Building Bridges
A “dream” mentorship project becomes an invaluable learning experience Lauren Taphorn knows exactly what she wants to do for her career. Now a senior elementary education and Spanish double-major pursuing an ESL certification, she is passionate about Spanish language instruction and hopes it will always be a part of her work as an elementary educator. Emporia Spanish Speakers was in need of someone just like Lauren. Founded in 2017 to help facilitate Spanish language learning to non-Spanish speakers, the organization’s director, Lelan Dains (BS 08-Recreation), says, “Our mission is to broaden understanding and tolerance of diverse communities by expanding one's knowledge of language and culture.” Since its formation, the organization has provided learning opportunities to adults. The organization is now expanding their offering so local children can learn Spanish and develop an understanding of the many Spanish language cultures represented in Emporia. Says Dains, “That was a big part of wanting to provide an offering for the youth in our community. I believe it is important for all people to have a basic understanding of other languages and cultures. The goal was for the students to come out of this program with a greater knowledge of different Latin cultures and to be able to speak some basic phrases in Spanish.” In late 2019, Dains approached Dr. Sara Schwerdtfeger (BSE 98-Elementary Education, MS 06-Master Teacher), associate professor and department chair of Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education and Special Education, to help him find the ideal instructor to build this course. Schwerdtfeger reached out to her colleagues in The Teachers College to see who would be an ideal fit, and that’s where she learned about Lauren. “Immediately, I said yes. I did not even hesitate, because that is literally my dream job,” says Lauren. For Lauren, this opportunity meant building a class from scratch, an incredibly hands-on, intensive and valuable project for an up-andcoming educator. “I worked with Dr. Schwerdtfeger, and we made it a mentorship project through the Honors College. We decided that we were going to have a 10-week class for one hour a week, and we were going to open it up to elementary students aged kindergarten through fifth grade.” “I was in charge of creating the curriculum, as well as all of the lessons, materials and planning. With the help of Dr. Schwerdtfeger, Lelan Dains and my friend, Gillian Ferrel, we created a schedule of classes and the topic for each class. I then started planning out my lessons. Once we had all of that complete, we set a schedule for the classes.” 12
“I just knew that this is what I want to do with my life. I want to get out and teach young students Spanish or teach them other languages and about culture. It was just so incredibly rewarding.” They named the course Los Puentes (Bridges). Lauren ended up with 18 students enrolled in the class. They represented every grade from kindergarten through fifth grade, which created interesting challenges for the young educator. “It made planning and teaching difficult because the abilities and comprehension levels between those ages are vast. But, it was so much fun.” “My goal for the class, the purpose I had in my mind, was not that the students would become fluent. Obviously, I can't do that in one hour for 10 weeks. My main goal was just to expose them to the Spanish language and spark an interest in the culture.” She created an engaging series of experiences for her students, complete with guest speakers, where they traveled in their imaginations to other countries, learning about the culture, the food and the language along the way. “I created little passports for everyone in the class. I took their pictures and put them in the passports for them. They got to fill out the passports with their name and birthday. They thought that was super fun. Then, they would write one thing that they learned about that country in their passport and draw a picture related to it.” Los Puentes began in early February with a scheduled final class planned as a ‘graduation’ on Cinco de Mayo. In 2020. You can guess what happened next. “We had our first three classes, and then it was spring break. Then, COVID-19 hit.” They postponed classes, with the plan to start them up again in the fall. The postponement pained Lauren. “I really wanted to keep doing something for the students because they were so excited and loved what we were doing. I could tell that they were excited. They were practicing Spanish and using Spanish. I didn't want to lose that momentum.” In the face of the restrictions, she drew upon her creativity, resilience and ingenuity to keep that joy and excitement alive for her students. She embarked on yet another new learning experience as an educator. “I made videos for them to watch weekly for the rest of the semester. I focused on teaching them about a country rather than just teaching them how to say certain words in Spanish. I just talked in Spanish during the videos and talked to them about countries. I also did interviews with people from those countries and even created a couple cooking videos.”
The online curriculum provided a continued learning experience for the kids, keeping them engaged with their language and culture lessons. For her own personal growth, the videos were an opportunity for Lauren to navigate both the challenges and advantages of virtual instruction. When fall arrived, with the help of fellow student Daniel Carr, she was able to bring the Los Puentes class full circle and return to in-person instruction with a smaller group of four. “It was very challenging, but it was also so rewarding. I was able to get very close with those four students. It was amazing to see the moment when they understood. I got to see them start to speak and create Spanish. Especially the older students. They were talking, in simple sentences, but in sentences. By the end of the class, they were starting to pick up on the small words that I didn't explicitly teach.” At the outset, Lauren had known leading Los Puentes was going to be a meaningful and important experience for her. She knew it would provide her the opportunity to build a curriculum from scratch. She knew it would allow her to explore her planning skills at every elementary development level in the language she is passionate about teaching. But what she couldn’t know at the beginning is how it would test her resolve. How the year would force her to cope with some of the most complicated planning and delivery issues education has had to deal with in recent history. How she would end up learning what kind of an educator she is at heart, and whether her passion and commitment to teaching were as deeply held as she thought they were. The answer Lauren found was a resounding yes. “I don't think I've ever been as happy as I was teaching that class. I just knew that this is what I want to do with my life. I want to get out and teach young students Spanish or teach them other languages and about culture. It was just so incredibly rewarding.” As she completes her student teaching and prepares to graduate, she is confident in her abilities, excited for the future and ready to share her talents with the students she will meet.
The instructional videos Lauren created for Los Puentes are on the Emporia Spanish Speakers website at emporiaspanishspeakers.com/ programs
spring 2021
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