Saturday, November 21, 2015
On a whim, I decided to look up my former teacher only to find this sad news--that my most memorable teacher is now no longer with us.
Mrs. Frame was my first teacher when I came to the United States in 1984, and perhaps I was her first Vietnamese ESL student at Jamison Middle School. My first memory of seeing Mrs. Frame was quite vivid. She entered the school as a tall, elegant woman who wore a yellow flowery dress and drove a silver Volvo. As a person Mrs. Frame was warm and caring for all her kids, but she gave special attention to me because I was her star student. Mrs. Frame taught with passion in a soft-spoken voice and a calm, gentle demeanor. She gave us more than just the basic foundation of the English language, she also shepherd us through the nuances in cultural differences among those from our native land and those in America, our new home. Several times Mrs. Frame invited the ESL students to her cute home at the end of Roy Road, complete with a newly-built above-ground pool, for dinner and parties. This was where we met her husband Phil, who I thought was a very nice gentleman, and her daughter who was just a few years younger than us. It was also here that I gained my first experience with an American family.
After my graduation from Pearland in 1992, I attended college at UH and UT for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and then moved to Houston to begin a career in cancer research and public health policy. Through the years, the handful of people who truly had an impact on my life included Mrs. Frame. She is among the remarkable Americans who inspired this me to reach for the stars and to give back to a nation that welcomed me with their open arms and hearts. Thank you.
Mrs. Frame's family, please accept my late but sincere condolences.
