Brookwood German teacher appreciates relationships with students and staff

Published 8:00 pm Monday, June 13, 2022

Ever since Daniela Bellin spent a month in the United States as a teenager as part of an exchange program, the native German wanted to return, and now that she’s fulfilled her wish by coming to teach at Brookwood School, she’ll stay “as long as I can.”

“It’s really like a dream come true,” said Bellin, who teaches in Brookwood’s German Immersion Program. “I’ve loved (the U.S.) since day one, and it’s always felt like home.”

“It’s great that everyone tries to be in a good mood and appreciative (here),” Bellin said. “Germans are very honest, and they will tell you how they feel if they’re not in a good mood, even if you don’t” want to hear about it.

While some Germans may dismiss this American friendliness as “shallow,” Bellin enjoys it, and she makes a point of sharing her positive attitude with her students, she said. “It is my duty, as a teacher,” to do so, no matter what kind of day she might be having.

Bellin wanted to form deeper relationships with her students in Germany, but many resisted, as children there are more apt to try to blend in and keep personal details to themselves, she said. Here, however, students “are not afraid to show you who they are,” and Bellin responds in kind.

“Building relationships is one of the foundational principles of Dalton Public Schools,” said Caroline Woodason, a director of school support for the system. Students “can learn more when they know we (as educators) care about them.”

Bellin’s initial U.S. exposure came when she was in 11th grade, spending four weeks near San Diego, and in 2014 her parents built a home in Fort Myers, Florida, she said. “I was very involved” with that, and she later applied to Checkpoint Charlie, a program through which Dalton Public Schools — and other systems — can access a list of hand-selected, qualified teachers willing to move to America.

Though Salt Lake City was also a possibility for Bellin, Georgia’s warmer climate, as well as the warmth of staff members in Dalton Public Schools and Brookwood, led her to pick this position, she said. Her work wasn’t over, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic added layers of complexity to the Visa procurement process, but she was able to secure her permit and begin duties for the 2021-22 academic term.

Bringing native Germans to Dalton to teach the language is a “win-win,” as not only are these educators obviously gifted linguistically, but they understand that country’s culture better than a non-native ever could, and teaching students about the culture is a pivotal piece of German education, Woodason said: “It’s been very successful.”

Students in dual language immersion programs like Brookwood’s German program not only can speak, read and write a pair of languages, they demonstrate higher levels of academic achievement and appreciation for other cultures, according to Claire Kyzer, lead teacher for Brookwood School’s German Immersion Program. “The more we study this, the more benefits we see.”

“It opens up their minds, and they make connections easier,” Bellin said. “They understand a lot.”

Students immersed in a second language will also have an easier time learning additional languages, if they choose, she said.

“They’ll see the similarities, and it’s wired into their brain.”

Whereas in Germany teachers are more or less on their own, Bellin has felt “very supported” by her fellow teachers at Brookwood, and she appreciates the “team” model, she said. Principal Meleia Bridenstine has also been “super kind, incredible, and always gives me a good feeling.”

Bellin was a jazz and pop singer in Germany, and her band made several television appearances, but income for a musician is highly variable month-to-month, so she turned to teaching, she said. “I’d always been teaching,” as a vocal coach, and educators are well-compensated in Germany, not only with salary, but benefits like healthcare.

However, in Germany, “teaching is ‘a job,’” and while compliments fill the air at Brookwood, “awkward silence” is the predominant soundtrack when German educators are “in an elevator together,” Bellin said with a chuckle. “Teaching is my whole life, and I love coming (to school) here.”

Bellin has visited her parents in Florida several times since she moved here, and they were “very impressed” when they toured Brookwood on a trip to Dalton in November, she said. German schools don’t have near the technology a school like Brookwood has, as “all I had was a chalkboard and books” in Mainhardt, a “tiny village” roughly 30 minutes outside Stuttgart.

“You just have to make it work (in Germany), so I can teach without any (of this technology, but having it) does make it much easier,” she said. “Students are more motivated with all this cool stuff.”

American students are also blessed to have support staff readily available in-house, like speech therapists, she said. In Germany, “you have to (find and access those resources) on your own.”

Because of her musical background and vocal history, “I sing a lot with my students,” and her American charges are thrilled to join her, while her German students would try to avoid singing and performing, she said. “Here, they’re outgoing and performative.”

Her students have been fascinated by photos she’s showed them of Germany, and she plans to share more pieces of the culture, including food, which is one thing she misses, especially “liver sausage and German bread,” she said. “You can get it” at some stores here, and “it’s OK, but it’s not the same.”

She’s also found her Brookwood students more “respectful” than her German learners, she said.

“Here, they listen to their teachers.”