Tag Archives: Foreign Language Teachers

Texas teacher Lillian Greer Bedichek contributed to awareness of social issues

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World languages educator Lillian Greer Bedichek is known for her contribution to awareness of social issues in the American Southwest. Photo Credit: University of Texas

Skilled classroom teachers are often recognized for advanced accomplishments in their field. One teacher that fits this description is Lillian Greer Bedichek, a world languages teacher who is known for her contribution to awareness of social issues in the American Southwest.

Lillian was born in 1885 in Keachie, Louisiana, the daughter of James and Virginia Greer. In 1893, her family moved to Waco, Texas, because her father had accepted employment as vice president of Baylor University. Upon her high school graduation, Lillian enrolled at Baylor, but later she transferred to the University of Texas. There she majored in Greek and minored in Latin. Lillian earned her Bachelor’s degree from Baylor in 1903. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of Texas in 1926.

In 1910, Lillian married celebrated naturalist Roy Bedichek. Before her marriage, the young educator taught in Waco public schools, at Grayson College, and in Deming, New Mexico. When she became pregnant with her first child, Lillian took a break from the classroom. Before long, two additional children were born to the couple.

In 1917, Lillian returned to the classroom when she accepted a position as a Spanish teacher at Austin High School in Austin, Texas. Eventually, she became the chair of the Spanish Department there. She even published a textbook, Mastering Spanish, in 1945.

Outside of the classroom, Lillian joined a network of educators, folklorists, and writers who were active in raising awareness about social and cultural issues of the American Southwest. She contributed to the movement by writing book reviews and publishing articles about life in the Southwest, including her concerns about sharecropping and land ownership. For her efforts, Lillian was recognized in 1965 as an honorary member of the Texas Institute of Letters. In addition, the University of Texas distributes an annual scholarship named in honor of Lillian and her husband.

Lillian passed away in 1971 at the age of 86. She is buried in Eddy Cemetery in the city of Falls, Texas. To learn more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to Lillian Greer Bedichek.

IL teacher Sam Figueroa named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year

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Spanish teacher Sam Figueroa has been named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Illinois State Board of Education

There are many outstanding teachers working with our young people in our nation’s public schools. Some of these are singled out for special recognition. One is Sam Figueroa, a high school World Languages teacher from the state of Illinois. He has been named the 2024 Far North Suburbs Regional Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Sam is a Spanish teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He has taught there for 12 years. In addition to his foreign language courses, he coaches soccer, leads curricular teams, and serves as a club sponsor.

Originally, Sam pursued a career in finance. But while teaching English in Italy, he recognized his passion for working with young people. When he returned to the United States, he worked for two years as a substitute, and another two years as an aide in a therapeutic day school. All the while, he was taking night courses at North Eastern Illinois University in Chicago until he earned his degree.

Since he has been working as a professional educator, Sam has led a shift towards the practice of standards-based grading, he has developed articulation with district middle schools, he has facilitated the incorporation of social-emotional learning and culturally relevant practices in the classroom, and he has created a curriculum called Diversity Friday to highlight under-represented groups within Spanish-speaking countries.

Sam says much of his success with his students is due to the fact that he is open-minded, forgiving, accommodating, and genuinely interested in others. He declares these qualities are integral to his goal of helping others become better, because if students know they are valued, then they will reach their full potential.​

World Languages teacher Marilyn Johnson also served as a US veteran, foreign diplomat

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Teacher Marilyn Johnson served her country as a WWII veteran and as a foreign diplomat. Photo Credit: Caledonian Record

Many exceptional teachers also earn acclaim in fields other than education. One of these is Marilyn Johnson, a World Languages teacher from Massachusetts. She served her country as a WWII veteran, and also as a distinguished foreign diplomat.

Marilyn was born on June 19, 1922, in Boston Massachusetts. The first in her immediate family to attend college, she earned her Bachelor’s degree with Honors from Radcliffe in 1944. She earned her Master’s degree in French from Middlebury College in 1952. In addition, Marilyn served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, while World War II was in full swing. She became a member a specialized group in the Navy’s WAVES. That group, which was based in Washington, DC, became known as “code girls.” Their specific mission was to break Japanese codes.

From 1952 to 1959, Marilyn taught French at various high schools. She also taught English as a foreign language in numerous schools in the African countries of Cameroon and Mali between 1962 to 1964.

In 1964, Marilyn joined the US Foreign Service, and she also served as a cultural affairs officer in Bamako, Mali, and Tunisia, and as the public affairs officer in Niger. She then served as the Deputy Assistant Director of the Information Program from 1971 to 1974. In 1975, she attended the Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy, and from 1975 to 1976, she attended special training where she learned to speak Russian. This training led to a job as a cultural affairs officer in Moscow in the former Soviet Union. In 1978, Marilyn was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the US Ambassador to the African country of Togo. She served in that position until her retirement in 1981.

Sadly, Marilyn Johnson passed away in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, on Sept. 19, 2022. She was 100 years old. To read more about this amazing educator, click on this link to the Caledonian Record.

