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Lynn Baete, member of the Middle School Spanish faculty, has been with The Blake School since fall 1991. She keeps current with her language by reading novels in Spanish (many come as gifts from her in-laws), by participating in activities of the American Association of Spanish Teachers, listening to Latino radio stations, and taking advantage of the many opportunities that Blake offers for faculty development.
Using Blake's professional development funding, Baete spent five weeks in Spain this summer in a program designed for non-native teachers of Spanish at the University of Madrid. She also biked and traveled throughout Spain, photographing and visiting some of the smaller towns. Going back to the University of Madrid was particularly important to her since she worked on her undergraduate degree there in 1982. Two years ago, as a Hersey sabbatical recipient, Baete also went to Spain and retraced the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route by bicycle. "There are so many wonderful opportunities at Blake for faculty development and enrichment. I am grateful for the experience and excited to incorporate my newest information and travels into the classroom," said Baete. Using an integrated blended approach, Baete will select a topic such as "towns" and discuss how a Spanish town would differ from an American one, how meals are shared, how church is different, etc. Baete's photos from her summer trip will punctuate these discussions.
Educational travel abroad is not new for Baete. She once served as a Spanish teacher for the tenth grade participants in the Swiss Semester program. The program's combination of teaching, hiking, climbing and skiing suited Baete's active lifestyle. When she is not traveling, she enjoys biking, reading in both Spanish and English, amateur photography, and yoga. She is also learning to knit. She enjoys spending time with husband, Richard Venberg, and her 12-year-old white German shepherd mix, Betty. Richard is an independent architect, focusing on "green approaches." His work on the first straw-built house in Minnesota has received international attention.
Baete connected with her future career through her high school Spanish teacher in Kentucky, whom she credits with involving her in the local Spanish Festival Competitions. She received a lot of positive reinforcement when she began winning the competitions. Baete tries to light that fire with her own students. "I really like Middle School students. The sixth graders are so willing to try different things. Seventh grade is so challenging. Since I'm a middle child, I can relate to that middle year. And eighth graders are all over the board, so sophisticated one minute and like Lower School students the next," remarked Baete.
Middle School Spanish teachers work with Eslendy Sanchez-Garcia in the Lower School and with the Upper School teachers to ensure that the curriculum flows between the divisions. "I concentrate on teaching what I know. I learned to speak Spanish from someone from Seville. I studied in Madrid. My experiences were in Spain. Whatever teacher your student has, there is a unique, personal experience. And we have a breadth of experience in Spanish here at Blake," said Baete.
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