Barbara Sella-Martin has been a resident of Ann Arbor for more than 30 years, though she originally grew up in Allendale, home of the Grand Valley State University Lakers. She began her higher education studies at Grand Valley State University but relocated to Ann Arbor in 1989 to pursue a job opportunity. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish at Eastern Michigan University, graduating summa cum laude in 2005.
After spending eight years with the Ypsilanti Community Schools, Sella-Martin joined Pioneer High School and the Ann Arbor Public School District (AAPSD) in 2013. With support from the AAPSD, she recently achieved her goal of completing a graduate degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) studies through Western Michigan University.
Sella-Martin takes pride in her multiple institutional affiliations, considering herself a Western Michigan University Bronco, a Pioneer, and a valued member of the AAPS community.
Former student Valentina Castaneda speaks fondly of her experience in “Ms. Martini’s” Spanish 4 class. Having just moved to Ann Arbor last year, Valentina found her new teacher to be extremely welcoming and “an amazing shoulder to lean on.” Despite being Hispanic and already proficient in Spanish, Valentina credits Sella-Martin with significantly improving her language skills, noting: “I learned much more about grammar and tenses that I never knew and improved my Spanish skills significantly.”
What particularly impressed Valentina was her classroom management style and “ability to make a class of students truly listen to what she’s teaching without being rude or stern like other teachers.” The dynamic nature of the class kept students engaged, as Castaneda recalls: “There was never a dull moment in her class, and every day she had something different for us.”
Now in her junior year, Valentina regularly stops by to visit and says, “I miss her class terribly and will cherish my memories made in her class.”
Another student noted in an email: “In her class, I became a lot more confident in my Spanish, especially in my speaking ability. I especially appreciate the effort she put into making each class interesting and engaging, while still giving us a deep understanding of the course material. I truly miss learning in her classroom and wish her all the best in her teaching career!”
You’ve said that relationships are key to your teaching success. Can you share a specific moment when building a connection with a student completely transformed their learning experience?
A very special memory remains with me regarding an ESL student from Iran who wrote in a goodbye letter to me, “If Pioneer were my home, C-218 would be my bedroom.” I was the first teacher he met at Pioneer after his family arrived in the Ann Arbor area under refugee status, and he expressed deep gratitude for the way that I had welcomed him and helped his family by visiting their home in Ypsilanti to help with his WCC application. Ali said that feeling so safe and comfortable on Day 1 at Pioneer relieved him of all the anxiety he had been harboring about coming to Ann Arbor from overseas. I truly love helping people, but especially those who are young and trying to figure out how this world works. This is powerful ‘work’ and a huge blessing for me.
Most employees look forward to vacation time, but you say you hate summer because you miss being away from your students. What is it about the daily interactions with teenagers that energizes you so much?
Young people–they’re full of energy, new ideas, silliness, and brilliance. They’re also kind, fun, and very interesting, and I enjoy getting to know them as individuals. For me, it’s a privilege to work with them and fill their minds with new knowledge. They are our nation’s best resource and our future, and how cool is that to be able to help them find their potential and their own futures? In the summer, I lose those connections and part of my life’s purpose, and so I do miss them!
Do you have any tips for classroom management?
What works for one teacher may not work for another, but I have discovered a few things that work very well for me. Each day’s lesson is full of energy and engagement. This is done by presenting differentiated instruction delivered with snappy transitions. For example, we might work on speaking exercises conducted in groups for five minutes, but then we will switch to an audio activity of the same duration. I’ll sneak in a competitive game next, followed by a verbal recitation of two or three minutes, another conversation challenge, and wrap up the day’s objectives with the study of lyrics of a popular song, which often involves the infusion of cultural and specific grammar points.
Board games with crayons are great! Card games played in teams really bring out the competitive drive of every student. From mini presentations to Notetaker activities to “speed dating” to Flyswatter to “running dictation” conducted in the hallway to “Caracol” (snail). Every single day is different. And this keeps students engaged in active learning. They do not have time to be off task because, before I sense boredom, the activity is changed. And it’s nothing but great fun to have the students, even freshmen, in Week 2, guide them. It gives them direct power, and they are so willing. The whole class loves it! I’ll add here that our district World Language teachers share best practices regularly (through PD and e-mails), and we are all a lively bunch! We have bell-to-bell instruction in C-218, and my goal is never to have a dull moment! Yes: I have loads of natural energy!
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is doing all of the above, to be honest. I am unable to think of a profession that requires the amount of multitasking (air traffic controller?) that is absolutely necessary in teaching today. Effective instruction involves finding a way to bring 30-35 students into the classroom and keep their attention for 55 minutes. Keeping them on task, focused, interested, and fully engaged is truly exhausting work, both mentally and physically, as I am often moving throughout the classroom monitoring work from the beginning of the hour to the end. I think you really do need to have a certain amount of natural energy, and you definitely need to have true passion in this profession.
What do you like about working at AAPS, and at Pioneer in particular?
Because I grew up in a place where you had to fit in (and my Catholic Italian family did not), I was so happy to be in Ann Arbor, where many cultures and languages are represented. At Pioneer, we enjoy a tight-knit community of colleagues, and I’ve always felt a sense of teamwork here. Also, Pioneer teachers are all fantastic, exceptionally dedicated, and supportive of each other, and our fearless leaders form an A Team that is perfect for our student population and our teachers. I feel loved and supported here, especially by our Community Assistants, who often do not get the attention that they deserve. I’ve got Miss Patty and Miss Sheila on speed dial and know that if I were to call for the school nurse or for a principal, I’d have help in a heartbeat. Finally, Ann Arbor has the best kids and supporting parents, along with a level of diversity that should be a model to every learning community.
