Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell

About Terry Lee Marzell

Terry Lee Marzell holds a bachelor's degree in English from Cal State Fullerton and a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cal State San Bernardino. She also holds a certificate for Interior Design Level 1 from Mt. San Antonio College. She has been an educator in the Corona Norco Unified School District for more than 30 years.

Olympian Tidye Pickett also worked as a teacher

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Many fine educators have also distinguished themselves in the field of sports. This is true of Tidye Pickett, an Olympic athlete from Illinois who taught school in East Chicago Heights. Photo credit: Alchetron.

There are many examples throughout American history of talented educators who have also distinguished themselves in the field of sports. One such example is the remarkable Tidye Pickett.

Theodora Anne Pickett was born on November 13, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois. Known by everyone as Tidye, she was the second of two children born to Louis and Sarah Pickett. Her father was a foundry foreman, and her mother was a factory clerk.

As a teenager, Tidye took up running. She quickly established a reputation as a high school track star at her alma mater, Englewood High School in Chicago. She was one of two African American women selected to represent the United States women’s track team in the 1932 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. She was scheduled to serve as part of an eight-woman relay team and as an alternate sprinter in the 80-meter hurdles, the broad jump, and the 100-meter sprint, but did not actually compete in those games. When the 1936 games rolled around, Tidye was again selected to represent the United States. Unfortunately, a foot injury prevented Tidye from medaling in those games; however, she did earn the distinction of being the first African American woman to compete in an Olympic Games.

Tidye earned her Bachelor’s degree from Pestalozzi Froebel Teachers College in Chicago and her Master’s degree in Education from Northern Illlinois University in August, 1956. Following her college graduation, Tidye accepted a position as a teacher at Cottage Grove Elementary in East Chicago Heights. She taught there for just one year, and then the talented educator was promoted to the position of principal of Woodlawn School in the same district. She remained in that position for 23 years until her retirement in 1980. In recognition for her many years of distinguished service, the district renamed her school Tidy A. Pickett School.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on November 17, 1986, at the age of 72.

Eric Jenkins named Indiana’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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High school English/Language Arts teacher Eric Jenkins has been named Indiana’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Circle City Broadcasting

I am always excited to share the story of an exemplary teacher who has earned recognition for their work. One of these is Eric Jenkins, a high school teacher English from Franklin, Indiana.

Eric teaches English/Language Arts courses to sophomores at Franklin Community High School. He has taught there for the past 11 years. He also teaches an Advanced College Project composition course at Indiana University. Furthermore, he is a teacher and consultant for the Hoosier Writing Project, a program which helps educators improve their writing skills and, in the process, become better writing teachers.

The honored educator has sage advice for beginning educators. “Teach fearlessly,” he advises. “And the first kind of tenant of ‘teach fearlessly’ is that you need to not be afraid to take care of yourself. We need to be well before we can take care of our students,” he continues. “Beyond that, I think the other piece of advice is, don’t be afraid to reach out to the community for support when things are getting hard,” he says.

An Indiana native, Eric inaugurated his teaching career at the American Christian Academy in Ibadan, Niberia, in 2007. The school was located in a walled compound outside of central Ibadan, Eric remembers. “You know the joke about teachers living at school? Well, we actually did,” he recounts. “There was a house on the school grounds that we lived in, a short walk away from the classroom buildings. Three other American teachers and I shared that house,” he continues. Once he returned to the United States, he taught for three years in Trussville, Alabama. In 2014, he relocated to his home state of Indiana.

Eric earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English/Language Arts Education from Indiana University in 2007. He earned a Master’s degree in Literacy from the State University of New York, Albany. He completed the requirements for his teaching certificate from Ball State University in 2017.

To read more about Eric, click on this link to an article about him published by Indiana University, Bloomington.

MN Governor Tim Walz becomes Kamala Harris’s running mate

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Many successful politicians can boast a prior career as outstanding educators and athletic coaches. One of these is current Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former teacher and athletic coach. He has been selected to be the Vice Presidential running mate for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.

