the use of
school buildings to host events such as Recreation Night, Parties, Fund Raisers or simply conduct
various classes. In parallel , while my school connected with businesses in the community to
support certain school projects or events (KonaIce, Applebees, Calvers, etc.), I participate in
these events in order to support equally our students, school and community.
Teacher as Leader/Collaborator
Besides striving to be a reputable communicator, an educator, a colleague and member of
our community I advocated for French within my community by getting involved and volunteering
district by exhibiting a booth about France at the Multicultural P4JFair Janesville, where preschool
Also, in February participated for the first time at the event Mardi Gras Janesville, which
is an event born from the collaboration that last for about a decade between the French Language
Department and the Hedberg Public Library in Janesville. French teachers, parents, students and
children in the community come together to celebrate a French holiday while crafting masks and
My involvement in extra curriculum activities was always shared with other professionals
in the district, other French teachers or foreign language teachers who aimed to advocate for
maintaining existing language education programs, diversifying instruction to new languages, and
reaching more middle and elementary school students with foreign language instruction. My
inspiration to collaborate with other teachers, administrators and institutions within our community
sprouted from my strong belief that foreign languages should be introduced to students as early as
As I come from a totally different educational system where foreign languages were
compulsory starting with first grade (a first foreign language in elementary and a second foreign
language in middle school continuing throughout high school), my objective was to bring out
awareness about the benefits of language learning which supports academic achievement in core
disciplines, provide cognitive gains to students, shape out attitudes and beliefs about other cultures,
provides a window for worldwide job opportunities thought a very well sought-after skills.
Teacher as Learner
While pursuing to identify the various dimensions as a learner within the teaching
profession, one starting point might be stating my philosophy in regard to my personal learning
was educated in a communist and post-communist country where resources for education was
scarce, where the educational methods were linear and very nonexclusive, where educators had
minimal a minimal support system to do their jobs, were students lacked having their basic needs
meet, yet, where I learned that education is a privilege, a valuable gift to be cherished. Just thinking
about the current issues in U.S. educational system and various complains about whats missing,
what lacks, whats not enough, not good enough, not scaffolded enough, not diverse or inclusive
enough, I could not help but reflect upon the system I was educated and which shaped me into the
person I am, where the issue was not having gender neutral bathrooms but the bathrooms itself, or
better said the lack of. In the school that I have learned for the first 8 years of my life, the
bathroom was a hole in the ground enclosed by three cement walls, in a shed outside the main
building. We called it the water closed (WC), however, ironically there was no source of water
next to this Turkish toilet. To wash our hands afterwards we had to wheel out water from the wheel
Needless to say, that my love for learning sprouted in school, in a small classroom where we had
to keep awake the fire in winter, sweep and mop the floors, clean the windows, care for our school,
learner of other languages and cultures, of customs, traditions and events, a learner that questions,
refutes and search for answers, better ways to approach all aspects of life. I am a learner that
believes that all learning acquired is valuable, that cherishes reflecting on own learning, that strives
to learn even more and reach even higher, that hopes to inspire students to feel the same excitement
I intent to deep further and pursue a doctoral program in education, which will mean a
tremendously achievement for me, both personally and professionally. I intend to continue sharing
my personal learning experience with my students and my motto: If I can can, you can can!