CARRYING FORWARD

To be in a class taught by Miss Georgine Clarke or Madame Annick Bouldt is to be in the presence of an angel. Through song, prayer, and playful praise, they most certainly have touched the hearts of countless students entrusted to their care. While both came to their interviews at Justin-Siena via nervous car rides, it was Annick who recalls pondering, “I wonder how many times I will be driving here?” Some 25+ years beyond, Georgine and Annick are lights that will not be dimmed as they remain ever voracious in their vocations. We recently engaged with these two venerable educators to reflect on careers that have spanned family generations, technology advances, and even real schoolwide debates on if there were value to assigning students homework.

“Young people need good teachers, like visible angels.”

Where do you find your fulfillment as an educator at this juncture in your career?

AB (An avid early morning walker and bicyclist):

Walking and biking you do a lot of reminiscing about the classroom, and I LOVE

THESE KIDS. I have wonderful students (as always) in French I…and I’m reeling in French

II. They’re wonderful…just a good rapport …I like my students. And I think they like me, too. You can feel it. In French class, we start every day by singing together. There’s a nice balance of routine and fun. I am not a hard-nosed teacher by any means; it is not a stressful situation. To hear “Bonjour Madame

Bouldt,” in the hall from people who aren’t even my students. That warms my heart. GC My answer is very similar. I simply love my students. I have been looking forward to having these seniors; I had them as freshmen. We went through COVID together, and now we are really enjoying this time together. It is wonderful to have kids several years in a row and to build that care, and experience the camaraderie going on. I think this is just great for our health in general. There is still a teenager in me! AB Yes. I need that (camaraderie). That I need.

Take that away and there would be a huge void. It is my raison d’être (reason to be). I arrive in the morning, turn the key, and there they are! The day goes into full motion! It is not necessarily French or Religion, though that’s part of it; it is about the interactions.

What really counts in education?

GC Relationships are a really important part.

I think that 25 years ago, I would not have answered this way - but being able to be a witness to sharing a faith with my students. It is being that witness, not necessarily through words, but in how we do everything in class. And because we have that relationship, they are able to take experiencing faith much more seriously. Because they know me. This is something I hope they walk away with, having had the example of someone who lives out their faith, and their life will then be better because of it.

How have you seen your students grow?

GC I see it when they talk or write about God.

They are much more free with their beliefs than they would have been as freshmen.

Having had a teacher who has adopted a life of faith, especially those who have heard my

Kairos talk, they become more comfortable in taking a risk to explore and believe.

What’s your secret to success?

AB I think to be myself and genuine. I am not a different person in the classroom. There are not a lot of rules. I am just Madame Bouldt, the same person I am with everyone. I am not uptight; I am relaxed; I am me. Easy going. GC When you are being yourself with your students, it gives them confidence to be themselves. AB I tell my students I feel as responsible to you for what you learn, as you are responsible to me for what you learn. We have to get along! GC I do like new things. I do like change. I am open to change. I have never taught the course the exact same way, or said the same things in the same ways…because the kids sitting in front of me are different. Their lives and questions are different.

What are you most proud of?

GC (Laughing) That I have lasted this long! AB Yes, that, and that I love it more now than when I first started. I do. GC That’s very true.