Jill Baime, Spanish Teacher, works with students in her third block. Photo Credit: Natalie Fitch, Watauga Yearbook
From Broward County in Florida, new Spanish teacher, Jill Baime, has brought her expertise and love of language to Watauga High School. As a hiker, theater enthusiast, and mountaineer, Baime carried out her wishes of retreating to the serene Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia.
“I feel so fortunate to be able to come here and be in a place I really want to be,” said Baime. “I’ve said it for so many years, and every summer would come and go and I never did anything. I don’t know why, but this summer everything worked.”
Baime is currently teaching Spanish I and will be teaching Spanish I and II in the spring semester. At her previous school, she taught middle school Spanish and is, for the first time, being introduced to high school instruction. She says the transition has been pleasant, as it is a transition that she has been contemplating for quite some time.
“While I have been teaching for 23 years, I continue to learn daily from my students and my colleagues here at WHS,” Baime said. “I am enjoying teaching without a textbook and having the liberty to do creative and fun assignments with my students.”
Having vacationed regularly in Boone for about 27 years, Baime has become thoroughly familiar with the area and enjoys being able to explore the outdoors. Needless to say, Baime is also passionate about the Spanish language and culture, an interest magnified by her ninth grade teacher, Mrs. Strickland.
“Everybody has their area where they kind of soar, and languages, I gravitate to. I’ve always liked languages, but she really instilled this love of languages for me. She was an amazing teacher,” Baime said. Her own teacher Mrs. Strickland inspired her to not only enjoy language-learning but also become a teacher.
The transition to WHS was fluid, but our school is nonetheless a completely distinct experience from that of Pioneer Middle School in Broward County, the sixth largest school district in the United States. Coming from a school where students are required to carry ID, are banned from wearing hats or hoodies, and only allowed one entryway to the building, Baime found her move to a rather lenient high school to be a drastic change.
“I'm just very motivated. I have probably taught more Spanish in the first two weeks here than I have in any of my years because they don’t use a textbook, and you can really immerse the kids,” said Baime. “I think I was so hung up on the grammar that it was burning me out and it wasn’t fun anymore. Here, there's so much creativity that you can put into your lessons and it makes it fun. I’m really reigniting that light.”
Baime is currently sharing a classroom, something that she is familiar with coming from Broward County. She has also been adapting to the greater implementation of technology at the high school and a different curriculum.
“I feel so fortunate that all of my students have access to a Chromebook, which makes the use of technology so easy to implement into my daily assignments,” Baime said. “I am also learning to adapt to the differences between middle school and high school. Everyday is a learning experience for me.”
Responsive and eager to learn, Baime has experienced a warm welcome from her students and hasn’t encountered any major issues, the exception being the transition from Microsoft to Google, in which her colleagues have offered great support.
Despite her natural worry entering a new job, Baime has enjoyed getting to know her students and beginning a year of high-quality learning.
“I wasn’t sure how they would respond to me coming in, but I haven't had any issues,” Baime said. “It’s been pretty smooth sailing! I really like that they are willing to take a risk and jump right in. They’re willing to just learn and not be afraid to go right down that path.”
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