 

Montana educator Tana Luptak earns 2024 Outstanding Contributions Award

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Secondary level World Languages teacher Tana Luptak of Shepherd, Montana, has garnered a 2024 Outstanding Contributions Award from the Montana Association of Language Teachers (MALT). Photo Credit: Montana Association of Language Teachers

There are many fine educators who earn recognition for their tireless work in the classroom. One of these is Tana Luptak, a secondary level World Languages teacher from Montana. She has garnered a 2024 Outstanding Contributions Award from the Montana Association of Language Teachers (MALT).

Tana currently teaches Spanish at Shepherd Middle School and Shepherd High School, both located in Shepherd, Montana. She has been employed there for seven years. Tana has a reputation for fostering an exciting learning environment characterized by community, collaboration, and culture.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Tana has served for six years on the MALT Board, including terms as Vice President and President. During her tenure, she drove significant organizational changes and improvements. In fact, she is largely responsible for expanding the Spanish-language program in Shepherd schools, even introducing international travel experiences for students.

Tana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a Teaching Option from Montana State University, Billings, in May, 2013. While in college, Tana completed a study abroad program in Spain for a semester. She found that experience so enriching that, since she became a teacher, she has led two trips abroad with students: One to Spain in 2017, and the other to Costa Rica in 2018.
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In 2018, Tana earned her Master’s degree in Education and World Language Instruction from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. She even presented her Master’s thesis, “Montana World Language Teachers’ Beliefs and Perspectives on Effective World Language Teaching Practices,” at a conference organized by the Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers and the Confederation in Oregon Foreign Language Teaching (WAFLT-COFLT) in Portland, Oregon. Her thesis, exploring Montana teachers’ beliefs in comparison to national recommendations, showcased her commitment to advancing language education.

 

Jessie Redmon Vauset: Teacher, author, and magazine editor

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Educator Jessie Redmon Vauset was also a successful author and respected magazine editor. Photo Credit: Black History in America

Many talented educators have earned renown in fields other than the teaching profession. Such is the case with Jessie Redmon Fauset, a high school Latin and French teacher from New Jersey.

Jessie was born in Fredericksville, New Jersey, on April 27, 1882, although she was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Redmon Fauset, an African Methodist Episcopal minister, and Annie Seamon Fauset. When she was just a child, her mother passed away and her father remarried. Jessie’s father was not wealthy, but he instilled in all his children the great importance of education.

As a youngster, Jessie attended the highly-respected Philadelphia High School for Girls, where she may have been the only African American student in her class. Once she graduated, she wanted to enroll at prestigious Bryn Mawr College. Unfortunately, the institution was reluctant to accept its first African American student, and instead offered to assist Jessie in acquiring a scholarship to Cornell University. Jessie excelled at Cornell, and so she was invited to join the distinguished academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her Bachelors’s degree in Classical Languages in 1905, and later earned her Master’s degree in French from the University of Pennsylvania.

Even though Jessie had earned a superior college education, her race prevented her from gaining a job as a teacher in Philadelphia. Instead, she accepted teaching positions first in Baltimore, Maryland, and then in Washington, DC, where she taught French and Latin at Dunbar High School.

In 1912, while still teaching, Jessie began to submit reviews, essays, poems, and short stories to The Crisis, a magazine for African American readers founded and edited by author and civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois. Seven years later, DuBois persuaded the talented educator to become the publication’s literary editor. Jessie did this work during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of prolific artistic output within the Black community. As the magazine’s editor, Jessie encouraged and influenced a number of up-and-coming writers, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, and Claude McKay. She also continued to write her own pieces for the magazine. In addition to her work at The Crisis, Jessie also served as co-editor for The Brownies’ Book, which was published monthly from 1920 to 1921. The goal of the publication was to teach African American children about their heritage, information the former educator had fervently wished for throughout her own childhood.

After reading an inaccurate depiction of African Americans in a book written by a white author, Jessie became inspired to write her own novel. Her first book, There Is Confusion (1924), portrayed Black characters in a middle-class setting. It was an unusual choice for the time, which made it more difficult for Jessie to find a publisher. In 1926, Jessie left her position at The Crisis in 1926 and looked for work in the publishing field, even offering to work from home so that her race wouldn’t be a barrier. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find enough work to support herself.

To make ends meet, Jessie returned to teaching, accepting a position at DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. James Baldwin, the acclaimed African American novelist and playwright, may have been one of her students there. Jessie was employed in the New York school system until 1944. During her New York years, Jessie wrote three more novels: Plum Bun (1929), The Chinaberry Tree (1931), and Comedy: American Style (1933). Jessie’s primarily upper-class characters continued to deal with the themes of prejudice, limited opportunities, and cultural compromises. Because her last two novels were less successful than her previous works, Jessie’s extensive writing output decreased.

In 1929, Jessie fell in love and married businessman Herbert Harris. She was 47 years old at the time. The couple made their home in Montclair, New Jersey. They lived there until 1958, when Herbert passed away. After her husband’s death, Jessie returned to Philadelphia, where she died on April 30, 1961, a victim of heart disease. She was 79 years old.