Just the Facts
- Currently enrolled in Master's of Educational Technology program
- Taught Spanish at a Title I, International Baccalaureate middle school
- Taught four semesters of English 11 A/B in one academic year (Night School)
- Taught Spanish at a private K-8 arts school, English at CTY Summer Camp
- GA/ID State Certified to teach Secondary (6-12) English and Spanish
- Graduated from University of Idaho with degrees in English and Spanish
- Finished graduate-level Education program at Boise State University
- Awarded grants to teach English in public elementary schools in Barceonla, Spain
Enthusiastic about teaching, technology, and exploring nature
Bio
Early Education and Undergraduate Studies
Although I have lived in Louisiana, Maine, Arizona, Georgia and Spain, I have spent more than 17 years in Boise, Idaho, and that has certainly shaped my value of education and passion for community building. It has also instilled in me a great respect for the outdoors.
The foundations of my education took place primarily in the Boise Public School District. During my senior year of high school, I interned at a local news station as a scriptwriter, an experience that introduced me to the thrilling rewards of immediate publication that were offered by the world of mass communication. Upon graduation from Boise High School, I enrolled in The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. I had a wonderful experience attending the school during my first semester of college, though it was at this time I decided the study of English and Spanish literature was more attune to my developing interests. More excited than ever to continue my path in higher education, I left the program and enrolled in Boise State University for the following semester.
My interests in the Spanish language began to blossom while at Boise State University. At the behest of a Spanish professor, I enrolled in a study abroad program located in Bilbao, Spain. As Boise and Bilbao have a strong relationship with one another (a large number of Basques immigrated to Boise during the Spanish Civil War), I was thrilled for the opportunity. My studies took place at the Universidad del Pais Vasco with a number of foreign students from Africa, the Middle East, and throughout Europe. It was a mind-expanding experience working with so many wonderful people towards a common goal – language acquisition – and it refocused my efforts towards a career abroad after graduation.
While in Bilbao, I decided to transfer to the University of Idaho. I made the decision based primarily to expand my exposure to new experiences; secondarily, it helped that the University of Idaho had very strong English and Modern Language departments. I then had an opportunity to explore more of my beloved state, the gorgeous “panhandle” area of Northern Idaho, and to focus my academic efforts. I joined a number of clubs and groups, such as a Spanish conversation and culture club for visiting Spanish professors, and enjoyed the traditional academic environment at the university.
Post-Graduation and Graduate School
In 2007, I earned Bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish. After briefly
working in the Human Resources department of the University of Idaho, I was awarded a teaching grant by the Spanish Ministry of Education to teach English. This afforded me the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant in public primary schools in Barcelona and to begin independent study of English literature and pedagogy at L’Universitat de Barcelona. (For my work in primary education, click here!)
Also at this time, I began teaching private lessons to children and adults alike, and I created a consortium of private instructors with similar zest for instruction known as English Direct, Barcelona. The group helped connect native English teaching assistants (all part of the Ministry of Education grant program in which I was participating) with prospective language students in Barcelona. It was a fantastic learning experience and was quite successful at the time I passed control over to the next group of auxiliaries.
Photo: First-day presentation to 3rd graders at CEIP El CIM in Teia, Spain.
Never in my life had I been filled with such a sense of purpose. I so enjoyed teaching and learning that I decided to take the necessary steps to become a certified instructor in the United States. After nearly two years in Barcelona, I moved back to Boise to begin graduate course work in education at Boise State University, where I immersed myself in courses like educational psychology, English composition methods, and curriculum design. My interests took me down the paths of gifted and talented education, alternative education, inquiry-based learning strategies, and educational philosophy (from Plato's Republic to Dewey's Democracy and Education to Darling-Hammond's The Flat World and Education).
While at Boise State University, I worked as a composition specialist with the College Assistance for Migrants Program, during which time I provided writing feedback in individual conference and workshop settings. I often sat humbled at my desk by the students’ determination and appreciation of education. The position required that I schedule advising meetings with students, revise and edit student work, and maintain correspondence with English professors at Boise State to help the C.A.M.P. students with their course work. On one occasion, the student coordinator offered me a chance to co-teach a lesson for two sections of the C.A.M.P. study skills course on scholarship essays.
