Editor’s note: To read profiles of all 2015-2016 Blackboard Awards honorees, click HERE!
Yann Gaboriau
Grade 2, French
New York French American Charter School
Tell us about some of the special joys and challenges you’ve experienced as a teacher.
Teaching second grade at NYFACS is a great experience because I get to teach all subjects in French. I teach in a French language immersion program, which is challenging because not all students are francophone. Some students speak French at home, but a lot only speak French at school, which is why differentiation is key in my teaching. I have to make sure I can teach each child in my class the same content even if some students are more advanced than others.
Please share a special project or achievement (or two) that you are particularly proud of from this year.
This year, the class participated in the “Carton 2 Garden” project. Students recycled their milk cartons, then decorated them, put soil in them, and planted seeds. It was a great project because it was all hands-on activities. Students were involved in the project from start to finish.
I am also very proud of the fact that I taught my students how to play the Djembe, a drum from West Africa. They will be able to perform two rhythms on the Djembe at the end-of-year show.
Over the course of your career, what do you consider one or two of your greatest accomplishments?
When I meet one of my students on the street and he/she starts talking to me in French, I feel like I have done a good job. Indeed, I feel like teaching a language and a culture is very important. It is a skill that students are going to possess their whole lives and it makes me proud if I am able to pass on this knowledge.
When I was in graduate school, I was a live-in Resident Advisor in a French language house. It was a great experience because over the course of four years, I got to share my culture and teach my language to American students, and many of them became fluent in French.
What drives you? What keeps you motivated and committed to being a dedicated and hard-working educator?
When I see a student making progress, it keeps me motivated to keep working hard. As a teacher, I strongly believe that every day matters, I feel like I do a good job if I know that my students learn something new each day they spend in the classroom. I also like to try to come up with new activities to teach a topic I’ve already taught before. I do my best to find new projects and ideas to keep my teaching fresh.
Any special advice for parents on how they can best support their children academically at the grade level you teach? And more generally? And how they can have the most productive relationship with their children’s teacher and school?
In order to support a second grader academically, parents should be aware of what their child is currently learning in class. If the teacher is writing a newsletter, parents will know what topics are being taught and they can look for extra resources to enhance their child’s learning. Parents can also ask their child each day what he/she has been learning in school. Additionally, they can email teachers to ask what is currently being taught in class. If they have time, it is also great for parents to join their child’s class on field trips or to volunteer at the school.
