Embedded Files
About Things That Matter
presented virtually from the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
Plains High School in Plains, Georgia
September 23 , 2020
Keynote:
Keynote:
Remember Where You Come From
Remember Where You Come From
Kim Carter Fuller, the Executive Director of Friends of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, grew up in Plains, Georgia, and still lives there, still walking the same sidewalks. Kim Fuller and her husband Mark have been married for 41 years and have two children, Mandy Barr and Bud Fuller. Fuller believes If I had known how wonderful my four grandchildren were going to be I would have had them before I had my children! A passionate educator of English and Speech for 31 years, Fuller puts her love and energy into Plains as she raises money for the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and manages several entities in downtown Plains. Her desire to keep Plains as vibrant as possible is evident. Kim is a member of Maranatha Baptist Church and teaches Sunday School as President Carter’s substitute. She feels blessed to be able to work with her family in downtown Plains, the most beautiful spot on Earth!
Dr. Jeni Stepanek
Dr. Jeni Stepanek
Mama Peace is professionally recognized as a best selling author, a well respected educator, an advocate and award-winning inspirational speaker, but she is most proud of her purpose as a memory curator, a peace cultivator, and a "welcome mat" for local and global neighbors seeking to create change for themselves, for their communities, and for our world. Jeni serves as a senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland Department of Counseling Higher and Special education and is the CEO and Chief Peace Officer of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation. She also volunteers in leadership and advisory capacities for many organizations including We Are Family Foundation, MainStreet Connect, Children Hospice International and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Her specialty areas range from trauma and resiliency low incident disabilities and psychosocial care to hope, community building, and spirituality. Well known as Mattie's mom the parent of the late teen poet and Heartsongs peace ambassador, Jeni has three other amazing children who also died young due to neuromuscular disease, a rare genetic condition she unknowingly passed on and was diagnosed with later as an adult. Despite the impact of neuromuscular disease, cancer treatments, and reliance on a wheelchair and ventilator, she celebrates life everyday and works and plays with choice, intention, and gratitude. When she grows up, Jenny wants to be "83 and a beach chair philosopher."
Laura Bauer
Laura Bauer
Laura was named as the Executive Director of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation on October 1, 2018, after having served as Vice-President of the Foundation for the previous 7 years. Named after the late teen poet and peace activist who penned seven New York Times bestselling books of Heartsongs poetry and peace essays, the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation provides educational and recreational activities and programs that promote messages of hope and peace to individuals, organizations, and communities.
Laura met Mattie and his mother, Dr. Jennifer (Jeni) Smith Stepanek, through her work at the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI), where she retired on March 31, 2018 after a very successful 20-year career. During her time at the RCI, she co-authored the RCI’s signature training program, Caring for You, Caring for Me – Education and Support for Family and Professional Caregivers, 2nd Edition and was instrumental in the development and launch of Operation Family Caregiver, an evidence-based program for military caregivers. She has co-authored numerous journal articles and contributed chapters to Voices of Caregiving (LaChance Publishing, 2008) and Re-Creating Neighborhoods for Successful Aging (Health Professions Press, 2008). Laura continues to teach six courses in the Long-Term Care Management bachelor’s degree program at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) in Americus, Georgia.
Laura has previously worked as a counselor for at-risk youth at an outdoor therapeutic program and as a child abuse investigator. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration from Columbus State University and also holds a Certificate in Gerontology from GSW. She is Chairperson for the Southwest Georgia Victims Assistance Alliance, Inc. and sits on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Foundation in New York City. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Alpha Alpha, and the American Association of University Women.
An advocate for peace, social justice, caregiving issues and the environment, Laura enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, photography, bird-watching, dancing, and music of all genres. She and her dog Katie are a certified Pet Partner animal therapy team, regularly volunteering at local elementary schools, hospices, hospitals and nursing homes.
JoAnna Arnold
JoAnna Arnold
JoAnna Arnold, an enthusiastic educator of French, Spanish, and English, lives in Americus, Georgia. Arnold earned a BS in International Business and a Master of French Studies from Auburn University, as well as a Master of Education in French from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Arnold’s classroom has evolved into a space where students have meaningful opportunities to take risks, make mistakes, and grow from them. Arnold encourages her students from kindergarten to college to respect differences in cultures as they build relationships with diverse groups of people. She hopes to inspire her students to use their developing language skills to evaluate and meet the needs of their world.
