Brooke Gardner

​School: Glacier High School
Language(s) Taught: German & Spanish
Years of Experience: 4 
​Education: M.A. in Multilingual Education from the University of Northern Colorado, B.A. in Spanish & German from Oregon State University

What is the most rewarding part of your career as a language teacher? 
The most rewarding part of my career is seeing students make cultural connections with their different cultures and the target culture, and seeing students be inspired to explore the content of the class on their own. My students will cook food we've talked about in class unprompted or seek out experiences to travel/study abroad or create plans to become language teachers themselves, and so much more.

What is one personal or professional goal that you have for yourself, your school, or your department? 
Some goals I have are to create a four-year German program at Glacier High School, to work/volunteer with the Comprehensible Classroom to create more German resources (mayyyybe SOMOS in German), and to facilitate language clubs where students essentially run them entirely on their own.

What is one of your favorite travel experiences?
Last summer (2024), I went to a month-long PD course in Germany. Another German teacher and I rented a FANCY car, drove it on the speed-limited German Interstate across the country, and saw the Eras tour (Live) in Gelsenkirchen. Taylor Swift spricht ein bisschen Deutsch!

Do you have any advice for other world language teachers?
Always ask yourself if you are doing a task yourself that your students could do themselves. For example, can they assess their own assessments? Can they hang their own artwork? Can they plan their own events? Can they talk to other classes about your language program? Can they run the jeopardy game? Etc. :)