Funk shares love for Spanish language and culture at AHS, LCCC

ALTON - Within the Alton School District, several teachers aim to help their students thrive in all subject matters.

When it comes to foreign languages, some students tend to struggle with wrapping their heads around a whole new concept. However, educators like Leslie Funk make the experience a lot more enjoyable for their students.

Funk has been teaching higher level Spanish at Alton High School for 15 years. She is currently serving as the sponsor of the AHS Student Council. When she is not at the high school, she is serving as the Foreign Language Coordinator and a spanish staff member at Lewis and Clark Community College.

“The importance of [Spanish] is giving students the confidence to communicate with someone that speaks another language,” Funk said. “When students tell me about an experience they add outside of the classroom where they used their Spanish to connect with a non-English speaker, their eyes just light up.”

Having attended Hillsboro High School, she went on to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale where she learned her Bachelor’s in Foreign Language and Literature in 1998. After attending the Costa Rican Language Academy in the summer of 1998, Funk’s career plans took a sharp turn.

“I found out that Congress had cut the literacy program I was to run in Salinas, California,” she said.

Job opportunities living in Central Illinois for someone with just a Bachelor’s in Spanish were quite scarce, according to Funk.

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“A friend suggested that I try subbing at local high schools,” Funk said. “I didn’t think I ever wanted to be a teacher, but as I started working with teenagers, I realize how much I liked the age group.”

Funk mentioned that the perspective shift of realizing that teenage students just wished their beliefs, fears, hopes, thoughts and vulnerabilities recognized. This inspired Funk to head back to college at SIUE and get her teaching credentials in 2001.

In 2013, Funk took the next step in furthering her education by completing her Master’s in Educational Administration at McKendree University.

Learning a foreign language, in Funk’s case, Spanish, is important to bringing the world together through cultural and social means.

“It also helps us gain a greater understanding of ourselves, our own culture, practices and beliefs,” Funk said. “When we gain appreciation for something that is ‘foreign,’ we also gain an appreciation for what is familiar.”

Although Funk finds her job extremely rewarding, some of the difficulties that come with being a teacher are experienced on a daily basis.

“Time is always a the biggest challenge,” Funk said. “I want them to gain an appreciation and understanding of the beauty of words and language as well as music, art, food, dance and cultural beliefs. How do I do all of that, and do it well, in such a limited time?”

Her wholehearted love for Spanish language and culture encompasses her entire career. When Funk is not working, she loves cooking, exploring some of the new restaurants popping up around Alton and spending time with her 15-year-old daughter, Liberty, who attends AHS.

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