Jan Frazier-Ulmer

Biography

Jan Frazier-Ulmer spent three years teaching junior high school in Bartonville, Illinois, and twenty-three years teaching high school in Pekin, Illinois. She started in 1971 and loved teaching English literature and English grammar. Jan moved to Europe for a few years before returning to Pekin to teach. She did an early retirement from high school in 2004 and moved on to Bradley University where she had previously attained her B.S. and her teaching degree. In addition, she got her M.S. degree at Bradley University. When she started teaching at Bradley in 2004, Jan started teaching communication and then moved onto both Engsh grammar, literature, and communication. Although the subjects were quite different from each other, she loved all the material that she taught. While at Bradley University, Jan also took students to Europe during the January interim, teaching them writing and grammar combined. Because she had taken the high school students for fifteen summers to Europe, she found it an enjoyable and rewarding experience. In addition, the Bradle students loved the experience of visiting new countries and learning of their cultures and lifestyles.

Jan had several principles that guided her teaching styles:

1. There needed to be a caring as well as a safe environment within the classroom.
2. Manners were always important. The students need to be aware of the goals in the classroom.
3. There needed to be active participation between the students and teacher during the scheduled class period.
4. Coming to class was essential and missing four class periods that were unexcused resulted in a lowering of the grade.
5. Jan’s office was always open for students to discuss anything regarding class.