If you can go back in time, what would you do differently in high school? 

Madame Blain: I probably could’ve been a more serious student. I could’ve probably worked harder. 

What was your favorite part of high school? \

Madame Blain: My favorite part of high school was being class president, playing basketball, and being in plays. 

If you were able to, would you go to an IB school? 

Madame Blain: Perhaps. I probably would because I wanted to challenge myself to the most extent. 

What inspired you to go into teaching? 

Madame Blain: I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade.  I always played school and I was always the teacher. When I walked home from 2nd grade, my imaginary students were always behind me. I didn’t know what grade I would teach or what I would teach, but I knew I would be a teacher. 

Was that your first choice, and why? 

Madame Blain: Yes. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. That’s just what I’ve always wanted to do. 

Did you teach at a homeschool, and if so, how was your experience? 

Madame Blain: I taught at Plymouth Canton for 7 years. I taught at Stevenson for 10 years and Eisenhower for 10 years. My experience was fine. They were good schools, good students.  

What profession would you choose if you didn’t become a teacher? 

Madame Blain: An actress 

What do you most enjoy about teaching? 

Madame Blain: I most enjoy interacting with students. I love teenagers. People think that there’s a problem with me, but I love teenagers. They entertain me, they amuse me, they keep me young. 

What is one challenge about teaching? 

Madame Blain: A challenge about teaching is grading papers, every night and every weekend. It’s non-stop. So, when other people can come home and leave their work at home, I never leave my work at home. 

What was your favorite/funny memory while teaching? 

Madame Blain: Probably one time at Halloween, I dressed up as a nun on roller-skates, and the students pushed me around the hall. At Plymouth Canon there as a ramp, so they pushed me down a ramp and so I was going full speed until I ran into a wall. 

Who is a memorable student and why? 

Madame Blain: I have a lot of memorable students. I think a memorable student is someone who you connect with in class, someone who you know is with you, you know is connecting. It doesn’t even have to be the best student in French, just someone who is connecting and who is passionate about what they do in their life and what they want to do. I can’t pinpoint one student. I have lots of memorable students. 

What led you go to the college that you attended? 

Madame Blain: I went to undergrad at Eastern and went to Notre Dame for grad school. I didn’t get a lot of guidance. Because I wanted to be a teacher, my dad said that Eastern used to be a teacher college so why don’t you go there? My parents didn’t have a ton of money for college, so I had to go somewhere local. 

Did you do any sports during high school and college? 

Madame Blain: Basketball in high school. In college, I swam, and I ran. 

Or any extracurricular? 

Madame Blain: I did French club. I was very active in theater. I liked to be in school plays. I was in an international club. 

 Recall a failure/challenge that taught you something. 

Madame Blain: One of the biggest challenges I had was going to Africa, to a different culture, a lot of different languages. But it was probably one of the greatest learning experiences in my life.  I learned primarily that I am lucky. I was born in the richest country in the world and that I didn’t do anything to merit being born in that country. It was just the luck of the draw. I was exposed to people every day who were jealous of me and who wanted my life. It made me very humble and made me want to help them because they didn’t do anything to deserve to be born in a poor country. It made me very aware of how the world is not fair, and how we all share the same planet and so we should help each other.  

How did you bounce back?

Madame Blain: A lot of determination and a lot of meditation. I established some friends and reached out to people. I relied a lot on my inner strength. 

What are 3 things on your bucket list? 

Madame Blain:    

1. Get to Tahiti 
2. Do something in the peace corps again
3. I’d like to learn another language. Maybe Arabic.

What places have you traveled to? 

Madame Blain: Four or five countries in West Africa, France, a lot of countries in Europe, Caribbean, Martinique, Haiti, mainly French speaking countries, and Japan. 

 Where do you want to go to that you haven’t been to yet? 

Madame Blain: Tahiti 

What is your favorite television show? 

Madame Blain: Modern Family 

 What is your favorite movie? 

Madame Blain: The Sound of Music or the original Mary Poppins  

What is your favorite song? 

Madame Blain: I Never Promised You A Rose Garden 

Artist? 

Madame Blain: Black M. 

What is something students don’t know about you which might surprise them? 

Madame Blain: I ate rat stew. 

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