Bernadette Rattet’s life began in the charming village of Beauvais, France, just north of Paris. Growing up, Rattet demonstrated her intellectual abilities by mastering multiple languages, including German, Latin and English. Her journey has become a series of surreal detours and unanticipated decisions that turned a small-town girl into a teacher at Redwood.
Even though teaching seemed like the perfect fit for Rattet, she never planned to enter this profession.
“People would ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I would say that I had no idea. Honestly, I never even thought about being a teacher,” Rattet said.
After attending a prestigious business school called Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord and earning her business degree, her professional career began in the corporate world in France. After some time in France, Rattet made the move across the world to the United States.
“[Moving to America] was a complete accident. To be truly honest, I fell in love with an American man. We met on the job. He didn’t speak any French,” Rattet said.
Luckily for Rattet, she had prior English skills from school. After the American man’s brief time in Paris, Rattet decided he was the one. She took a leap of faith that changed her life completely. Rattet left France and moved in with her now husband.
“I had people telling me, ‘You can’t do this; it’s too risky and you’ll lose all your money.’ But I did it,” Rattet said.
At the time, Rattet was 23 years old and continued her business career in California for the next six years. She began raising a child who spoke not only English but also French. While teaching her son French, Rattet’s husband brought up an interesting point.
“He said to me, ‘You really are a good teacher, you should consider it,’ and I said, ‘Ew!’ However, the idea of returning to the corporate world made me sick. So, I picked up the phone, called Sonoma State University and asked if they had any openings. They rolled out the red carpet for me,” Rattet said.
This opportunity was yet another spontaneous occurrence that, as Rattet likes to say, just happened.
“You have to let things happen in your life. Sometimes when things happen, you just have to go for it. If you don’t go for it you’ll regret it down the road,” Rattet said.
Rattet has had many unique experiences in her lifetime, which she uses to her advantage while teaching. Culture is incorporated into every unit she approaches with students. Taking time to discuss real-life instances helps bring the language to life in a way not all teachers can achieve.
Senior Hennessy Boyarski adores Rattet’s cultured environment and feels that her past has made her such a strong and understanding teacher. She recalls her time in Rattet’s class and her innovative use of the map behind her desk.
“[Madame Rattet] loved to bring out the map, whenever we were learning new things. She would pull it down and show the connection to what we were learning and of course, she’s been skiing there or something,” Boyarski said.
For Rattet, she has really enjoyed connecting with her students on such a personal level, considering her small class sizes.
“I love it. It feels like a community. I like that [the French department] is so small for two reasons. Number one, I’m the boss. And number two, I have full control in what I teach,” Rattet said.
Rattet’s path to Redwood wasn’t easy. She was looking for a job when the French teacher at Redwood needed a semester off. She took up the offer for this position, which is really when the journey started. When winter came and her semester was completed, Rattet was devastated to go. However, her despair did not last long when Redwood informed her that she could keep her position. Although she never thought her life would lead her here, Rattet couldn’t be happier that it did.
“Don’t plan your life, let life surprise you,” Rattet said.
