Course Listing - by Instructor

Joseph S. Barone has been in the learning/training field for over 35 years, working as a high school social studies teacher, for the NYC Dept. of Records, and The World Bank.  When he started his own consulting business (A Fool for Learning, LLC) in 2019, he decided that one way to market his skills/experience was to podcast.  So, his channel FOOLISH THOUGHTS was born, in which he speaks about training/learning, networking, management, and whatever other foolish thoughts come to mind.   With over 140 episodes under his belt, his goal is to share his thoughts and insights on the things you need to consider, if you decide to embark upon the podcasting adventure.

Maria Elena Bucelli was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but moved to Milan, Italy, at a young age, where she completed her education. Later in life, she moved to the United States and obtained a Master’s degree in Foreign language and literature and a TESL certificate. She taught at Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University, where she was the faculty director for the Study Abroad Programs in Spain, Italy and Latin America. She taught English to Italians, Italian to foreigners, and Spanish to Italians while she lived in Milan for fifteen years. Now a retired teacher of Spanish and Italian of Arlington County Public Schools, she has been teaching for the Community Learning Center for six years.

A native Arlingtonian, Richard has been performing professionally since the age of thirteen. With multiple shows under his belt, he started to privately teach guitar and bass to friends in his neighborhood. Since then, Richard has taught numerous classes, workshops and camps. Back in the fall of 2014, Richard was approached by the pre-production team of Andrew Lloyd Webber to help their lead Alex Brightman to play and sing guitar for the fall 2015 musical “School of Rock”. The musical opened to rave reviews, and Alex Brightman received a Tony nomination for best male performance. Richie has been teaching for over twenty years and loves to interact and have fun with his students; his bohemian approach to teaching guitar is both infectious and viral.

Aida graduated from the American University of Beirut with a degree in Arabic literature and a Teaching Diploma. She taught Arabic as a native and foreign language in Lebanon, Greece and the US.Aida published her short stories and translations in various outlets (Annahar, Alhayat newspapers, Ghurba magazine, Cultural Studies Quarterly, Al-hakawati, Almukhtar, Mitra, World Bank blogs and others). Together with Mishka Mojabber Mourani, she co-authored a bilingual book of poems, “Alone Together”, and a short story “Hiatus” published in Lunch Ticket literary magazine, Fall 2019. Aida started teaching at Arlington Community Learning in 2018.

Sarmiento, Josefa Josie Sarmiento was born in Venezuela where she attended college and earned her bachelors in Spanish. She taught at several language schools before coming to the United States. She has also received an associate degree from NOVA. Her teaching experience includes all levels and all ages. She has taught Spanish for the Oakridge Elementary School After School Enrichment program and was a regular substitute for the Spanish for Educators program. Josie has been teaching Spanish for Arlington Adult Education since 1993.

Carol Stevens has spent more than 30 years involved in all aspects writing and editing — both nonfiction and fiction works. She has worked as a reporter and editor for publications including USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, and Washingtonian magazine where she has written about subjects ranging from health care to presidential politics. She currently runs the communications division of a major trade association where she is involved in all phases of media relations from speech writing to media training. Carol graduated from Syracuse University with a major in communications and international relations.

Larissa Vassilkova was born and grew up in Kazakhstan, her family originated from the Central Russia region where they settled down almost two centuries ago. Her family immigrated to the USA in 2000, she has lived in Virginia since. Larissa continued to share her knowledge of Russian language and culture with the students of Arlington community. She is a graduate of The Kazakh State University and has more than 25 years of teaching experience. Larissa was an instructor in the Technology college and taught a variety of subjects for Food Processing, Bakery and Brewery specialists. Larissa is dedicated to prepare, motivate and encourage students by getting them ready to work. with full level of responsibility in the real life situations and the workplace. Her life experience in the different countries, her hobby to travel around the world, and love of teaching give her exceptional tools to help students to learn more languages and cultures. Larissa has a belief that one of the ways to learn more about the culture of people from different countries is to work or cook together and get knowledge about food, traditions and terminology.

Ms. Yoshki Weick was born in South Korea, and later moved with her parents and sisters to Japan in 1971.She lived there for 34 years with husband and daughters. She is fluent in Korean and Japanese. In 2004 she accepted an invitation from the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC and began her residency as an Artist. She has taken part in numerous group shows in Japan, China, India, France and throughout the United States. She has exhibited individually in Tokyo, New York, Washington DC and Chicago. She has received a number of awards for her artwork. She is an author of numerous publications. She teaches oriental brush art (sumi) and Japanese & Korean languages.

Maria Yang is a knowledgeable and experienced Chinese language instructor, with more than 40 years of teaching experience in both college and government. She received her BA in English Language and Literature and her MA in Chinese Language and Literature and completed coursework in a Ph.D.Program in Applied Linguistics. The education she received has prepared her to be a qualified Language and Culture Instructor.She has taught beginning-, intermediate-, and advanced-level Chinese language courses at Georgetown University, George Mason University, the University of California at Davis, San Francisco State University and as a government contractor through Centra Technology Inc. She is currently teaching Mandarin Chinese language at Arlington Community Learning Program and Chinese literature at George Mason University.