Since completing a Masters in Bilingual Education at Columbia University's Teachers College, Marie Bouteillon has worked as a bilingual kindergarten teacher in New York, spending her mornings in English and her afternoons in French.
"I have always loved working with students," says Marie, "and after hearing about the benefits of receiving a bilingual education, I became passionate about teaching students to read and write in two languages."
But Marie doesn't just work with any students. She's chosen to work at the PS 58 Carroll School in Brooklyn, as a kindergarten teacher, which means for eight hours a day she's surrounded by five and six year olds.
"My official title is French-English Kindergarten Teacher. I teach all subjects to one group of 24 five- and six-year olds. Half of my students are bilingual students and the other half only spoke English when they first entered the program in September 2007. I teach in French in the mornings and in English in the afternoons."
Teaching is known to be one of the most rewarding careers, but it takes patience, tolerance and a love of both education and children - the well behaved and the not-so-well behaved. For Marie, teaching also allows her to work with an amazing group of students, parents and colleagues. "Every day I learn something new. That's exactly why I chose teaching: I love being challenged on a daily basis."
Broad skills base
Her Master's in Bilingual Education from Columbia University taught Marie pedagogical skills, public speaking skills and classroom management skills. Skills that equipped her to work in the dual language programs the New York City Department of Education opened in Fall 2007.
"At college, we were not only taught to teach, we were also trained to critically evaluate bilingual programs across the world. I used the knowledge and tools I had acquired at Teachers College to develop the French-English dual language program in Brooklyn."
Marie's involvement in bilingual education goes outside the classroom as well. "I work very closely with the French Embassy, my school administration and parents to expand the program. We have received a lot of demand from both Francophone and Anglophone parents to increase the size of the dual language program.
"As a result, I have secured French books for the classrooms and the school library. So far, we have received over 700 books from the French Embassy and another 100 donated by parents or Education Francaise a New York (EFNY), a French parent association."
Spreading the word
Marie has also been responsible for informing new teachers about the program and for the last six months has been working in what she fondly calls "a fish bowl".
"We were filmed by TF1, the number one French television channel, on the first day of school, and the CUNY TV Service. I have welcomed many educators and researchers from France and the United States to observe my classroom and I've also introduced three French Senators to our wonderful work."
But with any job there are challenges that must be faced and Marie says her biggest challenge to date has been meeting the requirements of a new legislation passed in 2001 by the US Congress.
"No Child Left Behind (or NCLB) is a legislation that was put in place to hold schools accountable for student progress. Unfortunately, policymakers - few of which ever worked in a classroom - created it, and it set unrealistic expectations for our students. This has required teachers to record everything and anything they do with children - an enormous amount of paperwork. I truly hope the law is amended or abolished soon."
Marie says that teachers are a scarce resource in the US and that more and more positions are offered in bilingual education each year with very few people being qualified for the jobs. "Teaching is a profession where connections help you get into good schools. It's also a profession where you often find solutions outside of your classroom: by doing research on it or talking to colleagues. It really is a field where a master's degree can only enhance the quality of your professional life."