Anna's Page

My name is Anna Whitwell. I have spent most of my life on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington State. I am currently teaching French Levels 1-3 at South Kitsap High School. I have doubled my program in two years and am expanding to include Advanced Placement for the 2016-2017 school year and University of Washington’s College in the High School program in the near future.

One thing you should know about me is that I am quite loquacious. I am a storyteller and a musician, as well as a interpersonal learner. My Irish heritage and gift of gab is what led me to teaching: former teachers suggested that my enthusiasm and willingness to speak in front of anyone would make me a great classroom manager and a well-liked professor. My high school English teacher is still upset that I chose World Language over English.

I am still only in my second year teaching, so everything so far has been a key idea or experience. I have been able to mold ideas I have been introduced to into welcome resources, and some experiences have turned the way I look at immersion and comprehensible input upside-down. My biggest current influences are my mentor, Barbara Gharst, and my colleague and friend, Noriko Gonzales. Their philosophies both put student learning first and they have very different ideas on how to achieve mastery of a second language. Seeing the student success in both of their classrooms has given me the ability to fuse multiple teaching philosophies for use in my classroom. I adapt and grow as I learn new things which is the most important part of being a teacher.