By Nicholas Allen | May 5, 2021
“This year I became even more sensitive to the needs of colleagues and students, practicing deep listening as learned from World View’s Story Circles training through the World Council. I also keep in mind that I always have a lot to learn.”
Jennifer Litzen has been selected as the Educator Spotlight for May of 2021. She teaches Blended English 3 and 4 online for NCVirtual, North Carolina’s state-led virtual school and the second largest virtual school in the nation. Although Litzen earned her master’s in Slavic Languages and Literatures from UNC, her interest and commitment to global has been an integral part of her educational philosophy even before that. “I have always considered education ‘global’ —a lifelong learning about our world, its many cultures, and our incredible shared home, the Earth,” she elaborated. We’re honored that Litzen has chosen UNC World View to be a part of her journey through global education.
As a globally-minded teacher, diverse professional development that meets Litzen’s curriculum goals is a must-have. She has attended several World View Fall and Spring conferences over the past 20 years, during tenures as both a face-to-face teacher and an online teacher. She was also a part of the Global Education Leaders’ Program in 2007 and has volunteered at various conferences to facilitate group activities. During the pandemic, Litzen has embraced a pivot to the virtual world and gotten even more involved. “I recently attended six online seminars in the past year, thanks to the convenience of technology to stay connected with UNC World View,” she noted. She’s currently wrapping up her enrollment in the World View to You! Remote Learning Modules and parlayed her participation in Dr. Darla Deardorff’s Intercultural Competency Training into a spot with the World Council Teaching Fellows Program. We’re in awe of her intense dedication to personal development and professional growth! As busy as she is engaging with global outside her school and classroom, she’s also doing the work to share her experiences with her students and colleagues.
Noting how her professional development choices have impacted her students, her colleagues and her own practice, Litzen explained how she engages her own learning throughout her educational community. “I continually share World View resources with my current partner teachers in the Blended Learning Program,” she related, “And I use online announcements to help students and colleagues keep a ‘world view.’” Litzen has seen the direct impact of encouraging others to embrace global. “One of my colleagues actually changed her career somewhat, to lead groups abroad, partly because I invited her to attend World View sessions through our school team,” she explained. As part of her service as a World Council Teaching Fellow, Litzen conducted an interview with a community member who emphasized the importance of taking care of forests worldwide. The experience prompted Litzen to post an Earth Day announcement to promote intercultural competence through sustainability. The ripple effect was immediate. One of her colleagues reached out to thank Litzen for making her more aware of Earth Day and another noted how one of their shared students increased advocacy for proper recycling as a result. It’s exciting to hear how being vocal about global can have profound impacts, whether it’s adding a new facet to career skills or becoming a larger proponent of sustainability.
Litzen’s modus operandi for sharing about global has been successful so far. As a teacher in asynchronous and virtual classrooms that include approximately 20 partner teachers every year, increasing awareness through announcements and suggesting UNC World View’s free curriculum resources wherever they fit is a perfect way to contribute to NCVirtual’s global culture. Litzen operates not only as promoter of global, but also as practitioner. “This year I became even more sensitive to the needs of colleagues and students, practicing deep listening as learned from World View’s Story Circles training through the World Council,” she said, “I also keep in mind that I always have a lot to learn.”
A huge shout out to our May Educator Spotlight, Jenny Litzen! She inspires us to share global more and to continue looking for new ways to apply a global mindset to a local life. Thanks for all that you do, Jenny!