Language, Culture, and Connection: The Legacy of Jeanette Hecker

One of Country Day’s core principles is to inspire lifelong learning by promoting intellectual curiosity and the deep exploration of knowledge. To support that growth, our teachers focus on building meaningful relationships with each student, helping them reach their full potential. For the past 26 years, Upper School French teacher Jeanette Hecker has been doing exactly that.

“In the French classroom, we want students to talk about themselves as they’re learning the language,” says Jeanette. “To do so and to get them comfortable speaking French, I ask them personal questions. If someone tells me on Friday they’re going to see a movie, I’ll follow up on Monday and ask, ‘How was it? Should I go see it?’ I don’t let what they share go in one ear and out the other; I’m always building on those conversations to create a shared experience in the classroom while they’re practicing conversation in another language.”

Her efforts do not go unnoticed.

“Jeanette's passion for language as a lifelong skill is infectious, and every new generation of students finds themselves magnetized to her classroom,” says Nat Tracey-Miller `05, dean of students, librarian, and former student of Jeanette’s. “She teaches language and culture as two sides of one coin, and students leave her class with a grander understanding of the world. I credit her with my own success in the program 20 years ago, as well as my ability to travel and use the language as an adult.”

Jeanette believes that connecting with students outside the classroom is just as important as what happens inside it. One way she does this is through the one-to-one exchange program she helped start alongside former world language teacher Jane Kairet.

Launched in the 2017-18 school year, the exchange program gives Country Day students the opportunity to host and to be hosted by their partners from France and Spain. The program alternates between the two countries. One year, French students visit Country Day in the fall, and our students travel to France in the spring, and the following year, the same rotation happens with Spain. While abroad, students spend a week living with host families and fully immerse themselves in the language and culture.

“There is nothing like taking students to the country where the language is spoken,” says Jeanette. “It is no longer a classroom exercise for them. It helps bring the language to life.”

And throughout these travels, she experienced countless hilarious memories with her students, such as forgetting passports on planes, leaving silly putty in their carry-on bag  (much to the chagrin of students and annoyance of the TSA agents), setting the panic alarm off at the Paris metro station, and going on a shopping spree when a student’s luggage was lost.

“The main thing is that we survived it all,” laughs Jeanette. “The golden rule is to come home with the same number of students you left with and the same ones. And so far, so good!”

So how did Jeanette develop such a passion for foreign languages and exploring new cultures? As the youngest of seven siblings, she was determined to carve out her own path and do something none of her older siblings had done before.

“By the time I came along, my parents had already experienced the same achievements over and over again,” recalls Jeanette. “I always say that, with my French name, Jeanette Marie, and being born in New Orleans, my father predestined me to learn French.”

Before joining the world languages department at Country Day, Jeanette worked at the Chicago Board of Trade as a bilingual trading assistant, using her French-speaking skills to help broker deals with clients from French-speaking Canada. And while she had always pictured herself as an international businesswoman, she began to consider transitioning over to a career in education.

“I was living in Chicago, taking night courses to maintain my French,” says Jeanette. “I eventually received a full-ride scholarship to live abroad for a year in Switzerland, which is a French-speaking country. I just continued to fall in love with the French language, culture, and history.”

Upon her return from Switzerland, she completed both her M.A. and Ph.D. at Northwestern University and began teaching at Georgia Southern University. Although she enjoyed her time at Georgia Southern, she was still searching for a more gratifying teaching experience.

“At the college level, you don’t see the students as frequently,” says Jeanette. “After speaking with my brother-in-law about how much he loved working at an independent school, I decided that’s the type of place where I wanted to work. I wanted to have the autonomy to change things up in my curriculum and build greater relationships with my students. And at Country Day, I have been able to do just that.” That deep sense of fulfillment in the classroom has affirmed the life-changing decision she made years ago to leave the business world behind and embrace education full-time.

“I love watching my students grow up and become interesting people – truly becoming themselves. I love it when they really begin to buy into what you are teaching and get excited about the subject, when they are just doing it and forget they are learning.”