NJTESOL/NJBE Member of the Month
Miriam Klein
By Kathleen Fernandez
Michelle Land, President of NJTESOL/NJBE, noticed that NYS TESOL was recognizing Members of the Month and thought that NJTESOL/NJBE has so many amazing teachers throughout our state that it would be fitting to highlight some of them. Nominees could be colleagues who are available to answer questions about ELLs or the Bilingual Education code. Educators who support students and their families beyond the classroom with projects, college applications, and extracurricular activities. Someone who joins committees in support of ELLS or to implement positive change for the community. The nominee must be a member of NJTESOL/NJBE. Nomination Link
Our first Member of the Month is in Memoriam of Miriam Klein.
Recently, Miriam Klein, a former ESL teacher, passed away. Her son, Michael, reached out to NJTESOL/NJBE to share her story. Mrs. Klein began her teaching career in 1957 as a Kindergarten teacher in Bergen and later Passaic Counties. She met her husband David and left teaching to begin their family.
Mrs. Klein decided to return to teaching in the early 1970’s. She went to Montclair State College to get her English as a Second Language certification. She began working in the non-public schools, such as St. Michael’s in Newark where she taught in trailers and therefore was required to become a licensed school bus driver. Miriam concluded her career in the East Orange School District, enthusiastically teaching recent immigrants, many from Haiti.
Mrs. Klein’s son, Michael Klein, had this to say about his mother. “Miriam taught those who loved her how to love one another, embrace education, and enjoy life. She adhered to Robert Fulghum’s belief that everything you needed to know you learned in kindergarten: share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, and live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.”
Below is a creative piece Mrs. Klein wrote regarding a particular teaching experience. As many teachers have observed, certain moments in our teaching careers reveal the impact our work in the classroom has on others.
Kathleen Fernandez is the Executive Director of NJTESOL/NJBE.