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.

Former elem teacher Jennifer Pawlik serves in the Arizona House of Representatives

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Former elementary school teacher Jennifer Pawlik now serves in the Arizona State House of Representatives. Photo Credit: Jennifer Pawlik

Many fine educators also serve their communities as politicians. One of these is Jennifer Pawlik, a former elementary school teacher from Arizona who currently serves in the State House of Representatives.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University in 1996. In 2010, she earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction through a collaborative cohort between Northern Arizona University and Chandler Unified School District.

After completing her education, Jennifer became a teacher. She worked in public schools for more than two decades, the last nine in the Chandler Unified School District. As a classroom teacher, Jennifer served as a member of the Chandler Education Association, where she represented elementary school teachers in the bargaining process for improved contracts and better benefits. Currently, she teaches  undergraduate students in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, Chandler-Gilbert Community College campus.

While a teacher, Jennifer also became an active leader in her community. She served as Secretary of the Legislative District 17 Democrats, she was a former Precinct Committeeman in the Emmett precinct, and she was elected a State Committee member. After becoming involved in local campaigns in 2014, Jennifer was encouraged to apply to Emerge Arizona, a six-month program that trains Democratic women to hold public office. She graduated from the program in 2015. Next, Jennifer participated in the Leading for Change program in the spring of 2016. During the spring of 2018, she was honored to be named as a Flinn-Brown Fellow.

Jennifer inaugurated her career as a politician in 2018 when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent District 17 in the Arizona House of Representatives. In November, 2022, she was re-elected to the State House, this time representing District 13. There she serves on the Committees for Education, Judiciary, Government and Elections, and Ways and Means.

 

Carter Godwin Woodson: The Chalkboard Champion who founded Black History Month

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Carter Godwin Woodson

Educator and historian Carter Godwin Woodson was the founder of Black History Month. Photo Credit: Blackpast.com

This February, teachers all over the nation are sharing Black History Month with their students. The observance is an annual celebration of the many important contributions African Americans have made to American culture and society. But did you know that Black History Month was the brainchild of a brilliant African American teacher?

Carter Godwin Woodson (1875-1950)  is credited with organizing and advocating annual Black History Month celebrations in American schools, starting in 1926. Certainly this is an admirable accomplishment in and of itself, but there is so much more to learn about this outstanding educator.

Carter was born in Virginia, the son of former slaves who became cropsharers following the Civil War. Because of his family’s poverty, Carter was forced at a very young age to work on the family farm rather than attend school. Nevertheless, he taught himself to read using the Bible and local newspapers. He didn’t finish high school until he was 20 years old. As a young man, Carter worked as a coal miner in Fayette County, West Virginia. Later he returned to that community to teach school to the children of Black coal miners, serving as a personal role model for using education as a means to get out of the mines. Carter also travelled to the Philippines where he first taught school, and then became the supervisor of schools. Eventually he became a trainer of teachers there.

This Chalkboard Champion was one of the first to study African American history, to collect data, oral histories, and documents, and to publish his findings in a scholarly magazine he published entitled The Journal of Negro History. For these accomplishments, and many more, Carter Godwin Woodson has been called the “Father of Black History.”

To read more about this fascinating historical figure, check out the chapter I have written about him in my first book, Chalkboard Champions.

Oregon teacher Lucas Dix garners OnPoint Excellence in Education Award

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Educator Lucas Dix, who teaches Media Arts and Journalism at Rowe Middle School in Milwaukie, Oregon, has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award. Photo credit: Kenosha.com

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an outstanding teacher who has earned recognition with their work with young people. One of these is Lucas Dix, a high school Media Arts and Journalism teacher at Rowe Middle School located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Lucas has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award.

Interestingly, Lucas is originally a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, not Oregon. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education with an emphasis in English from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. After graduating from college, he relocated to Oregon where his brother also lives.

