Fox Middle School Spanish teacher Katherine Bluemel provides educational opportunities far beyond her classroom.
Bluemel, a native of Colombia who now lives in Arnold, has created numerous YouTube videos that connect her with others around the world, including educators, students and anyone else interested in learning her native language and other topics.
“I want people to understand the Spanish culture, embrace other cultures and fall in love with languages,” Bluemel said. “That is the legacy I want to leave.”
Bluemel, 39, took a big step in building her educational legacy on Oct. 17, when she posted a video titled “Dia De Los Muertos Day of the Dead Learn Everything About It with Spanish Audio and English Subtitles” on her YouTube channel, which is called “Seño Bluemel Que Chevere” and loosely translates to “Professor Bluemel, how awesome.”
As of Monday, the Day of the Dead video had been viewed more than 31,500 times on her YouTube channel, which has nearly 1,600 subscribers, or followers.
Bluemel, who started teaching at Fox Middle in 2018, also has a blog and uses other social media, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to spread her love of the Spanish language and culture.
“I am so proud of her and where she has come in three years,” Fox Middle School Principal Marilyn Jackson said. “She was super talented when she started, but in three years’ time to see what she has created with her YouTube channel and Twitter page and what she shares, she is so connected throughout the world.”
The channel
Before starting her career as a teacher, she worked 11 years as a medical interpreter in major St. Louis hospitals.
When she began teaching at Fox, she started her first YouTube channel, using the school district’s email account, but later scrapped that and started the current channel.
Bluemel’s channel features a photo of her wearing a traditional Colombian dress and the words “Stories, Cultures, Espanol, Technology and Education.”
“I picked five words to define the purpose of my channel,” said Bluemel, who grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia, and moved to the U.S. when she was 18. “Obviously, Espanol, which is Spanish; cultures because I am huge with cultures; stories because I am always looking for inspirational stories; technology because I am huge with technology in the classroom; and education is in general because anything that supports education, I am all for it.”
While many of the videos offer lessons on the Spanish language and culture, Bluemel branches out from her own heritage and the subject matter she teaches at Fox Middle.
She has created videos about using technology and about strabismus surgeries designed to improve eyesight. She also has made videos featuring interviews with Fox Superintendent Nisha Patel, World Language Proficiency Project founder Tina Hargaden and others.
“I do my best to watch her YouTube videos when they are released,” Patel said. “She is working hard to build content that inspires and offers different perspectives to not only our community but to a global audience.”
Bluemel said she wants her channel to not only provide Spanish lessons for students and resources for other Spanish teachers but also to tell stories about other cultures.
“I would love to interview students from the Middle East or China or wherever,” Bluemel said. “I am always looking for a story. My channel will highlight and bring in all cultures. The channel is still very new and fresh, but I am happy with the growth it has had. It is moving in the right direction.”
Day of the Dead
So far, Bluemel’s most-watched video has been the Day of the Dead video, which is 9 minutes and 51 seconds long and provides a tutorial on the holiday celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere Nov. 1 through Nov. 2. The holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.
“(The Day of the Dead video) went crazy, and that was exciting,” Bluemel said.
She said it took more than 50 hours to create the video, mainly because of the extensive research she did on the subject.
“There are hundreds of thousands of videos on it,” she said. “If you search for Day of the Dead on YouTube, you will be overwhelmed with what you see. Some of them are great and show you the celebration, but I have never found a video that told you in 10 minutes the history in an interactive way, something that goes fast, like a movie with pictures and visuals and is accurate.”
Jackson said the Day of the Dead video is her favorite creation on Bluemel’s channel. The principal said she also enjoyed Bluemel’s interview with Patel, who was born in Kenya and is of Indian descent. Patel’s father lives in India, and her mother died in August 2019.
“(Bluemel) just loves to connect to people and share their stories. That is who she is,” Jackson said.
More than YouTube
Many of Bluemel’s videos provide worksheets or links to instructional materials teachers may use to continue the lessons she offers on her channel.
She also shares this information on her social media and her blog at
espanolconlasenobluemel.home.blog.
“It is all free,” Bluemel said. “The only thing I ask is they subscribe to the channel and share the videos so my channel can grow.”
Bluemel’s classroom at Fox Middle is filled with flags, souvenirs, artwork, soccer jerseys and other items celebrating Spanish and Latino cultures.
“Katherine is a passionate educator who simply loves what she does, and it shows every single day in the classroom,” Patel said.
Jackson said she’s amazed by how much Bluemel gets done.
“I wonder when she sleeps,” Jackson said. “She is constantly working, and she has a family. It is like, ‘Oh, my gosh, how does she have time to do all of these different things?’
“She is just incredibly global minded and passionate. She is so appreciative of being a teacher and to have that platform to share everything she can about her Spanish culture and language. Her YouTube channel is an extension of her.”
Bluemel has been married for 20 years to Daniel Bluemel, and the two have three sons – Mateo, 19, Anthony, 17, and Lucas, 15. Mateo, who graduated from Fox High School and now goes to Jefferson College. Anthony and Lucas are Fox High students.