Photo: With some CAMPers after making "papel picado," December 2010
Teacher Education and CTY
During the fall 2010 semester, I also began student teaching in an eighth grade Language Arts classroom in Kuna, Idaho (For my work in secondary education, click here!). Building upon my previous training in primary education in Barcelona, the daily work of grading papers, co-designing lessons, and monitoring student behavior prepared me well for work as a secondary-level teacher. I began by observing the class and working with small groups, and eventually transitioned into the lead teacher role.
It was during this time as a lead teacher that I further developed confidence in myself as an educator. I loved recognizing potential in my students and helping it grow into a genuine skill. For example, I helped many budding creative writers with their stories, recommended countless books to apprehensive readers, provoked questions from students and relished the opportunity to hunt down answers with students. While at KMS I had fun working with the student leadership and activity group known as Junior C.A.S.T. With this group of 7th and 8th grade students, we organized events such as teacher appreciation week and a students-versus-teachers basketball game!
Nearing the end of the school year (and my graduation), I applied for work with the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. After a rather rigorous interview process, I was offered a position as a teaching assistant for their Easton, Pennsylvania site at Lafayette College. In June 2011, I flew out to Pennsylvania to begin the first of two sessions for a course entitled "Crafting the Essay," in which students explore both local and global issues through personal and expository writing.
Working with fifteen academically-gifted students and veteran CTY instructor Kristina Fennely (Ph.D, Rhetoric and Composition, LeHeigh University), I guided, and at times was even guided by, students through morally and conceptually challenging essays that laid the foundation for our writing course. We worked with an eclectic set of essays - from Malcolm X's "Learning to Read" to Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" - and explored their structure and content through discussion and journal writing. Some of the students had come as far as China to take part in the course, and the majority of students were first-generation Americans, claiming heritages from Korea, India, and Northern Africa. Discussions were often lively, as many students drew on their diverse backgrounds to add meaning to abstract texts. As an instructor, it was very rewarding to work with such a highly motivated and diverse group of students.
2011-2012 Language Education in the Treasure Valley!
Upon arriving back in Boise after a phenomenal summer at CTY, I began working with two different schools as a teacher of two related, though distinct, subjects: Spanish and English! As a Spanish instructor at Foothills School - a small private school in downtown Boise - I took over a class of Spanish 1 (beginning Spanish) students and often taught levels Pre-K to 9th grade. At Central Academy’s Night School program in Meridian, Idaho, I began teaching English 11: American Literature to a diverse group of motivated students that were participating in a credit-recovery program or were looking to jump ahead on their educational path.
Both programs run independently of one another, though I constantly made fascinating comparisons between the strengths and developing areas of both programs. I was very proud to be a part of both schools and enjoyed participating in their growth as excellent education options for students in the Ada County area.
2012-2013 Spanish Education...and Beyond!
In 2012, my girlfriend Brittany and I got engaged! After a years of preparation, she was accepted into a doctoral program at the University of Georgia. Always ready for adventure, I began looking for teaching positions in the area while concurrently teaching English for the Meridian School District.
As a last-minute hire, I was selected to join Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School in Athens, Georgia as their new full-time Spanish teacher. This Title I school is in the process of adopting the International Baccalaureate framework and stated that part of my job would be to help develop the IB language program. That gave me approximately two weeks to prepare curricula for 6, 7, and 8th Conversational Spanish; Spanish for Native Speakers 6th and 8th; and High School Spanish 1. I would teach a total of 11 classes and over 250 students. Que me desean suerte...
The entire district is in a very interesting transtion period. In 2011, the district decided to adopt IB guidelines and implement the program into their existing framework. What that means is that the program is in its infancy; and, as I was told by my new principal, I would have a role in defining the IB Spanish program at the middle school level. How incredible! I was lucky to join a foreign lanugage program that is built on success, but looking to improve the "integrative-ness" of the curriculum. Teamed up with a 15-year French teacher, I started the year with a mixture of confidence and excitement.
Wish me luck in this new city, state, and region, as I return to my "Southern roots" and jump from the western desert to the humid subtropic.
Once the 2012-2013 academic year finishes, a whole new adventure is surely waiting. Although I don't yet know what is in store, I am sure it will be full of insight as I continue my path as an educator. I hope one day soon we will meet and have a chance to learn from one another!
All the best!
Matt
Google Layered Map
Curious about where I've lived and worked? Check out this interactive map I made that shows you...well, just that!