Lucas teaches students in grades six through eight. One of the courses he instructs is called the Shamrock News. In this class, students create a 20-minute YouTube video each week which covers topics relevant to young people, including  social-emotional development and grammar. “It has just all the information of what’s happening inside the school and inside the community,” Lucas explains. At the end of last year, the students completed the production’s 300th episode, and this year, the show is in its tenth year in production.

Lucas has taught at Rowe full-time since 2012, and prior to that he worked there as a substitute. In addition to the courses he instructs, Lucas also coaches Junior Varsity basketball at the high school level, and cross country and track and field at the local middle school and high school.

Lucas is one of four teachers in Oregon who have been recognized with an OnPoint award. The other three recipients were Caryn Anderson of Portland; Willie Williams of Portland; and Samuel Platt of Bend. As part of the award, all four honored teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year. In addition, each teacher’s school will receive a $2,500 donation. To learn more about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, visit OnPointcu.com.

Georgia’s Vanessa Ellis: Outstanding Social Studies teacher

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Middle school teacher Vanessa Ellis of Georgia is an outstanding educator. Photo credit: All On Georgia

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator. Today, I am sharing the story of Vanessa Ellis, a middle school Social Studies teacher and Department Chair from Covington, Georgia.

Vanessa teaches at Veterans Memorial Middle School in Covington. She instructs courses in World Studies to seventh graders and Georgia Studies to eighth graders. The World Studies course includes geography, history, economics, and government of Africa and Asia. The Georgia Studies course includes geography, history, economics, and government of the state of Georgia. She also teaches her students a unit on personal money management choices with regards to income, spending, credit, saving, and investing. “This is a great way to introduce students to future financial responsibility,” Vanessa asserts.

This Chalkboard Champion says that becoming a teacher has always been her passion. “Someone once told me that the measure of a true educator is the impact that they have on students,” Vanessa says. “Years from now, I would hope that my students would say, first and foremost, that I loved them. That I honored their humanity—that even though they were kids, I treated them with kindness, dignity, and respect,” she continues. “I would also hope that they would say I believed in them—that I showed up for them, and I cared for them, not only as students, but as individuals. I challenge them and I push them to discover their capacity to learn is far greater than they ever can imagine,” she concludes.

For her work in the classroom, Vanessa has earned many accolades. In 2022, she was named the Muscogee County Teacher of the Year. In 2021, she garnered a competition for having the best Canvas course for students in Muscogee County. In 2018, she was named a Harvard Fellow and studied researched-based practices for a week at Project Zero Classroom. And in 2017, she was honored as Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Council on Economic Education.

Vanessa was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in both Sarasota, Florida, and Columbus, Georgia. Vanessa earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education in 2011 and her Master’s degree in Secondary Social Sciences in 2019, both from Columbus State University.

 

MI educator Matthew Vriesman honored as 2023 History Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations are due to Matthew Vriesman, a high school History teacher from Michigan. He has been honored by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as their 2023 National History Teacher of the Year.

Matthew teaches at East Kentwood High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There he instructs courses in AP (Advanced Placement) United States History, AP African American Studies, and AP World History. He also serves as the Model United Nations Director on his campus.

In naming Matthew as their winner, the selection committee specifically cited his exceptional ability to tell the story of American history within the context of his very diverse local community. His efforts include working with the Grand Rapids Museum to tell the story of the Great Migration through the experiences of Black migrants to the city of Grand Rapids. They were also impressed by Matthew’s lead in having his students use historical archives and primary source documents to build a historic virtual tour of western Michigan.

Lindsay Kimbrough, Assistant Principal at East Kentwood High, cannot heap enough praise on the outstanding educator. “While Mr. Vriesman’s knowledge of content is superior, he can forge relationships with all students that truly mold their passion for learning and understanding history. His passion for the students and his dedication to making content relevant for all students sets him apart,” Kimbrough asserts.

Now in its 20th year, the National History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers at the elementary and high school levels. The annual award honors one K–12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools, and US territories and names one of the state winners the National History Teacher of the Year. As part of his recognition, Matthew received a check for $10,000.