Former teacher and athletic coach Tim Walz of Minnesota has been named the running mate of the Democratic candidate for President, Kamala Harris. Photo credit: NBC News

Tim was born on April 6, 1964, in West Point, Nebraska. His father was a teacher and school superintendent, and his mother was a homemaker. During his childhood, Tim was raised in Valentine, Nebraska, and then the family moved to Butte, Nebraska. Before his graduation from Butte High School in 1982, he was involved in his school’s football, basketball, and track programs.

Tim earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies from Chadron State University in 1989. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University at Mankato in 2001. His master’s thesis was a treatment of Holocaust education.

Through World Teach, inaugurated his career as an educator when he accepted a one-year position to teach in Guangdong, China. Upon his return, he moved to Alliance, Nebraska, where he worked as a teacher and athletic coach. There he met and married fellow teacher Gwen Whipple. The couple then relocated to the city of Mankato in Minnesota, Gwen’s home state. In Minnesota, Tim became a global studies and geography teacher and an Assistant Football Coach at Mankato West High School. The team had lost 27 games in a row before he joined the coaching staff as a Defensive Co-ordinator. Three years later, in 1999, the team won its first state championship. During these years he also served as the faculty advisor for the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance. In addition, Tim and Gwen organized summer educational trips to China for high school students through Educational Travel Adventures. Read more about his work in public schools through this article published by NPR.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been named the running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Photo credit: Britannica

In addition to his work as an educator and coach, Tim is a US military veteran. He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was only 17 years old. While there, he trained in heavy artillery, and worked in disaster response following floods and tornadoes. He was also deployed overseas. Tim retired from the National Guard in 2005, but during the 24 years he served, he was named the Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the year in 1989, and he earned the Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals.

In 2006, Tim was elected to the US House of Representatives on the Democratic Farmer Labor Party ticket. He represented Minnesota’s First District from 2007 to 2019. There he worked diligently on issues related to veterans affairs, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and health care. In 2019, Tim was elected the 41st governor of Minnesota, a position which he holds today. As governor, Tim Walz has worked towards police reform, reproductive freedom, workers’ rights, gun control reform, LGBTQ rights, and the legalization of recreational cannabis. In addition, he continues to work on health care reform.

 

Teacher and politician Lorna Herseth served as SD’s First Lady

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South Dakota teacher Lorna Herseth served as her state’s First Lady, and later as the South Dakota Secretary of State. Photo credit: South Dakota State Historical Society

Many fine classroom teachers have also served as excellent politicians. This is certainly true of Lorna Buntrock Herseth, a teacher and politician from South Dakota.

Lorna Buntrock was born in Columbia, South Dakota, on April 5, 1909, the youngest of 11 children born to immigrants from Germany. As a young woman, she attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where she earned both her Bachelor’s degree and her teaching credential.

Once she completed her education, Lorna taught in public schools in Brown County. In 1936. she was elected to the position of Brown County Superintendent of Schools. She later served on the Selby School Board. She taught in both rural and urban schools around the state.

In 1937, Lorna married her college sweetheart, Ralph Herseth, after having dated for many years. The couple farmed a ranch on the east side of Sand Lake near the town of Houghton for nearly 30 years. On this farm they raised wheat, corn, and Aberdeen Angus cattle. During these years, Ralph served as a South Dakota State Senator and in 1958-1960, was South Dakota’s 21st Governor and Lorna served as the state’s First Lady from 1959 to 1961. While Ralph was Governor, the first state-wide teachers’ retirement benefit program was established.

After Ralph’s death in 1969, Lorna continued her career in politics when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve as the South Dakota Secretary of State. She served two terms in this position, from 1973 to 1979. As if all this were not enough, Lorna also served on the Board of Directors for the Brown County Red Cross. She also served as the State Director of the Easter Seal Society.

Lorna passed away on September 8, 1994, at the age of 85. She is interred in Houghton Cemetery in Brown County, South Dakota.