Many have met the legend known as Ms. Stekl, aka $teks, from taking French or Spanish. Maybe you know her as a class adviser, possibly you’ve been on a trip supervised by her, but I know her as the wise and kind person she truly is, and maybe you can meet that part of her too.
Early Life
Stekl begins her language journey in high school where it might surprise you that she dropped out of French the moment she could. She would not return to French until her college days at MCC where she took French again. Her professor inspired her to look beyond Rochester and study abroad.
Teaching Life
She began to teach in Victor in 2002 and continues till today. She teaches both French and Spanish, only occasionally getting them mixed up. She talks about how she has connected with her colleagues here and other teachers here and connected with teachers over social media. She says her favorite and most challenging years were when her kids went to school alongside her.
Although she likes Victor and likes teaching here if she could change one thing it would be the payscale, Victor does not pay as well as schools in Monroe county. This, and the fact she is a single parent are some reasons she works a second job as a delivery driver. She has always worked a second job in restaurants and she enjoys doing so but working for Grubhub is just better for her with choosing her hours and not having to carry trays.
French Life
She uses the language beside in teaching when traveling and talking to colleagues. She continues with how a student will use French in the future “the ability to communicate another language is such a gift” when traveling you feel more comfortable speaking the language. She explains that with the American demographic Spanish may be more useful but if you’re planning to do international business French will come in handy but either one is good to study.
When living in France she tended to focus more on living her life then focusing on work as that is how the culture is set up. She explained how the food is better in France and how one is never hungry. She raves about France, how well their public transport is and their free healthcare. When in Paris it truly felt like a fantasy, she says “it’s one of my favorite cities in the world”. She believes that contrary to their reputation the French people are not mean, they just have to deal with rude tourists.
French Teacher Fast Facts
She does in fact dream in French and occasionally spanish.
Her favorite French songs are Et Bam, and anything by Edith Piaf.
Her favorite French movies are Les Choristes and Amelie.
Her favorite American movie set in France is Taken.
A secret talent of hers is that she’s more handy in home construction than she appears.
In closing regards she leaves us with the bit of wisdom “Go out and see the world”.
