10 years.
One whole decade.
Our very first blog post was published on Jan. 7, 2012.
Kara and I were working together in Kentucky and learning about proficiency together. We were motivated to be more effective language teachers. Not everyone around us wanted to change, so we decided that documenting ideas and sharing some successes might connect us with others on a similar path. Maybe somebody, somewhere could use an idea we had!
Oh, what a ride it’s been! We’ve shared almost 500 posts, turned internet strangers into face-to-face friends, and learned a lot. It’s pretty entertaining to look back at our own posts to see what we were so excited about back then. Honestly, I’d recommend ALL teachers document a bit of what they are doing throughout the year and over the years. It reminds you of the highs and the lows. You can look back to see how far you’ve come.
We are grateful for those of you who joined us on this journey. Your kind words encouraged us, your questions made us think, and some of you even corrected our mistakes (you know who you are, grammar lovers) and challenged us to reconsider an idea. This blog wasn’t about having all the answers (we still don’t). It was about change, growth and finding you can accomplish quite a bit when you’re not afraid to try.
The last few years have been less blogging and a lot more creating over at AdiósTextbook.com where we build lessons and curate resources for Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Italian, Chinese and English. Our goal is the same today as it was 10 years ago…sharing ideas, inspiration and solutions!
Stay tuned for more blog posts in 2022. Happy New Year, friends!
Megan
P.S. Take a walk down memory lane with Kara and me… What is one thing from this blog that has helped you on your teaching journey or an experience we shared together? We’d love to reminisce with you!
I’ve enjoyed meeting you both at conferences throughout the years. One of my favorite resources to use and share (and I just saw another teacher sharing it again today on a video!) is your proficiency lesson with the cards for the different levels! Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas throughout the years!
Explaining proficiency! So important. Glad it has been helpful and glad more people are doing it! Thanks, Cristin!
I love 5 phrase skits!!!!! Home run :):)
Oh, I haven’t thought about that one in a long time! Thanks for the reminder!!
My first memory was finding your Real World Homework and using that, then your Proficiency lesson for students and now we’re loving the Hogares Unit on Adios Textbook. In my Spanish 1.
Real Worlds 🙂 that was Kara’s baby! Glad to hear you’re liking the Casas unit!!
Thank you for leading the way and helping all of us better understand how to implement teaching focused on proficiency! You are both amazing educators and you have made our profession so much richer!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! and,,,, Happy New Year!
Thank you, Helena! YOU paved the way and still inspire us!
Happy New Year to you, too!
Félicitations!!!! What a journey and what an impact you have made.
Merci, Amie! Grateful for you and inspired by you, too!
Your blog was always incredibly inspiring! One of my favorite OG posts was stamp sheets! I am so glad to have also met yall in person and hope to see you at conferences soon 🙂
OG for sure! Thanks, Maris! It was great meeting you, too! Hope we can catch up soon!