Wheaton News

Tapping into her experience at a New York charter school, she will teach English in Madrid 

Leila Barackman ’22 will embark on the trip of a lifetime this fall, traveling to Spain for the first time to teach English in Madrid as a Fulbright scholar.

The New York City native—who majored in early childhood education and women’s and gender studies with a minor in psychology at Wheaton College—will spend nine months honing her teaching skills, assimilating herself to Spanish culture and refining her verbal language ability.

Barackman said that while the opportunity to teach abroad is exciting, it’s also “really daunting.” However, she noted that her Wheaton journey taught her to believe in herself and to face challenges head-on.

“Wheaton allowed me to think about my options outside of what I thought was possible for myself,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but Wheaton pushed me to think outside the box and encouraged me to shoot for the stars and incorporate different experiences into the realm of teaching.”

Since graduating from Wheaton, Barackman has taught second and third grade at a charter school in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, N.Y. She said the majority of her students speak Spanish as a primary language, and she has seen firsthand just how empowering learning English can be.

“Getting to know those students and realizing that a language barrier can be a big deal for children, it got me thinking more about the Fulbright program and being able to teach English abroad to kids in Spain,” she said. “That was a big inspiration for me, helping my students with learning English and seeing how that changed their lives and their learning.”

Fulbright scholars are recent college graduates, graduate students or early career professionals who take part in study and research exchanges or serve as English teaching assistants. The federal government recently recognized Wheaton as one of the top producers of Fulbright scholars in the U.S.

Barackman said her twin brother, who has nonverbal autism, is one of her biggest inspirations and has given her the resilience to fight through any obstacle.

“He honestly inspires me every single day,” she said. “He’s someone I’m always thinking about when it comes to teaching children because not every child is the same. It requires a lot of thought and care when deciding what is best for each child at that moment whether it’s how to teach them a topic, or how to make them feel better about something—either social, emotional or academic.

“He reminds me that each child is different and has different needs. That’s something that I hope to carry with me to Spain.”

—By Scott Enman ’15