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.

Pennsylvania French teacher Karyn Senita garners PSMLA honors

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High school French teacher Karyn Senita was named the 2022 Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Association. Photo credit: Grove City Area Senior High School

Many excellent teachers earn accolades for their work with students. One of these is Karyn Senita, a high school world languages teacher from Pennsylvania. In 2022, she was named the Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Association (PSMLA).

Karyn teaches French at Grove City Area Senior High School in Mercer County. In a career that has spanned more than 20 years, she has worked at Grove City High for the past six years. The honored teacher attributes her successes to her growth mindset. To this end, she has founded a PSMLA Global Scholars program. The purpose of the program is to help  students evolve into global students who have an understanding and appreciation of world cultures. Karyn has also served as a sponsor for her school’s Interact Club. And as if all that were not enough, she serves as an Adjunct Education Professor of World Language Methodologies at Grove City College.

Karyn earned her Bachelor’s degree in French and Secondary Education from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in French from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 2008.

 

Teacher Annie Brown Leslie became one of the country’s first advice columnists

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Teacher Annie Brown Leslie was among the first advice columnists in the country. Thoughout the Great Depression, her readers chipped in thousands of dollars to finance philanthropic endeavors she supported. Photo credit: The Detroit News

Many fine classroom teachers are also successful journalists. One of these was Annie Brown Leslie, a teacher from Maine who earned acclaim as one of the country’s first advice columnists.

Annie was born on Dec. 11, 1870, in Perry, Maine, the daughter of a farmer and Civil War veteran. As a young girl, she attended high school in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Upon her graduation in 1888, she enrolled at Mount Holyoke College, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1892.

After earning her degree, Annie inaugurated her career as a schoolteacher. Over the course of ten years, she taught in schools in Rockville, Connecticut; White River Junction, Vermont; and Mount Clemens, Michigan.

On Sept. 19, 1904, Annie married journalist and editor James Edward Leslie. After he died in 1917, she took over his position as the drama editor for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. Before long, using the pen name “Nancy Brown,” Annie began to publish an advice column entitled “Experience” for The Detroit News. The column ran from 1917 to 1942. In fact, she was among the first advice columnists in the country. Because of her common-sense philosophy, the former teacher won respect and widespread readership, and her column grew to be immensely influential. In 1929, her readers donated substantial funds to plant trees in a clearcut forest in Northern Michigan. At her suggestion, her readers contributed to a fundraising campaign in 1930 to purchase artwork for the Detroit Institute of Arts. They also funded a concert series by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Thoughout the Great Depression, thousands of readers chipped in pennies or a dollar, or two, or five, for philanthropic endeavors supported by “Nancy Brown.”

Sadly, Annie Brown Leslie passed away on Oct. 7, 1948. She was 77 years old. To read more about this amazing educator and journalist, see this article about her published by The Detroit News.

 

Briana Morales is named the Illinois 2023 Teacher of the Year

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For her work in helping traumatized and underprivileged minority students, high school English teacher Briana Morales has been named the Illinois 2023Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Illinois Public Media

Many excellent teachers deserve recognition for their work in the classroom. And some of them actually receive it! One of these is Briana Morales, an English teacher from Illinois who has been honored by the Illinois State Dept. of Education.

Briana teaches in East St. Louis at Gordon Bush Alternative Center in St. Louis, Illinois. The facility is an alternative school that serves a majority of Black students from low-income families. Briana is passionate about alternative education. “I think alternative education is representative of the underdog in all of us,” she asserts. “They are the kids that you’re rooting for to turn the tide and be who they want to be with the right resources. These are kids who may have unmet needs and lagging skills, but one caring adult can break the chains for so many children,” she continues. “We have a moral responsibility to ensure that every child has access to equitable experiences that allow them to be their authentic selves, especially in alternative education,” she declares. 

Throughout her career, Briana has been recognized for using writing and poetry to help her students process their experiences of poverty, personal loss, and violence. Her use of poetry as a therapeutic device has roots in her own childhood. “In seventh grade, I was struggling with complex life changes at home and I experienced a lot of trauma as a child,” she reveals. “My teacher at the time tried to equip me with the skills to battle everything that I was going through. She taught me how to write poetry as a way to cope,” she continues. “I wrote my first poetry book in her class and I never stopped writing,” she concludes.

In addition to her Teacher of the Year honors, Briana was named an Early Career Educator of Color by the National Council for Teachers of English in 2021. She has served as a policy fellow, senior fellow, and now a national senior research fellow with Teach Plus, where she has worked on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion for students across the state through culturally responsive initiatives. Additionally, Briana serves on the school board for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, School District 428. Her career as an educator spans six years.

Briana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education from St. Ambrose University in 2017 and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education. She is currently pursuing a PhD in education policy, organization, and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

To learn more about Briana Morales, click on this link to an article about her published by Chalkbeat.

Whitney Reardon garns 2023 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher Award

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Deaf education teacher Whitney Reardon has garnered a 2023 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher Award. Photo credit: Whitney Reardon

Our nation’s students are fortunate to have dedicated teachers working diligently to improve their progress in school. One of these is Whitney Reardon, a special education teacher from Longview, Texas. She has garnered a 2023 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher Award.

Whitney teaches deaf education to first through fifth graders at Johnson-McQueen Elementary School, a Regional School for the Deaf located in Longview, East Texas. She has worked there for 16 years.

Whitney’s contributions to the school are second to none, according to Principal Christie Scott. “She not only knows our students’ language deficits, but she is also constantly striving to give students opportunities to build language skills through hands-on engaging activities,” the principal asserts. “When students were learning about civilizations in other countries in regards to housing, Ms. Reardon took students through an entire unit of study by transforming the classroom and creating a transdisciplinary curriculum for students to learn and grow,” Scott continues.

In addition, Whitney organized a Deaf History Month celebration. Deaf History Month is celebrated March 15 through April 15 each year to raise awareness about deaf history and American deaf culture. “So every Monday, the whole school learns about someone who was important in deaf history, and every day, one of our kiddos teaches the school to sign,” Whitney explains. “All of the deaf history month events have made an impact on students—deaf and non-deaf,” she declares. “It’s helped them learn how to be partners together and more inclusive, and it’s just been really good to make the whole group learn about it,” she concludes.

Whitney earned her Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Lamar University in 2015.

Humanities Texas presents annual statewide awards to encourage excellence in teaching and recognize classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development, and extracurricular programming. This year, over 600 teachers from all over the state were nominated for this prestigious award, and only 15 were selected as winners. Each winning teacher will receive $5,000 for personal use and an additional $1,000 will go to their school to buy instructional materials related to the humanities.