Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Industrial schools educated abandoned and orphaned children
Ohio Reform Farm, also known as Boys Industrial School, established in 1857. (Photo credit: Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff historical Society)
Many times while I am reading biographies about remarkable teachers or conducting other research, I come across a description of a type of school that I am unfamiliar with. I always enjoy learning about various types of schools, and I am eager to share my newly-acquired knowledge with others.
One school I have been reading about is the industrial school. An industrial school was an institution commonly established around the turn of the twentieth century. Although these schools were popular way back in history, they are not unheard of today.
An industrial school is a boarding school that provided for the children’s basic needs for housing, food, and medical care. Often these schools were established to provide a means for caring for children who had been orphaned, neglected, or abandoned. Sometimes these institutions provided for those youngsters who were deemed incorrigible.
Today, these children are typically cared for through adoption or placement in foster homes, and they are educated in regular public schools. But in the past century, industrial schools served a valuable service for these needy kids.
In the industrial school, students were taught vocational skills that would allow them to seek gainful employment once they came of age. Girls typically received training in the domestic arts or needle trades, and boys were taught vocational skills such as carpentry, shoe-making, or box-making. In addition, the young people were taught fundamental literacy skills in such subjects as reading, writing, and mathematics.
You can read more about various industrial schools in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available from amazon.
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Skye Morgan named Mississippi’s 20223 State Teacher of the Year
High school Social Studies teacher Skye Morgan has been named Mississippi’s 2023 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Petal High School
Congratulations are due to Skye Morgan, an exemplary Social Studies teacher who hails from Petal, Mississippi. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Each year, the honor is awarded to a teacher who inspires students, demonstrates leadership both in and out of the classroom, and is active in the community.
Currently, Skye teaches juniors and seniors at Petal High School, which just happens to be her high school alma mater. There she instructs courses in US History, Advanced Placement US History, and Dual-Credit World History. In addition, she serves as the co-advisor for her school’s Quiz Bowl Team and she co-sponsors the Political Science Club. Also, she co-coaches the school’s Disc Golf Team.
In her classroom, Skye says she focuses on civic-minded education because that is extremely important to the continuation of our democratic republic. She says a democracy is dependent on citizens who are knowledgeable and thoughtful enough to participate in it.
Skye earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Technical Theatre with an emphasis in scenic design, lighting, and sound, and her Master’s degree in Teaching, both from the University of Southern Mississippi. She inaugurated her career as an educator in 2010.
Once she graduated, she earned her degree in Theater with the goal of becoming a set-designer on Broadway. A one-year stint as a long-term substitute changed all that. She discovered a passion for working with young people, and determined to make teaching her permanent career.
The Mississippi Teacher of the Year program recognizes exemplary teachers in the state. As the honoree, Skye will share her expertise throughout the state through presentations, professional development, and activities for the improvement of education. In addition, she received a $5,000 stipend and represented Mississippi in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
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Indian boarding schools were places of cultural genocide
While conducting research for my first book Chalkboard Champions, I was surprised to learn a great deal about numerous types of schools that I had never heard about in the 36 years I had been teaching. I learned about industrial schools, soup schools, farm schools, normal schools, and specialist schools. One of the types of schools I was particularly interested in reading about was Indian boarding schools, and the controversies these facilities generated.
Indian boarding schools were created specifically for the purpose of educating Native Americans. American Indian children were sent to these facilities, sometimes involuntarily, because it was believed the only way Native Americans could ever succeed in a predominantly white society would be if they abandoned their tribal ways and adopted the lifestyle practiced by the dominant culture. Proponents believed that this assimilation could best be accomplished when the Indian children were very young.
Most Indian boarding schools were originally founded by church missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Later, some were established and run by the US government. Maybe the intentions were pure, but the results were disastrous. Some historians go so far as to assert these schools were institutions of cultural genocide.
The children, some as young as four years old, were taken away from their families, sent many miles away from home, and forced to give up their native languages, customs and religious beliefs, art and music, clothing, and even their names. These youngsters often found it traumatic when they were forced to cut their long hair, a symbolic act of shame and sorrow to many Native Americans. The highly regimented routine and military atmosphere of the boarding schools were harsh on the youngest ones. Exposure to diseases to which they had no natural immunities, coupled with homesickness and, in some locations, unsanitary conditions, led to a disturbingly high death rate. In despair, some of the youngsters ran away from their schools, freezing or starving to death trying to make their way back to their home reservations. Such a terribly sad thought for educators who care so much about kids and really believe in the liberating power of schools.
You can read more about these schools in the book Indian Boarding School: Teaching the White Man’s Way, available on amazon.com. You can also read about them in my book, Chalkboard Champions.
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NYC STEM teacher Bianca Bibiloni garners a 2023 Big Apple Award
Elementary school science teacher Bianca Bibiloni from Queens, New York, has garnered a 2023 Big Apple Award. Photo credit: PS 14 Fairview
There are many fine educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Bianca Bibiloni, an elementary school STEAM teacher from New York City, who has earned a 2023 Big Apple Award.
Bianca teaches at PS 14 Fairview in Queens. She has worked there for 13 years. The school offers courses that focus on equity-based practices and culturally responsive education. To that end, she helped develop the school’s UNITY team.
In addition, Bianca has made it her mission to help her students to develop into problem-solving scientists. In fact, she spearheaded the school’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program. An integral part of her program has been her involvement in the GrowNYC Recycling Champions program, a nonprofit organization that has established over 800 school gardens. Bianca has also participated in the Sustainable STEAM Fair. At her school site, Bianca has organized many garden initiatives for her students, and she is involved in the Seed to Plate Program. At one point, the innovative educator built a raised bed garden on top of a concrete schoolyard.
Congratulations, Bianca!
