Ep. 71 CBAD High School Teacher of the Year 2022 Shares Some Classroom Wisdom
For Kim Wakefield, teaching Spanish has always been much more than simply teaching a language. It’s teaching another culture in a very open and passionate way.
For Kim Wakefield, teaching Spanish has always been much more than simply teaching a language. It’s teaching another culture in a very open and passionate way.
An appreciation of other cultures is something Kim Wakefield grew up with, and it’s something that has informed her teaching for over 25 years.
Being open to other cultures - and the way people do things - has brought an international flavor to her Spanish classroom and an experience for her students like no other. The recipient of the Carlsbad High School Teacher of the Year Award in 2022, Kim has woven art and music into her language class and has taught her students to approach Latin American culture in a very open way - and - to enjoy the differences. Her classroom walls are filled with flags and posters of art as a source of constant inspiration, and her passion for all things international is palpable. In this educational and inspired podcast, you’ll also hear the story of how she overcame the challenges posed by covid, and how she ran a language class with masks, technology and so much more!
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YouTube: 2022 Winner - High School Teacher of the Year https://youtu.be/xuiD4WxH4mk
Kim Wakefield
Educator (Spanish Teacher)
I grew up in Riverside, California as one of four kids (four generations of my family are buried there). My parents had lived in both Japan and Germany before I was born, so I grew up with a love of languages and travel. I graduated from UCLA with a BA in Spanish and Linguistics which led me into a career in education. I have enjoyed working with secondary school students in 3 states (California, Washington and Virginia) and am currently completing my 25th year as a Spanish teacher at Carlsbad High School. Before settling in the San Diego area, I lived in Oslo, Norway for 6 years while my husband worked at the US embassy, so I had the opportunity to do and see a lot of amazing things during that time, in addition to meeting some very notable people, such as King Harald, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Former President and First Lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and then Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
I got my teacher's credential from UC Riverside and several years later got my Master's degree in Spanish from UC Santa Barbara. I have really enjoyed visiting various Spanish-speaking countries over the years (Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru) in an effort to bring the richness of those cultures into the classroom through my personal experience. Prior to graduating from UCLA, I also spent one summer in Guadalajara, living with a Mexican family and attending a summer school session at the University of Guadalajara. This experience was pivotal in developing my ability to really speak and understand the language.
In addition to living i…
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