Educator Maren Michelet taught Scandinavian culture and languages in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo Credit: Public Domain
Many fine educators are well-known for sharing knowledge about their culture with their students. One of these was Maren Michelet, a teacher of Norwegian descent who promoted Scandinavian culture and languages in Minnesota’s public classrooms.
Maren was born on May 26, 1869, in Minneapolis. When she grew up, she became a teacher local schools. According to legend, she was the first teacher of Norwegian descent at South High School, located in what was then was the most Scandinavian neighborhood of the city. When she inaugurated her courses in Scandinavian languages, no textbooks and no curriculum guides available for the classes. She invented her own instructional strategies and tried a variety of strategies for engaging the interest of her students. She talked to them about the Viking period, discussed incidents in the history of Norway, and shared information about the nature of the land. She taught lessons about the country’s poets and assigned short Norwegian for the students to memorize.
Eventually, Maren authored materials to help with her instructional program. In 1914, she published First Year Norse, a Norwegian high school grammar textbook. In 1916, she published Glimpses from Agnes Mathilde Wergeland’s life, a translation of Glimt fra Agnes Mathilde Wergelands liv, the biography of Agnes Wergeland, a Norwegian American historian, poet, and educator, and the first woman to earn a doctorate in Norway. She also edited a version of Terje viken by Henry Ibsen. In addition, Maren made literary contributions to Norwegian and American newspapers and magazines.
In addition to these publications, this exceptional educator also served important roles in organizations that promoted the culture. In 1917 she served as an officer of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, and in 1923 she was elected the organization’s Education Secretary.
Maren Michelle passed away on Feb. 5, 1932. She was 62 years old.
