Carol Pierobon Hofer (NBCT - English as a New Language, Early and Middle Childhood) teaches ENL at Fox Hill Elementary in Indianapolis. Carol, who came to the United States at age 18, helps her school community as interpreter, translator and family liaison. In her 28-year career she’s taught all age groups from preschoolers to senior citizens, but don’t ask her to choose a favorite. She is a member of the National Board Network of Accomplished Minoritized Educators (NAME) and mentors NBCT candidates. Carol is also a 2020-22 WIDA Fellow, chosen for her exemplary service to bilingual and multilingual students, as well as a workshop leader and site visitor for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. A Fulbright Educator Exchange in Uruguay 11 years ago built lasting ties, making Carol the proud madrina (godmother) of a rural school where she remotely and joyously connects with students learning English. A world traveler and polyglot, Carol says she feels at home in any part of our planet because, as Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family says, “We are more alike my friends, than we are unlike.”
Geography Deserves a Place in Every Classroom
November 14, 2023
By: Carol Hofer, NBCT It’s one of my “ha, ha” photos – a snapshot of a package addressed to me, who lives in Indianapolis, with a prominent stamped notice in all caps “MISSENT TO INDIA.” A stamp for this actually exists – it lead me to wonder how often it’s needed. Under Indianapolis it did say “United States,” but hey, India, Indianapolis, Indonesia… they’re all somewhere on planet Earth. National Geography Awareness Week, as many may not be, ahem, aware, is celebrated every second week in November. While it’s a fun time to highlight some wacky geography trivia, such as…
Read MoreBe an NBCT to a T (as in Traveler, not Tourist)
November 16, 2021
By: Carol Hofer, NBCT If you bet that seeing themselves on video is what most terrifies candidates pursuing National Board Certification, pay up. It’s the editing. But it’s a double whammy- trimming both the video AND the writing! First, it’s “How am I going to fill up all those pages?” then it becomes, “but I’ve run out of space! I can’t fit this in!” Yes, the requirements and constraints of the NBCT process can lead you to reach for the ibuprofen and acetaminophen enough times that you learn how to spell those words correctly – but it doesn’t…
Read MoreTime to Get Health Literacy off Life Support
August 18, 2020
It’s hard to compete with an octopus – no, not at arm wrestling – but at capturing and sustaining a young reader’s attention. Three hearts – in one body! Blue blood — the real, not fake princess, stuff! But just as COVID-19 changed how we teach, it’s time to change what we teach. As much as I love books about animals, we need to turn inward and learn more about us humans. Unlike cars, people don’t come with owner’s manuals, and the pandemic blew open the hood to expose a U.S. population that is health illiterate. The National Assessment of…
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