Letter From the Past Chair

Grazzia Maria Mendoza Chirinos, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA

As I wrap up a year as Chair of the Teacher Educator Interest Section I feel joyful and hopeful for the future of this IS. This year was a vibrant one full of activities! We were able to deliver over a dozen webinars with a variety of topics to support educators globally. Topics ranged from integrating technology, understanding transculturalism and providing educators with tools to develop culturally responsive pedagogies within the classroom. Speakers surpassed expectations and because of their dedication and commitment to the field we have been able to leave a library of resources that will cater to the varied needs of our membership. In addition, we increased our social media presence and number of followers. This has created new connections for many of us in the field while also setting a new bar for engagement and innovation in online spaces. These online conversations were insightful and taught us all about where members teach and how they navigate the complexities of teacher education.

In terms of leadership, this experience has left me with wonderful lessons learned. It taught me to be empathic about peer circumstances; understand how our professional and volunteer priorities come together to further the mission of TESOL CoPs; and it also taught me about how to lead.

I also need to mention how much this opportunity helped me better appreciate our TESOL staff who always go the extra mile to support the interest sections and our changing needs. For example, Nancy Flores, our former staff liaison for CoPs, was diligent, responsive, and  supportive in addressing our needs and supporting us during challenging moments.In addition, Srisucha McCabe our former staff liaison for the conference strand coordinators and the CPC, was another example of the commitment and extra work TESOL staff members engage in.  She was always there to address  doubts, respond to concerns, and shift schedules to accommodate our speakers and presentations. Finally, Sarah Sahr and Juliet Mason made our own professional development as leaders and experiences as members valuable by always showing up in the spirit of TESOL and never giving up regardless of the contextual challenges, the political landscape or the everyday issues. 

For me this year as Chair leaves me with lessons learned, best practices, new perspectives and new learning. I hope to be able to continue to contribute to the field and to support my peers in different volunteer spaces and through different projects. I am sure our field will let us continue to contribute to education, to better supporting educators and, above all, positively influencing the lives of learners globally. I am thankful for my time as a leader in TESOL. This year and the last twenty have taught me that volunteering is not only a space for growth and collaboration, but a space to find our voices, understand our evolution and contribute to the betterment of our world through language learning and development. We have chosen the best profession of all; being a language educator. We have chosen to volunteer our time to a language association. What could be better than this!