New Teachers Build Community Hebron becomes ‘new’ each year as faculty work together and plan for the year ahead, a year that will not only be a new experience for students in the school but also a year that must be richly formative for students on their way to college and to life. Beginning teachers are especially important to the year because they bring fresh vitality, insight and training to the school’s program as well as connections to what have been their own recent shaping experiences in college and graduate school. Featured here are two new members of the Hebron community, Maddy Bennett and James Falconer, who represent versatile additions to Hebron’s academic, athletic and performing arts programs.
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I didn’t know that much about boarding schools or even Maine in general. We had visited the coastal beaches when I was a child, and that was my first and only impression. But when I came to Hebron, it looked and felt just like my home.
Maddy Bennett “
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eing here has felt like coming home for me. I am with such good friends, and it all seems so right.” English teacher Maddy Bennett begins to speak about her coming to Hebron, how circumstances combined to have her consider an opportunity that was entirely new for her. Maddy grew up in central Vermont where she attended local schools and played basketball before choosing to attend St. Michael’s College to study literature and education and to continue with collegiate basketball. Initial work on a major in Early Childhood Education followed by an internship working with very small children led to an abrupt change of career direction. “I found myself thinking, I’m not sure I am ready for this; and I made the switch to English Language Studies and continued directly to graduate school.” A degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) was followed by continued study and work for the Applied Linguistics Department at St. Michaels as well as doing admissions work and teaching ESL students. She became particularly interested in the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotski who posits the influence upon developmental learning not only of adults and peers but also of the effects of cultural norms. This thinking has impacted 10 • hebron • SPRING 2020
approaches to second language teaching as well as working with students in an international cultural setting. Maddy’s experiences in the TESOL program at St. Michaels led to Hebron, a wholly different sort of opportunity from what she might have earlier imagined doing. “I didn’t know that much about boarding schools or even Maine in general. We had visited the coastal beaches when I was a child, and that was my first and only impression. But when I came to Hebron, it looked and felt just like my home.” Maddy’s initial work in Hebron’s summer international programs tapped directly into her training, and when the opportunity arose to join the English Department, it seemed an especially good opportunity. “I loved it here. I loved the fact that there was a great sense of community; and coming from such a small Vermont town, such a small college, and now coming to this small community . . . well, it was what I was looking for, the sense of real value and commitment to what we are doing.” And, true to the culture of the Hebron community, Maddy is doing a lot in her first year. Her teaching assignment includes British Literature for seniors, American Literature for juniors and a new course, Critical Reading, Writing and Discussion, an ESL offering which helps students to develop important skills in support of their work across the curriculum. Research methods and outlining, practicing for debate or an oral presentation, preparing the lab report or a resumé, even writing effective emails become practical subjects that help support students in all grade levels as they pursue their Hebron studies. In addition, Maddy is a ‘dorm friend’ for students in Sturtevant Hall and coaches soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter season. When asked what is at the heart of her teaching, Maddy was quick to respond, “I want to be a teacher who connects to a student’s individual identity. This is so important when working with international students, not just because of language differences, but because I need to connect with a student’s culture and share it in an authentic way. I want my students to be able to express themselves in the identity that they choose, because so often when acquiring a second language one loses that personality piece. I want to pull out that personality as much as possible, honoring it and sharing it in the context of this Hebron community.” Connecting with young people on a personal level seems especially natural for Maddy. At the close of a late
