In 2008, just as the Great Recession began, Daria Pizzuto lost her job. She wasn\u2019t especially sad to leave \u2014 she hated selling cell phones. But she was a little panicked. For years she had been drifting from one unfulfilling job to the next \u2014 waitress, fast food worker, gas station attendant \u2014 and she didn\u2019t know where to go next.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time I was devastated,\u201d Pizzuto says. But the layoff was a blessing in disguise. It forced her to hunt for a new job, and she finally landed a position where she could use her degree in Spanish literature, teaching Spanish at an alternative high school. Despite a rough first year, she knew she had found her calling.<\/p>\n
Now, nearly a decade later, Pizzuto teaches middle school Spanish in Basking Ridge and is also pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Management, and Policy. Last spring she received the ultimate validation that she is on the right path: a Fulbright award. When she found out she had been selected, \u201cI just started crying,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe I got it.\u201dJoseph Stetar, a professor in Pizzuto\u2019s program who encouraged her to apply, wasn\u2019t surprised. \u201cShe\u2019s extremely motivated and intellectually engaged,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program gives teachers funding to travel abroad so they can complete an ambitious research project of their choosing. Pizzuto hoped to track down authentic Spanish literature to incorporate into her lesson plan. So she proposed a trip to Chile, a country famous for its rich literature.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., Spanish language students read very little, Pizzuto says. \u201cWhen they do read, they don\u2019t read authentic stories.\u201d Instead they rely on textbooks or books translated from English. These materials don\u2019t give students a sense of the vivid language or culture that exists in Spanish-speaking countries.Authentic Spanish literature is easy to find online, of course.<\/p>\n
Even obscure books are only a mouse click away. \u201cBut to have a book and to be able to teach with that book are completely different things,\u201d Pizzuto says. She wanted to not only find authentic literature, but also understand how teachers use it in the classroom \u2014 how do they introduce the book, how do they assess students after they\u2019ve finished reading it, how do they drill the vocabulary, how do they teach cultural concepts?<\/p>\n
From March through July \u2014 which includes the coldest months in South America \u2014 Pizzuto visited 13 schools across Chile. She was struck by the dedication of the teachers, who work long hours under often difficult conditions. For example, only one of the 13 schools she visited had a heating system. \u201cIn spite of all these challenges and difficulties, they still had the drive, motivation, and professionalism to keep going and develop wonderful lessons,\u201d she says. \u201cThat, to me, was so inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she came home, Pizzuto adapted the material to fit the needs of her students. The final product is a series of ready-to-use lessons and activities that rely on Chilean children\u2019s literature. \u201cIt\u2019s not a paper that will stay on the shelf,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely practical.\u201dPizzuto\u2019s project is \u201creally innovative,\u201d says Emily Spinelli, executive director of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.<\/p>\n
Middle school Spanish teachers don\u2019t typically use literature in the classroom. Pizzuto\u2019s lessons will help teachers take authentic literature and \u201cbring it down to a level that middle school students could understand,\u201d she says. And that might inspire kids to more fully engage. \u201cThey\u2019re more motivated to read it than some of the textbooks, which can be bland,\u201d Spinelli says. One of the things that sets Pizzuto apart is her international perspective, Stetar says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a tendency among some American students to be insular, and Daria was not that way,\u201d he says. That comes in part from Pizzuto\u2019s unique background. She was born and raised in Russia, and when she was 12, her family moved to Spain for four years. Pizzuto didn\u2019t speak any Spanish, but she had always loved languages and she picked up the basics quickly.<\/p>\n
Today, Pizzuto speaks three languages fluently and has visited 17 countries. As a teacher, she wants her students to sample some of the rich culture that she has experienced. She wants her students to know the name of the first Chilean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature even if they can\u2019t leave New Jersey. \u201cI\u2019m trying to make them into independent thinkers,\u201d she says, \u201cbut also worldly and well-rounded thinkers.\u201d And there\u2019s little doubt she will succeed.<\/p>\n
By Cassandra Willyard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fullbright scholar Daria Pizzuto travels to Chile to develop authentic Spanish lessons for her student.<\/p>\n