Born: 7 December, 1943, in Newcastle. Died: 4 March, 2008, in Edinburgh, aged 64.
JUDITH Hamilton was a revolutionary whose theories about teaching modern languages were well ahead of their time, with many of them reflected in key features in th
e Scottish Government's Curriculum for Excellence.
Her initial experience as a teacher of modern languages in the early 1970s sparked the flame that lit her way through life. She rose to the challenge of inflicting an outdated syllabus on disinterested learners and by1976 had become principal teacher at Holyrood High School.
Her unwavering commitment to making language study rewarding for all pupils led to her secondment in 1979 to Lothian region's graded levels of achievement in foreign language learning project (GLAFLL) as its research and development officer. Judith hated being desk-bound so worked in many schools with all kinds of teachers, an experience which had a profound influence on her thinking and prepared her for the next stage in her career as principal teacher at Balerno Community High School from 1983-90.
The department started off with three teachers but when Judith left there were seven, all of them having come to the school by choice. Her staff have described the work as challenging, demanding (12-hour days devoted to teaching and preparation were not unusual) and, above all, inspirational. Judith's gift was to let each teacher work in his or her own way as a member of a team where all talents were recognised.
Balerno was selected as an official pilot school for introducing modern languages into its feeder primary schools, and set about its task by introducing the target language to all curricular areas, most successfully in science.
The need to provide more languages teachers to cope with the introduction of compulsory language study up to S4 led to Moray House College of Education re-establishing training in foreign languages. Judith was seconded in 1989 to develop a framework for the new course. As principal lecturer she established a team of seconded practitioners whose aim was to ensure teachers in school had a proactive role in developing training.
In 1992, David Glynn Cochrane reappeared in her life. He first met Judith when she was 18 and had invited her to join him in the Solomon Islands, to which he had just been appointed as an administrative officer in the overseas civil service. Second time round he invited her to the Cook Islands and she accepted. She agonised about quitting Moray House but the urge to explore new horizons was too great to ignore. David became her husband and her inspiration.
Making hard decisions was always a feature of Judith's life, and this was not one she regretted. Through David's expertise as an anthropologist and latterly as senior social adviser to Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world, Judith was able to visit and explore new communities and cultures. Much of this is incorporated in her master-work, Inspiring Innovations in Language Teaching.
She obtained an MBA qualification in the record time of eight months, largely with a view to obtaining insights into the relationship between education and commerce. She was appointed secretary general for the International Federation of Teachers of Modern Languages.
She contributed to the Nuffield Commission on languages, which has been heavily influential in moving language learning up the political and educational agenda south of the Border. She was a regular and acclaimed speaker at international conferences.
Judith was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1997. Typically, she researched her illness to try to persuade the medical experts there were remedies available outside the UK which might help her. In this she was successful, for her leukaemia eventually went into remission.
However, it returned in 2003. David and she rediscovered Shetland, which became their second home. Sadly, her immune system could not cope with the final illness.
Judith had a rich sense of humour and enjoyed the cut and thrust of intellectual debate. She appreciated the good things in life, and elegantly hosted many joyful and stimulating parties at the family home in Edinburgh. She considered she had experienced a highly privileged career but it was those who were friends and colleagues who had the privilege of knowing a brave, unique and inspiring individual.
With the deaths of Judith and her former partner, Peter Wheeldon, in the space of a year Scottish education has lost two individuals whose contributions to language learning can never be underestimated or overvalued.
The full article contains 751 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
