by Asami Nelson
The French program at Reedley High School presents students with the opportunity to learn a new language that is spoken by over 76.8 million native speakers worldwide. Although it is only Mireille Garza’s second year as a teacher at RHS, she has quickly become an excellent and well-known educator in the community. She has taught for 17 years, including locations in not only the United States but also Taiwan. Her students know her as “Madame Garza,” because “Madame” is the French equivalent of “Mrs.” in English. Her classes include the four levels of foreign language class including: French I, French II, French III, and AP French Language and Culture.
Mireille Garza (bottom right) with the foreign language department staff.
She is also an advisor to the French Club on campus, as well as the Dance Club/Team that has yet to become an official group. Her role as advisor is to be a guide to the team, reminding them of options and keeping them mindful of decisions that will impact the club and its members, encouraging them to work cooperatively.
Senior Miles Yada, who has taken French for three years, says, “My experience in the class was very good, she was very enthusiastic about learning and I really liked her as a person. She was very nice and made you excited to learn about the language. Her class was helpful, and she was very knowledgeable about the content, and was very cultured.”
Madame Garza commented on her transition to RHS, “Moving from the same school [after] 18 years to come to a new school was intimidating at first, but once I got a feel for my students, the culture of RHS, and the staff [it] was made very clear to me that I would love my time here. It may sound cheesy, but what keeps me going everyday is knowing the students that I get each day and the staff that I work closely with—I love the staff in general—they are the reason why I teach. For me, teaching is beyond the subject area and is about them as people.”
French class students surprised Madame Garza with posters for her birthday!
As more students learn this Romance language in her classes, Madame Garza hopes her students will become knowledgeable in not only the language of francophone countries, but the culture as well. “Students will learn to love and appreciate the language and want to continue learning it beyond high school.”
You can find many more Reedley articles in our Reedley News category, including two more in this week’s issue!
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