Student Reflections

       Some of the longest serving members of the Classical to World Languages Faculty are remembered by their students as described below.

Marguirette Struble 1924-1969       

Robert Stephens, who became a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, confesses that he has “very fond memories” of Dr. Struble: “She impacts my life to this day . . . how I pronounce various words and think about language. Of course, she was the best English teacher going . . . that’s where I really learned English.”

“She wanted us all to be successful,” explains Barbara Kraft Wood, who became a teacher herself. “I always thought that test questions had to be a great mystery and I had better study. The day before the test she would have study questions written on the board behind a large map and the class would go over each question. On the day of the test she would roll up the map and those same questions would be our test.”

“Miss Struble was not physically elegant; she was intellectually elegant and ethically elegant,” says Susan d’Olive Mozena, who, like Wood, studied with Dr. Struble every day for four years, first Latin and then French. “I think it was the way she conducted herself. Let me tell you how that worked. For instance, she taught us a lot about respecting others—and not dis-sing people. I mean, bullying would have been the last thing she would have tolerated in her classroom. No one ever even dreamed of being an idiot in her classroom. People might have failed to do their homework, and she quietly found it out, but no one acted up in her room. Why? Because we respected her too much, and we knew— somehow we all knew, without her ever saying it—that she loved us. She respected us for who we were.”

In 1956, Dr. Struble took two of her Latin students to the third Junior Classical League Convention, held at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Marna Lou Prior Xanos, one of those students, gives this vivid account:

“Miss Struble invited Joyce Frandsen and me to travel with her [to the

Convention]. We were fifteen. We would travel in her new 1956 Chevy.

Miss Struble had planned, ahead of time, to stop at every historical place along our route. We were shown President Herbert Hoover’s home in West Branch, Iowa; birthplaces of famous people; and even some sand dunes.

We saw the Abraham Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois, and the Lincoln statue, and the tomb where Abraham, Mary, and their four sons are buried. Then we went to Lincoln New Salem Historic site, a reconstruction of the cabins where Lincoln lived for about six years.

We stayed in a dormitory on the Miami University of Ohio campus. There were Latin classes and for the final banquet we dressed as Romans, in our togas (sheets), and had to eat dinner with our fingers (sans silverware).

Now that was fun.

Dr. Struble emphasized speaking with the correct French pronunciation. She wanted us to be able to go to France and converse in French without hesitation. Because she taught us to speak accurately, my University of Iowa French professor was impressed by the way I could pronounce my words. He entered me into a poetry reading contest and I placed. I credit Miss Struble for my winning. She taught me well, as she did the others.”

Lowell Hoeft 1987-2004

In a survey, Hoeft’s French IV students commented on how well prepared they were for continuing to study  French in college:

“Continue doing what you’ve been doing. I am now in my second year of graduate school and have yet to take a class that so thoroughly prepared me for life outside of school as did French classes at NU. They were the best structured, most organized and learning oriented classes I’ve taken. Even though I have not taken French since high school, the French I learned at NU continues to serve me in my travels.”

Class of 1991, Travis

“I feel that I was very well-prepared for college. Before I could enroll in a French class at the U of I, I had to take a placement test. I tested into the third (out of four) level after not having studied French for more than a year. So, I feel that speaks well of the education I received in high school. The insistence on speaking only French in the classroom made my adjustment to a French college course very easy! The composition writing that we did helped me in my college course. I know I always enjoyed all the cultural learning extras we did to help us learn more about the French culture. I hope that these continue to be included.”

Class of 1991, Kandice

“I was extremely well prepared. My language abilities were vastly superior to 99% of the students that I encountered in the French department at UNI.”

Class of 1991, Steven

“I know I was as well-prepared as I could have been for college level French courses. In fact, compared to my classmates and my professors’ expectations, I was more than well-prepared. One of the things that gave me an edge was the fact that I was accustomed to hearing and speaking only French in the classroom. Other things that helped prepare me for college were a firm understanding of grammar and a fairly-broad vocabulary. I think this came about as a result of being constantly challenged during high school French and I can think of nothing that better prepares one for college level study than this.”

Class of 1991, Agelo

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James (Jim) Becker 1970-1999 (and other Lab School faculty):

As an Editorial Fellow at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Lab School alum David Chung published this reflective tribute in the June 30, 2023 issue:

The Transformative Power of Exceptional Teachers

       Education is a hot button topic in today's political landscape. I acknowledge there are serious issues with our public schools. . . . I graduated in 1979 from Northern University High School in Cedar Falls and, putting politics aside, I was fortunate to have several extraordinary teachers who helped shape me into the man I am today.

