MaryBeth Guinan is a progressive educator and artist living in Chicago, a stone’s throw from the waves of Lake Michigan. She has worked closely with students of all ages and language backgrounds, with a particular focus on women, people in prison or reentering the labor force, and immigrants.
Beginning in the 1980s, Guinan developed an award-winning alternative to traditional language instruction and English as a Second Language (ESL) strategies. Her unique system, Instant English, uses icons she has created with a consistent size and pixel count to visually represent and replace a written word. She chose icons due to “the way we learned our mother tongue … by connecting a visual memory with a speech sound. We connected ‘bye bye’ with putting on a coat and going toward the door.”
Her numerous awards include the Highest Leaf Award given by the Women’s Venture Fund and the David Award given by Archworks. She was been named Woman of the Year by both the Alliance for Women in Community Corrections and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
An advocate for respecting the rights of immigrants and a lifelong unionist and reproductive freedom activist, Guinan has been a staunch supporter of her home-state senator, Barack Obama. More information about her, her artwork (two of her icons can be seen below), and Instant English can be found here.
