What is your name and profession? Caroline Adducci, German Teacher.
What is your favorite part about your job? I think there are three things I love about this job. One, having fun with my students in class! We sing, dance, play games, laugh. It’s just the best part of my day! Two, teaching and learning about culture. I love sharing what I’ve learned about German culture and hearing more about my students’ home cultures and way of thinking about the world. Three, I love helping students find ways to travel, like through our German exchange program. I love seeing how they learn and grow through experiencing and living in another culture!
What are the main differences between teaching at North and teaching at West? I think the biggest difference is that the German program at Niles West is much bigger, so I know more students. My hope is to continue to spread the word about the amazing experience it is to be in German class at Niles North and grow the program so we can involve more students in our fun activities inside and outside of school.
If you could add any class to North’s coursebook, what would it be? Our German 4 course focuses a lot on German music and film, which I love, but we also do a lot of other things there. I would love to have a German youth culture class focusing on music, social media, YouTube, etc.
What is your favorite German word? Wanderlust; I love when German words describe a feeling and Wanderlust is a feeling I get a lot, the wish to travel the world and experience different languages and cultures.
If you could choose another job in a different field (not teaching German) what would it be? I think I would work in something creative like graphic design or event planning. I love creating beautiful things that spark joy for people.
If you could invite any person, alive or dead, to guest speak at our school, who would it be? Michelle Obama. I think she’s really wise and has a great perspective on life and is an incredible speaker with the ability to empower and motivate people.
Who is someone you haven’t met that inspires you? Simone Biles. She’s an incredible athlete and endured a lot of challenges, but watching her make a comeback at The Olympics after stepping back to take care of herself and her mental health was really inspiring.
What is your favorite song? What do you think your music tastes says about you? Eins Zwei Polizei, of course! It’s a German class classic! I love a variety of styles of music! There’s something different for each mood and activity you’re doing. I have upbeat pop or hip-hop playlists for running, jazz or classical for working, and everything in between. But mostly, I end up listening to a lot of music that my kids pick out.
If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be? I’d love to live somewhere near the water, where I could go to the beach every day. I find it so relaxing and peaceful and it really makes me happy.
If you could live in any fictional world (movies, TV, books) what would it be? I think I would live in the show Ted Lasso, because I love the sense of humor and positive outlook. Things don’t always go as planned, but you roll with it!
