What do you see as the key elements of “individual excellence” and “community” in the realm of language and culture? What role do you think language and cultural education play in defining and fostering individual identity and community? What impact does a world of remote social and educational access have on perspectives, trust, and community?
Ponder over these questions and add your own as you enjoy this conversation with world language educational leader Ken Stewart. Share your thoughts, insights and questions with me and others on YouTube (Fluency Online) and social media. Let’s continue the conversation!
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Would you like to hear more? To access previous episodes of “It’s About Language” and learn more about the wonderful people I talk with, please visit the It’s About Language page, or click on the Podcast tab above. For further insights, check out My Insights.
Guest Bio
My guest for Episode 3 of It’s About Language is Ken Stewart.
Above all, know this about Ken (if you don’t already): Ken is a decent human being, a compassionate and generous educator who cares about his students and their families, other educators worldwide and their students and families, and the global community of speakers of thousands of languages and with myriads of cultural products, practices, and perspectives. Ken is an architect not only of his own courses and educational opportunities for students, but a patient teacher, guide, and supporter as others find their paths to excellence in education.
Ken was selected as the first National Foreign Language Teacher of Year by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). He holds a BA in International Studies and Spanish from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MA in Spanish from NC State University. He currently teaches Spanish at Duke University in North Carolina; a National Board Certified high school Spanish teacher, he has taught middle grades through college.
Ken is a recent member of the ACTFL Board of Directors, the Board of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), and the Executive Council of the American Association of the Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). In 2014, he was the recipient of ACTFL’s Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education K-12. He has served on the Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture Test Development Committee, as a question leader at the AP Reading, and has been a national consultant for over 25 years. He has conducted over 200 workshops and summer institutes throughout the US as well as in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. He has traveled in 50 countries.
You can connect with Ken through Twitter (@APsenor).
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This was such a pleasant listen on my walk today! Among all the great points that Ken made, I particularly enjoyed how he described his own experiences and motivation to become a Spanish teacher, as well as how successful teachers have a sense of community and caring. That is so important to me! Thank you Norah and Ken!