Furlow Charter School is the first peace certified school in Georgia through the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation.
Martina Bex
Connection Through Curriculum
Martina Bex is the Founder of The Comprehensible Classroom, whose curricula and training materials have been helping language teachers implement proficiency oriented, comprehension based language programs with confidence since 2010. Martina is internationally recognized for her leadership and expertise in the world language teaching profession as a teacher trainer and curriculum developer. A Spanish teacher by trade with experience in public and private schools and at the university level, Martina balances her work for The Comprehensible Classroom with the needs of her five young children, for whom she is the full-time caregiver. Martina has been published in The Language Educator and presents regularly at state, regional and national conferences in addition to consulting with individual districts and organizations. Her newest project for supporting teachers is the Garbanzo App, an interactive library of stories in Spanish designed specifically with language classes in mind.
Language teachers aim to train up a generation of empathetic, curious global citizens that can communicate in two or more languages. Often, it seems that the goals of linguistic and cultural proficiency are at odds–yet this is far from the case. In this presentation, participants will explore models both for making language comprehensible and for considering representation both broadly throughout curriculum and with regard to specific topics as well.
Bertha Delgadillo
Reclaiming Humanity & Breaking Stereotypes in the World Language Classroom
Bertha Delgadillo teaches Spanish II, III & AP Spanish. She enjoys leading her students to become lifetime language learners. She has learned to equip students with the necessary tools to take ownership of their proficiency journey. She fuels their interest by facilitating engaging language experiences that guide to real world success. Her students' outcomes are my driving force & she loves to share how she does all of that with teachers inside her Facebook Community Transformation Through Acquisition Driven Instruction.
We don't need to create a new curriculum. We can be intentional with the curriculum we already have by making it personal and relevant not only to the students' lives but also to their perception of the world. In this session, the presenters will guide you through their lesson framework along with their thought processes having in mind that the ultimate goals are to strengthen relationships with learners while breaking stereotypes in the target culture.
Claudia Elliott
Reclaiming Humanity & Breaking Stereotypes in the World Language Classroom
Claudia Elliott is a Spanish teacher in Jacksonville, Florida. She teaches Spanish 1, 3 IB and AP. In recent years, she has implemented dramatic changes to her practice to make my classes more comprehensible, communicative, and community driven. Her results have been incredible. Claudia loves to support passionate world language educators. You can find Claudia in her FB Community Growing with CI. Check it out!
We don't need to create a new curriculum. We can be intentional with the curriculum we already have by making it personal and relevant not only to the students' lives but also to their perception of the world. In this session, the presenters will guide you through their lesson framework along with their thought processes having in mind that the ultimate goals are to strengthen relationships with learners while breaking stereotypes in the target culture.
Meredith White
What the TECH am I supposed to do? Google Slides and Zoom for Virtual and Hybrid Teaching
Meredith White earned her B.A., B.S., M.Ed., and Ed.S. all in World Language Education from the University of Georgia. Her focus on novice learners works to ingrain proficiency, authentic resources, genuine tasks, student-guided thematic units, and making language learning enjoyable. When she isn't at PRHS teaching Spanish, she's at Georgia State University teaching educational methods classes or presenting/ attending state, regional, and national workshops. Passionate about sharing and collaborating with other teachers, she blogs, moderates the PLN #langchat, and serves on the GGC College of Education Advisory and SEALLT Executive Boards.
This session will provide tips, tricks, and templates for teaching on Zoom with Google Slides. It can be overwhelming to manage all of the technology and moving pieces, but this session will give you some ideas of how it can all come together for a sustainable, organized, interactive experience with your students.
Peeling The Onion
Dr. Sue Barry, Coordinator for Foreign Language Education, has been at Auburn University since 1993. Prior to receiving her doctorate from Purdue University, she taught high school Spanish for many years. Dr. Barry’s teaching interests center on the development of task-based learning environments for second language acquisition that are rich in target language input. Her work in instructional design focuses on comprehensible input and communicative output tasks. Her international activities are numerous. They vary from Director and grant writer for a Fulbright-Hays Group Study Abroad in Lima, Peru to numerous exchange programs most recently with Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia, Costa Rica. She felt most honored when she received the 2014 ACTFL Anthony Papalla Award for Excellence in Teacher Preparation.
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