Can you tell us about a former student who initially struggled with Spanish but eventually fell in love with the language? What was the turning point?
It’s hard to pinpoint one student because I’ve also met many students from challenging learning circumstances of all kinds. The joy has been in bringing them to accomplish something they were unsure about or even fearful of. I teach Level 1 now, a section that I picked up last year after a 10-year break. These students come from different schools, many from outside of our district, and some do not have the opportunity to take the course in middle school like our AAPS students do. They are a beautifully diverse group from various countries and cultures, and yet many drop after the required two years. I am hoping that by teaching Spanish 1 again, I can bring enough enthusiasm and energy to get them hooked, then they just might stay on the line all the way to AP. I want to grow our Spanish language program to a place where our AP classes better reflect our overall student population. And I have told my Spanish 1 students exactly that: AP Spanish should be their goal because “Sí, ¡se puede!”
How do you handle the challenge of teaching a language to students who might question its relevance to their lives, especially in a community where Spanish isn’t widely spoken daily?
Many of my juniors actually come into class very excited after a language encounter, and they immediately report to me, “I got to use my Spanish yesterday!” Sometimes it’s from a new job they have, and sometimes it’s from a trip they took to Spain or Latin America, and sometimes it’s a conversation they are hearing at the grocery store or the mall. Because my ear is tuned to it, I hear Spanish everywhere in Ann Arbor! This past weekend, I took my granddaughters to the new park in Pittsfield Township, and a Spanish family was having countless conversations with their children playing at the park. I share these stories with my students in order that they see how prevalent Spanish is right here and, as our nation’s diversity grows, how important it is to be part of it. After all, Pedro Gomez from EMU told us years ago that it may be as early as 2050 that Spanish will be the dominant language in the United States. Our students need to be part of that immense community of speakers, for cultural and economic reasons.
You’re an accomplished horsewoman outside the classroom. How do the patience, communication, and trust-building skills you use with horses translate into your teaching practice?
After being around horses daily for almost 20 years, I’ve seen a great connection to education. Horses sense fear, and they sense calm; they also sense strong leadership and will respond positively to the handler if they have confidence in that person.
Patience, which is an attribute that I probably still need to work on, must be practiced with the horses. You can’t push them before they are ready. You can’t instill fear to get a response. You must be gentle, kind, and the horse must trust you. I see similarities in teaching students, but fortunately for teachers, students can talk, share, and give feedback—positive or otherwise—on what they need from me so that they can learn better. And I always invite them to tell me what they would like to see more or less of in our lessons. I conduct anonymous polls at the end of the semester so that I can get honest feedback.
After all your years of teaching, what still surprises you most about your students or the learning process?
With all of the challenges our entire education community faces (those darn cell phones and the problems that social media brings to our kids), it’s amazing to me that students still have an interest in learning and going to school. Nearly all of them want to do their best, often against some tough odds. Against our and our parents’ best efforts, social media often tells our students a different story, or at least pulls them away from what is truly going to help them succeed in life. It’s a delicate balance to both demand high standards and yet offer sufficient opportunities for students to find success. It can be very exciting to be a part of this fabric of education.
What would surprise your students to know about you?
I think they might be surprised to know that I’ve been working since the age of 12. I grew up in a family of eight and knew that if I wanted anything extra, beyond food and hand-me-downs, I had to work for it. That work began in the vegetable fields at Zyks’s farm in Allendale, and my work has continued in various forms: food prep work at a nursing home to earn money for college, and working evenings at Pfizer in Ann Arbor when my children were young to help pay bills after moving to Ann Arbor. In short, I’ve been working since I was in middle school! It was a great upbringing that taught me so much. Life? It’s not fair. If you want something, you must earn it. You can’t take shortcuts. Put your education above all else. If you put your name on something, you are representing your entire family, and it should represent your absolute best effort.
Also: I didn’t take my first class of Spanish until the age of 30. If if I can do it, anyone can!
Favorite meal at your favorite Ann Arbor area restaurant?
I absolutely love perch at Real Seafood, Hunan chicken at Happy Wok, carnitas tacos at Don Juan in Ann Arbor, Maize in Ypsilanti, Mi Sarape in Saline, and Everest Sherpa in Oak Valley Center. They all sustain me when I have the chance and extra money to indulge!
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a new Spanish teacher who wants to create the same kind of vibrant, relationship-centered classroom you’re known for?
Firstly, it’s not the job for you if you lack a passion for the language and lack the passion needed for shepherding young people toward adulthood. You can do just about anything if the work is something that you love. A very good sense of humor is critical, as is not taking things too seriously. Kids make mistakes, teachers make mistakes, and administrators make mistakes. This job requires a heart that is willing to forgive those missteps that we all make.
Many teachers today begin the profession and, as statistics tell us, they leave after a few years. I understand why, and it’s because fewer people in our world do not have the skill set required to withstand the unique challenges this profession now brings. Twenty years ago, things looked very different, and I’ll leave it at that. Having the right mentors for new teachers is much more important now than it used to be. Those with passion know how to share it if given the opportunity. (That’s a hint for teacher PD, by the way!)
What’s one tradition or teaching method you’ve developed that you hope will outlive your career and be passed on to future Spanish teachers at Pioneer High School?
Variety is the spice of life! Every single learner, whether teacher, first grader, or high school senior, wishes that the “sit and get” method would die. It’s painful and truly difficult for our modern students— and high or even low energy teachers, to be honest. Yes, students do need to learn to maintain focus for more than five minutes at a time. They need to sit quietly and read for 30 minutes. They need to be on task individually for extended time periods because this is a required life skill. But I argue that having them captive for 50 minutes, every single day, not moving or communicating with others that entire time, is not at all useful or welcome. We teachers dislike that form of learning, so it’s pretty awful if our students have that all day long.
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