Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Delaware teacher Jonathan Spencer Willis served in Congress
Teacher Jonathan Spencer Willis also represented his state in the US House of Representatives. Photo credit: Public Domain
Many fine classroom teachers also find success as politicians. One of these is Jonathan Spencer Willis, a teacher from Delaware who served in the United States House of Representatives.
Jonathan was born April 5, 1830, in Oxford, Talbot County, Maryland. Her attended public schools there and also studied with private tutors. He taught school for seven years. He left the classroom to become a clergyman in the Methodist Episcopal Church. As a minister, he served in churches in Maryland, Delaware, Philadelphia, New York City, and Stamford, Connecticut. Upon his retirement from the ministry in 1884, Jonathan settled on a farm near Milford, Delaware, where. he became a fruit farmer.
In 1894, Jonathan was elected on the Republican ticket to serve in the US House of Representatives. He served in the 54th Congress from March, 1895, to March, 1897.
Jonathan married two times. His first marriage, to Annie Barratt Townsend, spanned the years 1843 to1885. One daughter, Elizabeth Townsend Willis, was born to the couple. His second marriage, to Edith Gillespie, spanned the years 1855 to 1914. This union produced one son, Jonathan Spencer Willis, Jr.
Sadly, this teacher and politician passed away in Milford, Sussex County, Delaware, on Nov. 24, 1903. He was 73 years old. He is interred in Marratt’s Chapel Cemetery near Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.
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New York educator and suffragist Katherine Devereux Blake
New York teacher Katherine Devereux Blake was also an influential suffragist.
Teachers are often among the first to throw their boundless energy into campaigns that benefit society as a whole. One of these was Katherine Devereux Blake, a teacher who became an influential suffragist.
Katherine was born in Manhattan, New York, on July 10, 1858. Her mother was well-known pioneer suffragist, newspaper correspondent, and novelist Lillie Devereux Blake.
Katherine earned her college degree in 1876 from what later became Hunter College. Following her graduation, she inaugurated her career as a public school teacher in New York City. By 1894 she accepted a position as the principal of the Girls Department of Public School 6. This school was renamed the Lillie Devereux School in 1916. Katherine served PS 6 as its principal for 34 years, until her retirement in 1927.
Throughout her career as an educator, Katherine Blake used her influence to champion causes that benefited both teachers and students. She promoted improvements in classroom lighting and sanitation, the reform of school textbooks, and night school for women. In addition, she actively worked for the National Education Association (NEA). She served on a number of committees that promoted teacher benefits, good relationships between public schools and the NEA, and the election of women to the New York Board of Education. Katherine was one of nineteen teachers selected to accompany Dr. John Dewey on his official visit to Russia in 1928.
Not only was Katherine Blake an outstanding educator, but she was also an influential journalist, suffragist, and peace activist. During her summer vacations from 1911-1919, she campaigned for women’s suffrage in California, New York, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In New York, she was the leader of nearly 15,000 teachers who worked for women’s suffrage. In the 1915 parade sponsored by the Woman Suffrage Association, Katherine marched at the front of a group of nearly 500 teachers.
Katherine Blake was also an active and outspoken peace activist. She was a member of the Ford Peace Expedition in 1915-1916, and she also served as the New York Chair of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She was the chief spokesperson for the Disarmament Caravan, which toured 9,000 miles in 1931 to carry a disarmament petition to President Herbert Hoover and to the International Disarmament Conference in Geneva. The petition was comprised of nearly seven million signatures. Katherine traveled to Geneva repeatedly to attend the League of Nations Assembly as a newspaper correspondent. In 1938 she traveled abroad to study refugee problems.
This remarkable woman and Chalkboard Champion passed away on February 2, 1950, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 91 years old. She is interred in Union Cemetery in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut.
To read more about Katherine Devereux Blake, see this biographical sketch about NAWSA Suffragists.
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CA Teacher of the Year substitutes for “Wheel of Fortune” hostess Vanna White
A 2023 California Teacher of the Year was introduced to Wheel of Fortune fans this week when she asked to temporarily substitute for program hostess Vanna White. Vanna was unable to report for work because she tested positive for Covid, so the award-winning teacher, Bridgette Donald-Blue, was asked to fill in. The choice was appropriate, since the show was celebrating Teachers Week that day.
“When I got the call to be a part of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for Teachers Week, I was tremendously excited,” Bridgette recalled. “It was a great opportunity to champion the cause of education, the work that teachers do every day,” she continued. Bridgette has been an educator for three decades. She teaches Math Intervention at grades K-3 at Coliseum Street Elementary in South Los Angeles.
Bridgette describes her teaching style as reflective. “I’m constantly looking at data, at how students are understanding a lesson, then seeing where it can be tweaked or changed,” she explains. “I always think I could have done something a little better. If I give a lesson to 30 kids and 17 kids are right there and ready to go, that means that I’ve got 13 that are not quite getting it—and that’s absolutely not acceptable,” she declares. “So I always try to figure out, what can I do? To help make sure every student is learning, I end up including lots of different modalities,” she continues. “So if I’m teaching a particular topic one day, it might be taught via a lot of listening strategies. Another day it might be taught through a lot of speaking strategies. I’m trying to ensure that all my kids can enter in and understand the subject matter, no matter what their learning style is,” she says.
To learn more about Bridgette, read this transcript of a 2023 interview published by LA School Report.
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Remon Smith of Texas named MileSplit’s 2023 Coach of the Year
Remon Smith of Houston, Texas, has been named 2023 Coach of the Year by MileSplit. Photo credit: Klein Forest High School
It is always my pleasure to share news about an outstanding educator and coach who has earned recognition for their work with young people. Remon Smith, a coach in Texas, is one of these. He has been named the 2023 Coach of the Year by MileSplit.
At Klein Forest High School in Houston, Remon teaches physical education and leads instruction in credit recovery, and he coaches boys track and field. His athletic program is highly successful. In fact, his teams have managed to garner two state titles over four years—in 2023 and 2019—and his athletes finished a respectable third place in 2022.
Remon’s success as a coach follows his own personal success as a student athlete. At Randolph-Macon College, Remon lettered in football four years. When he graduated, he was named the All-Time Leading Collegiate Rusher for the State of Virginia, and he was named to the All-American Team. With a record like that, it is no surprise that he was inducted into the Randolph-Macon College Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
The honored coach shares the philosophy which led to his selection as Coach of the Year. “The key to a successful coaching career is making your athletes understand ‘we must make the uncomfortable comfortable,'” he declares, “and they will do what others are unwilling to do. I also teach my athletes the training process because, in high school, it’s more about teaching than coaching,” he continues. “The advice I would give a new coach is always to make sure the kids know you care about them more than any athletic outcome,” he declares. “Once an athlete knows you care, there is no limit to how much effort they will put in.”
MileSplit, founded in 2000, is the nation’s premier network for high school track and field and cross country. In addition to his honor from MileSplit, Ramon was also named the 6A Track and Field Coach of the Year by the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association.
