Dr. John Pustejovsky, associate professor of German in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, received the “Certificate of Merit” from the Goethe-Institut and the American Association of Teachers of German for his achievements in furthering the teaching of German.
Pustejovsky was recognized at a virtual presentation on Saturday, Nov. 21. He was one of seven educators to be recognized with this honor.
When discussing his approach in the classroom, Pustejovsky likes to keep it simple by developing students who write and read German well.
“I ask language students to use German the same way they use English, basing assessment on writing whole ideas in sound sentences, not filling in blanks,” he said. “In a literature course, my students are challenged to become sophisticated readers, to find their own, real questions about a short story, poem, or film, and to answer it using logical argument and solid evidence. And I see to it there’s a rich portion of humor served up every day.”
Pustejovsky has distinguished himself as a teacher since joining the Marquette faculty in 1982.
- In 2004 he received the John P. Raynor Award for Teaching Excellence.
- His course on the Modern German Short Story was named to the Educational Testing Service’s “25 best world language courses in the U.S.” list in 2007.
- He was co-founder of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences’ first-year seminar Introduction to Inquiry.
- He has given workshops on it at Boston College, Georgetown University and Northwestern University.
- In 2012, Pustejovsky was named Wisconsin’s Distinguished German Educator, and the following year was awarded the Jesuit Honor Society’s Lifetime Service Recognition.