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by Inés García
After approximately 40 years in education, I recently retired
from my position as Director of the Languages Other Than English
Unit at the Texas Education Agency. Following a long and very
happy career, the decision to retire was made with a mix of
sadness and excitement. Sadness because of my separation from
the many wonderful colleagues that I came to know well and
respect highly. Excitement because I see retirement as a different
path that will allow me to continue to serve. Reflecting on
my years in the classroom and at the Agency, I am in awe of
the miraculous revolution that the language learning profession
was able to experience in those years and that I was lucky
to be a part of.
My student teaching assignment was at Wynn Seale Junior High
School in the Corpus Christi Independent School District in
1963. The adopted textbook that I was required to use for
Spanish I in Grade 9 was El Camino Real (Houghton Mifflin,
1946). This textbook was a legend in the field, having been
adopted by the state in 1946 for the first time, but already
a very popular and widely used revised edition nationwide.
El Camino Real was a textbook designed to teach reading comprehension
through heavy emphasis on grammar and translation. The book’s
treatment of culture was quaint, full of stereotypes, and
principally “big C.”
During my first years of teaching, I was fortunate to have
been a part of the district textbook adoption committee that
selected the first and very controversial high school audiolingual
textbook. The methodology reflected in the textbook series
was an obvious backlash to previous textbooks and focused
on the teaching of speaking and listening comprehension. I
can still remember the professional development sessions that
prepared us to lead oral group recitations of dialogues and
the choruses of student voices being led in the correct pronunciation
and intonation of formulaic expressions and dialogue sentences.
Those dialogues have been committed to memory for all of my
days!
While at the Agency, a forward -looking state textbook committee
adopted the first Spanish textbook developed by Houghton Mifflin
that was based on the theory of communicative competency and
the use of transformational grammar. This very carefully structured
and scripted textbook required teachers to follow the material
closely, left teachers with little room for adaptation, and
aspired to lead students to more real-life use of the target
language. As I remember, while many Texas teachers remained
skeptical of the methodology exhibited and uncomfortable leaving
behind the more recognizable and familiar textbooks, some
innovative souls embraced the new materials with great enthusiasm.
The eighties brought the proficiency-oriented classroom and
once again a shift and a refinement of the goals of language
learning. The earliest significant impact of this philosophy
in Texas was in the area of teacher standards with the adoption
of the oral proficiency standard as a prerequisite for Texas
teacher certification in Spanish and French. Next came the
national standards, the TEKS, and the state emphasis on professional
development through the LOTE CED. In 2001, more students in
Texas learn languages than ever before, foreign language study
is required in the recommended high school program, more students
begin language study earlier, language teachers have a higher
proficiency in the languages that they teach, more and better
focused professional development opportunities are available
for Texas language teachers throughout the state, new standards
for teachers of languages are about to be developed, etc.
As kids say these days, "It is really awesome!"
A bloodless revolution was led by legions of inspired, tireless,
and enthusiastic foreign language teachers. And the best is
yet to come! I cannot wait to play a part in the next chapter.
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by Carl Johnson
The new Director of Languages Other Than English at the Texas
Education Agency? Me? Oh my. How do I feel about that? And
what does it mean for the future of language education in
Texas?
First, my feelings. I feel profoundly sad at Inés
García’s retirement, having worked at her able
side for more than 24 years. We, with Bobby LaBouve, were
often affectionately referred to as “the triumvirate,”
together for 16 years as the threesome from Texas (LaBouve
from 1966-1993, García from 1974 to 2001, and Johnson
since 1977), one of the very few states ever to have three
language specialists at the state level consistently over
time. But then there were two, as Bobby passed the torch to
Inés on his retirement in 1993. And now, after eight
years of strong leadership and generosity to the profession
as Director, Inés, too, has passed the torch to the
remaining family member... moi!
My task for the present is to mask my sadness, jump to the
challenge of the work at hand, and reconfirm a vision for
the future of languages in Texas. I can do that! At hand,
in our case, means supporting a number of critical efforts:
continuation of full support for the LOTE Center for Educator
Development, under the very able leadership of Elaine Phillips
and Chuck Reese; the various initiatives operating under the
agreement between Texas and Spain, with Inés helping
on a contractual basis to ensure that those efforts flourish;
a massive new textbook adoption, for the first time in all
languages at all levels at the same time, with the actual
adoption to take place in 2004 with new materials in all classrooms
for August 2005; work with the State Board for Educator Certification
on LOTE teacher standards and teacher certification test development
and revision; continued efforts to collaborate and cooperate
with school district LOTE leaders in implementing successful
language programs around the state; and hiring shortly a new
assistant director to help me out!
For the future, my hopes and dreams are to help ensure quality
language programs for all students with outstanding, qualified
teachers who choose to continue to grow professionally, in
programs that begin in the early elementary grades and continue
in an articulated manner through the middle and high school
grades into college and life beyond. Everything that goes
into making that happen has implications for the work we must
do: dealing with teacher shortages while trying to start and
build new programs; ensuring that students and teachers have
access to the best instructional materials; continuing professional
development efforts that are readily available, meaningful
and effective; working with the profession to find ways that
legislative and policy-making bodies can support and encourage
our efforts and become advocates for language study for all.
I am moved to learn from our past efforts, continue good
works in progress, and dig new ground for the future. I know
I can count on many of you to help me bring it off, and I
look forward to your recommendations, your vision, and your
support!
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