Meet Tanika Vincent—a high school Spanish teacher and Instructional Technology Specialist at Atlanta Public Schools (GA).
“Teaching a language opens doors, dismantles walls, builds bridges & allows for life-changing cultural exchanges.”
The Start of a Teaching Journey:
In high school I always earned As in Spanish with minimal effort. At Spelman, I started my major courses 1st semester freshman year. My professor asked me to sub at a Muslim elementary school my sophomore year and excused me from my class work to do it. Then I taught in the daycare.
Junior year, he created a remedial Spanish class for me to help struggling students. A grandmother in my class complimented my teaching style and demeanor. She told me I made learning fun and relatable for her. I never imagined that I could have that type of impact on anyone. So when my dance career didn't happen as I had envisioned, I reverted to what I knew best... Spanish teaching/language acquisition.
Career Highlight:
Working as a multilingual Instructional Technology Specialist I have the opportunity to affect student learning outcomes in the best way: by working with teachers on lesson-planning and design to promote rigorous yet positive student engagement and allow for more impactful language acquisition.
It truly is the best role I've ever fulfilled as I coach and grow teachers through meaningful collaborations of co-teaching and modeling. I LOVE WHAT I DO & HOW I DO IT!!!
