Mrs. Marie Hildebrand Bintner, a former Latin and English teacher at Cheltenham High School, received a distinguished teacher award from Yale University on October 19, 1968.
The purpose of the awards was to “recognize the importance of secondary school teachers in the USA.”
According to local historian Chuck Langerman, only three high school teachers in the entire United States received the honor.
A graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Binter (nee Shaeffer) passed away in August 2016. She was 84 years old.
From her Tribute Archive:
Mrs. Bintner was absolutely the best English teacher any student could ever want. Yes, she was demanding, but only because she also always strove for the best in herself. Her lessons in academics and in life continue to resonate within me today, as I also try to pass on her ideals to the next generation. RIP.
In 19 years of formal education, I had two teachers who made a difference in my life. Mrs. Hildebrand, as I knew her as my Latin teacher, was one of them. I will forever regret not getting in touch with her to thank her for all she meant to me.
I’m so sorry to hear this news – she was one of my favorite, and most memorable, teachers at Cheltenham High School. Forty years later, I can still recite the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales (in Old English!) thanks to her. Her endless energy and enthusiasm will live forever in my memory. My condolences to her family.
Mrs. Bintner taught me to write, making college much easier. To this day, I tell other moms that Mrs. Bintner kept a list of all of our grammatical errors, and if we made the same one twice, she would give us an “ugh” and take off half a grade. I remember that she liked Sir. Laurence Olivier’s calf muscles in Hamlet. She argued that Hamlet’s problem was not hesitation, but rather some sort of Aristotelian crack in the universe that needed to be repaired. She drew the crack on the blackboard a couple of times. I will need to look that up. She was a fantastic teacher. One of a kind! And I will always remember her. I found out about her death by googling, wondering where she was, as I thought about the crack in the universe. Her survivors are very fortunate to have known her wit day in and day out. Take care!
The most inspiring and quirky teacher I ever had!! Mrs. Hildebrand brought Shakespeare and Tarzan equally alive and was part of the reason I became a life-long teacher myself. She taught me to be passionate about learning, to laugh often, to think outside the box, and to love, love, love the intricacies and possiblities of language. I remember her climbing onto a desk to recite, and being absolutely tenacious in demanding, and getting, excellence from her students. Rest in peace and know that you are remembered. Love from Wendy Kelley Borton, Cheltenham class of 1968
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