       Ken Butzier, my speech coach, was instrumental in helping me develop the confidence to verbalize my thoughts and address large audiences, a skill I now often apply in my personal and professional life. Lynn Schwandt, my math teacher, sparked my interest in computers by introducing me to BASIC programming and granting me free access to the school's Apple IIe computer. Don Wiederanders, my geometry teacher, ignited my interest in mathematical proofs, an enthusiasm that led me to major in mathematics and computer science. Ferd Reichman, my humanities teacher, taught me to look at history to understand the world around me. Lastly, Marge Vargas, my yearbook adviser, enabled my exploration of photography, signing off on so many passes that I ended up spending more time in the darkroom than the staff.

       Each one of these teachers has had a huge impact on my life but there was one teacher that stood out from the rest: my French teacher, Jim Becker.

       I know from my own experience that even the most outstanding teachers cannot impact every student in the same way. However, Jim managed to do exactly what I needed. He subtly “raised the corner of the tent,” offering me a peek into the rich tapestry of the French language, culture, cuisine, history, art, and beyond. I wasn't the best student in my class and my written French still is atrocious. I didn't ace the National French exam. Despite all this, what he accomplished was turning me into a “francophile.”

       I don't think I really appreciated how special my French class was until my junior year in high school. I had completed two years of French but because I was at a very small school my advanced algebra and French III classes were scheduled at the same time. I had to make a difficult choice, I wanted to major in engineering in college, so I had to take algebra, but I loved French. Because I was a good student in both, Jim and my math teacher made a deal. I could attend as much of either class as I wanted to for full credit if I took all the exams and got straight As in both! That Spring I got to go with some of my classmates on a trip to France, led by Jim, with students across Eastern Iowa.

       The trip was intimidating, with some seniors having up to five years of French experience. However, in France, I discovered that despite having studied more French, many struggled with actual conversation and basic tasks such as purchasing Metro tickets or cashing Traveler's Checks (credit cards were not as common among young people then). I may have had less French knowledge, but my classmates and I were willing to try and use all the French we knew.

       When I got to Paris, I already knew my way around. I knew the major boulevards and monuments and the way the Seine River snaked through the city. I spent a week with a family and had a chance to attend a French High School for a couple of days.

       My senior year I was saving money for a car. I wanted a Pontiac Trans Am, the black one with the eagle on the hood like Burt Reynolds drove in 'Smokey and the Bandit.' Jim told me that there was an opening on the France trip, and it didn't take me long to set the dream of a muscle car aside and start packing for France! On these trips the rule was that students had to either go out with one of the leaders or in groups of no less than three students. My friend Lee was also on his second trip to France. Jim understood that we were responsible enough so he could look the other way and the three or more rule did not apply. We were even allowed to leave Paris alone and visit the families we had stayed with in the suburbs the previous year.

       I took a few semesters of French in college, but my French story didn't end there. The summer before my sophomore year at UNI, I rode my bicycle solo from the Boston area to Quebec City. I was able to speak nothing but French as I rode through rural Québec. Since then, I have been to France six times, Wallonia (the French speaking part of Belgium) three times and French Canada more times than I can count.

       I live on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids and there is a significant and growing population of French-speaking immigrants from West Africa and Haiti. I am constantly finding opportunities to speak French when I am out and about in the community. I even taught a French language Bible study class at my church last Fall. On behalf of my church, I am looking for ways to reach out to the French speaking immigrants in our neighborhood.

       Undoubtedly, Jim's influence on my life has been significant and far-reaching, extending even to the next generation! Most of my children studied French in high school. One of my sons majored in French and one of my daughters spent a year in France as an au pair. Two of my other children have traveled to France. In fact, one of my children's middle name is Paris (I know TMI!) because she was born 'some months' after a trip my wife and I took to France.

       When this column is published, my wife and I will be starting a two-week trip riding our bicycles in France. There are many things wrong with public education today and I will probably write about some of them here, but after three decades as a parent, volunteer, and occasional substitute teacher I know that there are still countless dedicated and skilled educators — like Jim Becker — who are making an impact in students' lives.

Merci Jim!