Maria Gimma

Maria Gimma, Spanish Language and Culture Teacher

mgimma@newrootsschool.org, 607-882-9220

I am very excited to be appointed as the Spanish teacher at New Roots.  I plan to integrate all my many life experiences to help my students better understand the world in which we live in as they learn the Spanish language through the exploration of the diverse cultures found in the many Spanish speaking countries around the world.

As a native Spanish speaker born in Colombia, I can directly share my childhood experiences growing up in a different country, the difficulties I had learning a second language, and the many stages that it took for me to become acclimated to another culture when my family moved to the States.  I can discuss with them later on how those experiences helped me do it all over again for a third time, when I moved to France for a while in my late teens.  These personal experiences allow me now to understand the frustrations and the rewards that my students now experience in acquiring a new language, and they make me more tolerant of their learning process.

At the very beginning of my career, as a professional Girl Scout, I had the opportunity to design and then deliver programs guided by ecological system theories that taught girls how to respect the environment, how to perceive others in order to be more civic minded and to become well respected within their community and the world at large.

In my 11 years experience as a certified New York teacher I have taught in academic settings ranging from private, alternative and traditional institutions of learning.

I earned my Bachelor in Science Degree from SUNY Empire College in Education and Spanish.  For my graduate studies I earned a Master's degree in Professional Studies in Education from Capella University.  I specialized in the foundation of educational philosophy, assessment, and worked through a curriculum that balances instructional design, the psychology of learning, and technology, and I focused on the practice of online instructional design, including designing effective instruction, methods of online delivery, software tools, and project management. 
 
I once read that we should strive to work in a fun and fulfilling environment that allows the opportunity to be all that we are.  In my opinion, life can't get any better than that.  Being a staff member of the New Roots School is going to allow me the opportunity to put together all of my professional and personal experiences in order to guide teens through a Sustainable Education.  I can not think of anything more gratifying than that for a lifetime educator.  I am truly looking forward to the rewards I will experience as I teach my native culture and language to my students here.