Rhode N’komba

Where does one begin with a woman who brings such intelligence, wit, sensibility, eloquence, and compassion to everything she does in the classroom?

I met Rhode (her name means “love” y’all!) when I scouted out the French teachers when I started at Falls Church High School (the French major/Francophile in me was intent on finding every francophone in the building).

I wasn’t ready guys! Rhode is not human. Besides speaking who knows how many languages, Rhode finds a way to connect with everyone and everything! Her students sing her praises (“Madame is a superstar” is a commonly uttered phrase) and they flock to her room when they need comfort. She gives grace while also pushing resiliency and teaches beyond her curriculum (surreptitiously using the teaching of Black history to highlight the sociopolitical dimensions of language...yes, Rhode is on another level). I am so thankful for this colleague and friend who encourages me in my work, makes our students feel valued, and finds as much joy in laughing about dialectal French differences as I do.

1. Why did you choose to become an educator?

I didn’t choose it, really. My father was a French sub at Langley on his days off and he saw that I needed a professional activity while waiting for the Foreign Service. But I stay for the brains. I stay for the students who put in the work and get proficient; they are endlessly fascinating and their growth is thrilling.

2. Do you have a memory from your career that stands out?

On what should have been a normal day, a student came to class unusually late. I said « ça va ? ». She burst into tears. So I hurried us both outside mid-lesson. After a lengthy chat, I peeked in the classroom to make sure no one spontaneously combusted, but it was like that wardrobe to Narnia. One student was at the board, where people had written answers, in the middle of going over them. Another came up to me for clarification on a couple questions the class had not reached consensus on. Everyone had their packet out, and this was their second completed task. I could have cried. I went back outside to my student and my colleague/spirit animal, Hannah, offered up her trailer to us because it was cold. OG student got zen again, classroom students continued to kill it, and Hannah is always the best neighbour. I lived a movie scene and students learned. Wild.

3. What big ideas for change do you envision in education?

I dream of a system where a variety of students (socioeconomics, grades, etc) are part of the conversations that will affect them and their peers. I imagine students chosen by their own peers, sitting in a CT meeting with teachers. I imagine their voice being instrumental to planning and assessments—actual student-centred learning. The buy in. The engagement. The relevance. Can you imagine?!? 

I also envisage a system that considers language learning a core class, if only so that their students get more proficient at their own grammar... no shade.

Also, I cannot put into words how much I need for our system to decide: is this a calling or a profession? I so badly want to be addressed as a professional, rather than family. You expect family to be there for you any time, but I am a paid professional. The second someone in PD mentions rewarding students with candy or choosing this profession “for the kids”, I feel unseen. I check out. Building great relationships with my students is my strength; I don’t need that PD. Transmitting linguistic knowledge is what fulfils me, and I don’t get that PD.

4. What does your self-care look like?

It looks like being unavailable after the school day and on the weekends, unlearning my tendency to subsidise my own classroom, allowing myself to be average, valuing my extra set of skills, being alone to reenergise, and respecting my own time. That last one is the hardest; I literally hide in closets so that I can focus and recoup. And funnily enough, teaching at the French Language Academy each summer replenishes my chi. Those kids are impressive, curious, lively, and a dream to teach. Plus, the team is always so impressive.