Maria J.

Coolican
Director Ann Arbor Languages Partnership (A2LP)
Lead Faculty, World Languages Teacher Education

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
610 E. UNIVERSITY AVE., ROOM 1228
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
734.417.6806
mariajc@umich.edu

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION: IRELAND VAN ECK

15 February 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

I am asked quite often to write letters of recommendation for students. These

students are usually either looking for teaching jobs or applying to graduate
school, and I can typically offer praise for the majority of them, and high praise
for a few very special students. In the case of Ireland Van Eck, however, I can
offer not only high praise, but the very highest. Ireland is a bright, passionate,
self-directed and unusually mature individual who will add immeasurably to
the cultural ambassadors program in Spain.

Ireland is one of my students in the teacher education program here at the

University of Michigan, and she consistently performs at a level of excellence
that I rarely see. This program is an extremely intensive one that requires our
students to operate at a level of professionalism and responsibility that is rarely
required of typical teacher education programs. Ireland is a teacher with a
sense of maturity and grace that few young teachers have, and she creates
learning experiences for her students that are richly informed by best practice,
cultural nuance and many opportunities for genuine student participation.
These are things that many veteran teachers struggle to do well; Ireland
displays her skills in these areas with grace, dynamism and passion.

My staff and I have also worked with Ireland in the Ann Arbor Languages
Partnership (A2LP) at the University of Michigan academic year. A2LP brings
Michigan undergraduates into third and fourth grade classrooms in Ann Arbor
Public Schools to teach Spanish at least twice a week. The A2LP program also
provides participants with seminar training and reflective projects designed to
improve their capabilities in the classroom and in working with people from
diverse backgrounds. From the start of the program, Ireland immersed herself
in A2LP. She has worked exhaustively to improve both her Spanish skills and
her pedagogical moves to better meet the needs of her students, and has
proven herself to be an amazingly effective classmate, teacher, and colleague.
The decision to pursue teaching abroad ought not to be taken lightly, and
ought to be the purview of those who have substantively and critically explored
notions of just what such career work in this area entails. Ireland enters the
world of working abroad fully versed in its demands, fully cognizant of her
abilities, and fully ready and able to combine those two concepts into rigorous
and thoughtful work. Her language and cross-cultural skills are superb, and
she has a unique sensitivity and ability to move between and among cultures of
all sorts. I can think of no higher praise for an American teaching abroad.
Ireland’s experiences in the classroom and her quite numerous and impressive
internship and work experiences, combined with her keen intellect and
willingness to examine all aspects of an issue or problem in her search for
strategies and solutions, render her an ideal candidate for a rigorous and
demanding teaching job. Motivated, self-directed, and simply a lovely human
being, Ireland will be one of the best teachers you hire this year. It is my
absolute pleasure to recommend Ireland Van Eck to you.

Sincerely,

Maria J. Coolican