Type Of Business:
University
Expertise:
Linguistics; Language acquisition and learning
Major Product/SVS:
Higher education; Consulting for school districts; Publications
Hobbies/Sports:
Reading; Photography; Traveling
Education Degrees:
Ph.D. in Linguistics, Georgetown University (1971); Master of Science in Linguistics, Georgetown University (1967); Bachelor of Arts in French, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College (1954)
Affiliations Awards:
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages; Former Teacher, Bilingual and ESL Certification Courses; Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN
Place of Birth:
Evansville
Industry:
Language Education
State/Country of Origin:
IN/USA
Date of Distinction:
12/5/2011
Work History:
Mary Wood School, Evanston, IL; French, Chemistry and Journalism Teacher, Memorial High School, Evansville, IN; Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; Stanford University; San Francisco Speech and Hearing Centers; Immaculata College of Washington, D.C.
Throughout the duration of your career, what was the one highlight that stood out the most?:
The highlight of her career was receiving awards for outstanding teaching.
Charity:
Founder, English as a Secondary Language Program for The University of Texas at San Antonio Employees; Pro-Bono Consultancies in English as a Secondary Language
Number Of Years In Profession:
50
What Does He/She Attribute Success To:
She attributes her success to her strong educational foundation and strong support from teachers.
Why did you become involved in your profession or industry?:
She became involved in her profession because she always loved teaching, and loving students is a special calling in her life.
Extended Bio Profile:
Dr. Kessler has extensive publication in bilingual and second language acquisition, English as a Secondary Language learning, and positive cognitive consequences of bilingualism.
Born at the height of the depression, her family relocated from Evansville, Ind., to Erie, Pa., when her father's job was saved following his plant closing. She had experiences in Erie that she would not have had if she had stayed in Evansville.
She graduated in 1950 as class valedictorian and later graduated from college. She started teaching in an all-girls school during the era of science fairs and later on, the civil rights era, where she was key in helping her students interact with African-American students by utilizing local churches.
In 1967, she was awarded a university fellowship to Georgetown Univkersity and took a year off to accept a Fulbright teaching position in Rome, a year filled with so many first time events. She left New York on a cruise ship to Italy, returned to Europe for many presentations and conferences, and had a chance to meet up with her father in Paris and visit their ancestors' homeland in Germany. After teaching from coast-to-coast, she ended up at UTSA in bicultural bilingual studies, where the new university was getting many of its new foundations. In the mid- to late-70s, there was considerable government funding for bilingual education. During a research project, she had the chance to meet children who were bilingual, as well as help struggling children learn how to read in less than a year and see them defy expectations to go on and become successful high school and college graduates later on in life. The results gave evidence of what "teaching excellence" means. This research is published in Literacy Con Carino in Hayes, Bayreuth, Kessler.
Position Responsibilities and Duties:
Teaching courses for a Master of Arts in English as a Second Language Instruction
Education Certifications:
Certification in Secondary Education, Illinois, IN
Awards/Honors:
Award, Fulbright Lecturer, University of Rome, Italy; President's Distinguished Achievement Award in Recognition of Teaching Excellence, University of Texas at San Antonio
Where Will You Be In 5 Years:
In five years, Dr. Kessler would like to use her gifts in her profession and work with other retirees at the Villa de San Antonio Senior Living Community where she is active in a number of projects