A message from 2022 NYSAFLT President Jenny Delfini
Mother Nature is truly an indecisive force. The swings in temperature, precipitation, and necessary clothing and accessories are giving me whiplash. I have to double-check my calendar to see which month it is! The inconsistency and turmoil mirror the current climate in schools – the quick and polarized changes in regulations, the shifts to our goals and objectives, and the emotional turbulence that our students show.
Yet time continues to march on. We know the rhythm of the year – the vacations, the testing dates, the graduation practices, the annual trips and ceremonies. These milestones steady us, ground us in what has been chaotic. I notice the little things, like a student’s smile, my colleague’s laugh…my own extra attention to a lesson I enjoy. The excitement of June is nigh!
We all need a break. A break is not an end, but an interruption in continuity, an interlude. We will be back in September, and I hope to be ready for a new group of students, with new questions and curiosities about the world around them. I hope to take my break – my breather, my respite – and enjoy it fully with my family and friends, so I can continue my career with a better approach to teaching, with a wider array of research and methods, so my students can acquire all they can in their short time in my classes.
Following the passing of our beloved friend, esteemed leader and longtime Executive Director John Carlino in January 2022, the NYSAFLT Executive Team and Board of Directors continue to ensure that our organization is functioning efficiently. The NYSAFLT 100K for 100 Years John D. Carlino Legacy Fund remains the best way to honor John by making donations in his name. With this fund, NYSAFLT will remember John and his vision to financially support projects and help solve problems that language teachers and leaders face. As we move forward along the pathway that John paved, his legacy will forever live on with the NYSAFLT 100K for 100 Years John D. Carlino Legacy Fund.
“John David Carlino obituary.” The Buffalo News, February 5, 2022.
