With no plans to retire,Spanish teacher Lola Danielli, who began teaching at Campolindo in its opening year of 1963, is still looking ahead, excited to provide both world language instruction and life lessons to her students.
For Danielli, teaching is not about the money. “This is my first and last job. Someone said ‘When are going to retire?’ and I said ‘when I croak here at this desk.’ I love it. When I quit loving what I do then it’s time to get out. Or when I don’t like kids, then it is time to get out. Or you don’t have the passion for what you’re doing. But I really do. It’s so exciting when I see a student who was really having trouble and all of the sudden, starts studying and starts turning on the lights and he or she learns it. It’s so gratifying,” Danielli said.
Danielli has seen the campus change drastically over the years. She has concerns about the priorities of this generation of students. She feels that the pressure placed upon students to earn a grade or score has caused them to lose sight of what is really important. She is also concerned with the impact scholastic sport participation is having on academics. “Standards are not the same as they were in 1968. And more emphasis [is put] upon grades rather than learning. There are more sports. Sports have taken over. It is a great outlook for kids that are really academic or work hard but to have them missing all these classes I think it’s worse,” she said.
Not only does Danielli speak Spanish, she has visited Spanish speaking countries. “I’ve been to Spain and Portugal 3 times and to Italy; I’ve been all through Mexico and Costa Rica. It was wonderful because you get so much out of being immersed in the culture. It is not in your textbook and you get the real feeling of the people. If you can speak the language, then you get to know the people. If you do not speak the language, you really do not know the people. It was wonderful. I just felt ecstatic and I would love to do it again,” said Danielli.
While Danielli has a reputation for being tough, she also has a healthy sense of humor. Upon entering her classroom, students are greater by a picture of Danielli with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. Danielli explained, “That was a joke for the junior prom. They went around and found celebrities and somehow interposed the teachers with it. And the parents did that; the parents club did that a couple years ago. Isn’t that funny? And they knew because she speaks Spanish, that it would be [good].”
Freshman and Spanish 2 student Ashley Holbrook appreciates the moments of levity she has experienced with Danielli: “Ms. Danielli has a very funny sense of humor and she has taught me a lot about Spanish,” she said.
Danielli still maintains friendships with many students she has taught. “[I have] acquaintances with my students, which go back to the 60s. I still have lunch and dinner with students from the 60s. That’s what really enhanced my life, the former students who come back and tell me what they did with their language and how much they appreciated the fact I had high standards. Yeah it was hard, but they learned. And I don’t know if that’s a change or not but it really enhances your life,” she said.
Danielli believes that it is more important for students to learn the material rather than to get an A. She doesn’t like the emphasis she sees being placed upon grade point averages. “I would rather have a student get a B and say ‘I’ve learned something’ than just memorize something and ‘oh, I got an A’ and they don’t know anything,” she explained.
She sees the anxiety for earning certain grades getting in the way of actually appreciating knowledge and developing useful skills. “A grade does not necessarily denote learning. When students come in and talk to me, it’s usually ‘my grade.’ It’s not people who usually want to learn the language that is what is really hurtful because I am so intent that they learn this beautiful language and I know they need grades for college but you know we all needed grades for college, I needed grades for college, I needed to work for my grades but I wanted to learn also,” said Danielli.
Danielli has a unique style of teaching. She believes that connecting with her students on a personal level is essential. “The main thing is to relate to the students and realize where they are coming from. It’s wonderful that I know the language very well but anybody can know the language, but you have to understand the teenage population. It’s different than teaching adults and little kids and to get to know the students. When I know the students, I feel better,” she said.
While she is known for her structure and high expectations, Danielli is also flexible in how she approaches her students. She tries to taylor her course to meet the needs of each individual, and is not without sympathy for those who are struggling. “So I call the student up and I say ‘You know,I don’t think you are ready to take the test.’ And you can see in their eyes that they’ve been crying. You need to understand the student population and I vary the activities so they don’t become bored and showing them the practicality of the language.”
“My favorite thing about Señora Danielli is the way she is able to be so kind towards students but not let that get in the way of her teaching. She makes sure we learn the material but along the way she humors us and allows us to have fiestas. What makes her stand out is her teaching style,” Freshman Elena Koshkin explained.
Danielli believes that speaking a foreign language is not just about being able to communicate with people, but it is about developing the life-long skills for learning. “Like when I have students come back and talk to me, I had two girls that one is a doctor now and one is corporate attorney. I try to tell my classes that it paid off,” she said.
Danielli believes there is more to teaching than just explaining the material. “[I teach] values through the everyday classroom activities. These students come from very good families where values are taught but they are teenagers; they need to hear it from a different source. I try to teach values to students and amazingly-this is really amazing-I have a student from the 70s, I remember him, I can tell you where he sat and I was teaching values then. He came back the other day and he told me he remembered the values I had taught him,” she said.
“They understand and sooner or later, it will come back to them and I really believe this. So the more time they hear about being honest and respecting yourself as well as all other people. I think you impact kids by being a role model. I’m very big on being a role model. Don’t be absent unless you’re really sick. Don’t be late. Do what is expected of you. It will pay off. So I think students today lack a role model. So we as teachers should be a role model,” Danielli said.
Having spent every year of her 50+ year career at Campolindo, it’s easy to understand why Danielli is so passionate about contributing to the campus and the community. “I’ve had so many [memorable experiences at Campo],” she said.
“I’ve had so many wonderful students. I really have. I have been so fortunate to only get good students. I really do. I have had very few bad experiences with students and the one thing, I have great faith in teenagers. I think the media blows up when one teenager does something bad then the whole teenage population is bad. I don’t see that. I see that most of the teenagers are good, uprighteous people and they are going to be good citizens. I really do. And I love what I do. That’s the thing,” Danielli explained.
It’s also easy to understand why she has become a sort of legend in the area. “I received the teacher of the year award at Campolindo years ago. Then I was interviewed for the Contra Costa Times. One of my students went to the newspaper and told them to come interview me. I have a colored picture in the newspaper in the Contra Costa Times. There was a little blurb about my past teaching experiences,” Danielli said.
