The BH-BL district is pleased to announce that high school German teacher Ms. Zaderej has been selected as a 2024 recipient of the AATG German Embassy Teacher of Excellence Award. She is one of three outstanding German teachers nationwide selected for this prestigious award. This award recognizes her excellence as a German teacher, her dedication to her students and the German program at BH-BL, and her partnerships with AATG, Goethe Institute, SPARK, and GAPP. She will be recognized for her achievements at the ACTFL National Convention in Philadelphia on Nov. 22-24.
According to their website, the AATG, which administers the award, accepts nominations from its regional chapters, as well as the Goethe-Instituts, DAAD, German Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), and the German Consulates General and Honorary Consuls in the United States. In addition, school administrators and schools where German is offered, as well as colleges and universities, nominate outstanding educators for the Award.
Today, we will have a one-on-one Q&A with Ms. Zaderej to learn more about her achievements, her commitment to teaching at BH-BL, and what this recognition means to her.
How did you first become interested in teaching German, especially at the high school level?
I ended up where I was meant to be by mere luck. I believe that there’s someone out there always looking out for me. I received my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Kyiv National Linguistic University and planned to use my skills in various languages that I had taken throughout my secondary school and college as tools in other fields. Many of my closest friends continued in the pharmaceutical field, which is what my mother had done for a living, and my dream was to fulfill my passion for working in the medical field myself. In 2003, I traveled on my first student exchange program to Long Island. In 2004, I returned to the same area for the summer and met my future husband. In 2005 at my graduation party, we got engaged on the beach in Crimea where I grew up. I eventually turned down a job offer I received from an Austrian insurance company and followed my fiancé to the United States. During the first year, I worked in bridal fashion and started taking accounting in a local community college. Some unfortunate events that happened next created a need for me to look for a full-time job. As a result, I started subbing and teaching English as a Second Language for the Capital Region BOCES. That is when I fell in love with the classroom environment and the energy young generations brought into my life. I could not have asked for a better place to be. My grandmother, who used to teach Chemistry and Biology, still cannot believe that I followed in her footsteps.
How do you engage with BH-BL students to teach a world language?
I develop trust-based relationships with my students. I am not afraid to admit my mistakes and show vulnerability to my students. I believe that puts me on their level. Mutual respect is at the core of my classroom.
What drives you to teach German?
Through German, I can teach international competence. German is a heritage language for many families in our district. It is a leading language in the engineering field for those who want to expand their career outside of the United States. In today’s world, Germany is our strongest partner in continental Europe. The German government supports funding various exchange programs, scholarships, and fellowships to build strong relationships with the United States.
What does this AATG recognition mean to you?
I am very humbled by this award. I believe that in our department there are many teachers who deserve this recognition more than I do. The mere difference is the work that I have done outside of my classroom in programs like GAPP, GAVE, Spark for German, and other opportunities that are supported by the Goethe Institut. They are the ones who nominated me for this award which is sponsored by the AATG and the German Embassy in the United States.