Faces of Midland: Kim McMahan
Faces of Midland is a collaborative storytelling project celebrating the vibrant lives of those who live, work, and thrive in Midland.
Cultivating Curiosity
Kim McMahan teaches students in language and culture
By Trisha Fenby
Photo by Renee’ Deckrow, Captured Studio
As a Midland Public Schools teacher, Kim McMahan loves her job. She began her career twenty-eight years ago teaching Spanish in elementary education. When school administrators approached her seven years ago about expanding the language curriculum, Ms. McMahan was eager to pilot a new program. Today, she teaches French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish, along with the culture of the many countries who speak those languages.
“They knew I had a lot of cultural knowledge. I think they thought I’d be crazy enough to try it. I was really excited.”
Ms. McMahan’s personal experiences, including living abroad in Spain, deepened her appreciation for different cultures and languages. To prepare for the new program, she attended summer camps and took private lessons, ensuring she could offer students more than just vocabulary and grammar.
Her approach to teaching goes beyond language. It’s rooted in cultural immersion. Each marking period introduces a new language. Ms. McMahan incorporates festivals, holidays, and global events happening at that time. Students master a small amount of each language, but more importantly, they gain a broader worldview. Ms. McMahan believes the program has reignited curiosity and excitement around learning languages and cultures.
“Education stops fear. If you know about something, you become more interested in it and in the people who live it. That curiosity replaces fear and opens you up.”
Ms. McMahan’s dedication to diversity was evident long before the multilingual program began. She previously spearheaded an initiative called Culture Club, where students submitted creative works and essays, and participated in cultural awareness activities. Coming from a small community in Michigan’s Thumb region, Ms. McMahan found Midland surprisingly diverse, especially with Dow’s corporate headquarters bringing international families to the area.
Inspired by this diversity, she launched Culture Club to help international students feel welcomed and to help local students better understand their peers. For the 50th Anniversary of Adams Elementary, the club purchased a peace pole and dedicated it in eight languages spoken by families at the school. Ms. McMahan also photographed students grouped by their native countries and displayed the images in the hallway to celebrate the school’s global community.
Initially, one parent expressed concern about his daughter being included in the photo, fearing she might be treated differently due to her nationality. But by the end of the school year, he approached Ms. McMahan to apologize. He had witnessed the school’s efforts to make cultural diversity not just acceptable but exciting.
Adding the multilingual program to her curriculum has been a deeply rewarding experience for Ms. McMahan. She sees it as a natural extension of her years of work fostering inclusion and celebrating difference.