A Tall Tale About a
Short, Bilingual Woman
Once upon a time in a land far far away, this wee girl was born in Mexico City. Little did I know that I would eventually have a super power and become bilingual one day. But let’s get back to that.
First, the boring stuff. Why should you listen to anything I have to say?
Educational Background
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Bachelor’s degree in Education with an endorsement in Bilingual Education -- University of Illinois at Chicago, 1981
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State of Illinois Certified Reading Instructor since 2002
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Master’s degree in Education (with fifteen additional course credits in Reading and Writing Instruction) -- National Lewis University, 2006
Educational Experience
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Fifth grade teacher (1 year)
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First grade bilingual teacher (10 years)
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Educational consultant for an educational software company (8 years)
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Instructional bilingual facilitator in a Chicago Public Schools setting (3 years)
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Middle school history and bilingual education teacher (I loved this job! (2.5 years)
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Second grade bilingual teacher (8 years)
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Reading instruction teacher (1 year)
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Bilingual pull-out teacher, K-5 students (7 years)
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Bilingual teacher, in a co-teaching program, K-2 students (1 year)
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State of Illinois Certified Reading Instructor since 2002
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Master’s degree in Education (with fifteen additional course credits in Reading and Writing Instruction) -- National Lewis University, 2006
Recent Career
And then I retired in 2019! I feel for all you amazing teachers who are teaching your hearts out despite the unknowns of COVID-19 right now and its effects on our futures.
I hope to make your life easier when working with bilingual students in your classroom. Whether you are a bilingual teacher or a classroom teacher with bilingual children in your classroom, I aim to provide insight, encouragement and solutions for your teaching life.
Now, back to that little girl. My parents (yes, they came here legally) brought me to America when I was four years old. We vacationed every single summer in Mexico. Mexico, with all its beautiful and colorful streets. Mexico, with its breathtaking beaches and delicious food. Mexico, where much of the educated population is bilingual.
But I digress.
Personal Experience
The photo on the left is an Adobe stock photograph of a street in Puebla, but many streets in Mexico City look like this. Every year we would leave all this vibrant color behind and come home to Chicago.
Yep. Chi-ca-go! Perennially grey and dreary. All the buildings were the same color. And the weather! So many grey days. (That’s me on the right in the light blue coat with the white and red stripes)
When I started school I was NOT bilingual. I remember my kindergarten teacher always held my hand. I remember a little boy crushing his cookie and then licking it off the heel of his shoe. I remember my first grade teacher yelling at me every, single, time: crossing out my name, Beatriz, and writing Beatrice instead. I could not speak English, but I knew how to read and write in Spanish, which helped tremendously as I slowly became fully bilingual.
I also remember feeling left out, different, and very,very...dumb. I always felt like I was playing catch-up. At the time, being bilingual in this country was considered a huge deficit. I have so many stories to share, but I will leave those for later.
Fast forward to my adult life. When I started my teaching career way back in 1981, bilingualism was still considered a deficit. How could bilingual children possibly hold two languages in their little brains? Their brains might explode! Being a bilingual teacher was always challenging. Having to explain, year after year, the benefits of bilingualism and how the bilingual brain is actually an asset was draining. But I loved working with bilingual children and their parents. So I stayed in the bilingual education field until I retired.
