GET TO KNOW AN INSTRUCTOR

ROSANNE POPPELL

Rosanne Poppell has been with Centro Romero for going on 19 years now. Coming from a law background, she found she had a passion for adult education when she started teaching Travel Agent classes at local city colleges. From there, it was a short journey through volunteering to a career working at Centro Romero. She said that her work here doesn’t feel like a job, that she enjoys teaching adults that much. I had an opportunity to observe Rosanne in action recently and was privileged to see a class effectively run by a consummate professional. She meets challenges head-on with patient, diligent care, and an infectiously positive attitude.

Immediately out of undergrad, Rosanne worked for a time teaching young children. She quickly decided that this wasn’t for her. That’s when she decided to go to law school. When I asked her why she enjoys working with adults so much, she said it’s because “they want to be here, and when you’re working with adults, classroom management, discipline problems, they just aren’t the same,” adding later. ”I’ve never had a discipline problem at Centro Romero.”

When asked about early challenges in her teaching career, she recounted the experience of having to build a curriculum from the ground up. “They have this little library, you’ve probably seen it, and they got me the resources I needed and left the rest up to me. It wasn’t like now. Teachers starting now get much more direction.” She was not deterred, however, and went on to be one of Centro Romero’s best.

Rosanne’s words of wisdom for volunteers and new teachers were as practical and as straightforward as she is. “Volunteers need to listen and be responsive to student’s and teacher’s needs.,” she said, emphasizing the need for teamwork.

Her favorite learners in her time at Centro Romero, she says, have not been the ones to whom everything came easily. She recounted one student’s story, a young window from Afganistan with three children at home, all under 12. This student, says Rosanne, “was a very beginner. She didn’t even use English letters. But I would put a letter on the board, and she would write it down. Pretty soon, she was coming up to the board to show other students how to write them. Then, one day, I came in, and she had written every letter in the alphabet on the board. It was impressive.”

Her only regret is that we have lost the experience of in-person teaching to Covid-19. She misses the interaction she would have with her students, the way they would come up to her during the break and tell her things, and her ability to go around the room and really get a feel for how everybody was doing. “I could tell what the students were struggling with. I knew when someone was having trouble.”

However, her ability to connect with students, even over Zoom, was apparent when I saw her teach. She has a keen instinct for when her class is struggling and knows when to use Spanish to help them and when to let the mountain come to Mohammed. She is a kind and practical instructor with a passion for adult education and, what is more, a gift for it. Her ability to know how to help her students succeed is as impressive as her passion for doing so. She is a vital part of the Centro Romero Adult Education community, and I know I speak for everyone here when I say we are lucky to have her.

Thank you, Rosanne, for all you’ve done and for all you do.