The outstanding career of one of Fayette County High’s most popular and respected teachers has been recognized by the state as she prepares to leave the classroom for retirement.

German teacher Mechthild Vogt has been named the 2007 Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) Teacher of the Year, a statewide award open to all foreign language teachers throughout Georgia. The organization’s board of directors, made up of teachers and administrators from elementary to secondary level education, selected Vogt based on her long and impressive teaching record at Fayette County High and her service to other teachers in the state through workshops and conferences she has conducted on foreign language.

“The entire board deemed Mrs. Vogt’s work for languages as being of the highest order,” states Dr. Greg Barfield, FLAG president-elect.

Vogt, originally from Germany, has spent her entire teaching career in the United States at FCHS. She originally came to Georgia to further her education but it was love that ultimately brought her to Fayette.

“After three years of teaching French and English in Germany, I came to Georgia to study for a Master’s Degree at the University of Georgia. I met my husband there and he was my reason to come back to Georgia a year after my return to Germany,” explains Vogt.

Vogt began teaching German, French and English at Fayette County High in 1977. After several years of teaching, she solely taught German and has been the school’s German teacher ever since. She says being recognized as the state’s Foreign Language Teacher of the Year is a summation of her long and rewarding career.

“Thirty years of teaching at FCHS have left me with a treasure trove of memories, most of them good. There are many students I will never forget. Receiving this award feels like a culmination of everything I have done and experienced in my career,” she says.

Throughout her years at FCHS she has touched the lives of hundreds of students, allowing them to experience German beyond the confines of the classroom. In 1980, she developed a student exchange program with two schools in Germany where the German students come to Fayette in the spring for three weeks followed by a three-week stay in Germany for her students in the summer. She says the exchange has taken place almost every other year since she started the program.

In addition to the student exchange program, Vogt says among her greatest career achievements is having the confidence to not “teach the book” but to develop other materials to teach the units identified in the state curriculum.

“I am very enthusiastic about foreign language learning and I hope that I bring that enthusiasm to class with me.  Lectures are often not very interesting, so I keep them to a minimum. I enrich units with songs, paired work and games,” she says.

When she was settling on a career, Vogt says she wanted a job that would not become boring over the years. She had always been fascinated by foreign language and cultures so teaching languages seemed to be a perfect fit.

“Teaching is never boring because you work with people, with individuals. I get to know my students, learn to appreciate their strengths and understand many of their weaknesses. It is a joy to watch as they become more familiar with the German language and culture and more secure in expressing themselves,” says Vogt.

Being named FLAG’s teacher of the year is not the first statewide honor bestowed upon Vogt. She was also chosen as the American Association of Teachers of German Teacher of the Year for 1987 and again in 1996. Although she has accomplished many achievements throughout her years of teaching, Vogt says she is still surprised that FLAG selected her for one of its highest honors.

“There are so many deserving foreign language teachers in Georgia that I did not believe I would be chosen for this award. I was very surprised and almost incredulous when I learned I had been selected. This honor means a great deal to me,” she says.

FLAG will honor Vogt at a special luncheon on March 3 at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel in Atlanta.

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