Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Nanette Hanson named Michigan’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year
Elementary school teacher Nanette Hanson has been named Michigan’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Michigan Education Association
I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional educator who has won accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Nanette Hanson, an elementary school teacher from Escanaba, Michigan. She has been named her state’s 2022-2023 State Teacher of the Year.
Nanette currently teaches first graders at Lemmer Elementary School in Escanaba. In a career that has spanned more than 25 years, she has taught 17 of them at Lemmer. Those who know her recognize that Nanette’s priority is to build strong relationships with each of her students. Daily she strives to create a strong sense of community, inclusion, respect, and belonging in her classroom.
This mindset is also a big part of her mentoring work with beginning teachers. And Nanette works not only with children and early-career teachers, but she also serves her school as the team leader on the Lemmer Leader in Me Lighthouse Team.
These priorities have their roots in her childhood. As a youngster, Nanette grew up in the small Upper Peninsula town of Gladstone. In those years, the honored teacher recalls, she was troubled by low self-esteem. She once revealed it was caring teachers who led to her personal sense of accomplishment and belief in herself. “I just knew I wanted to be that person for somebody else,” she continued.”“Every day is an opportunity for me to forge that relationship and be that light in someone else’s darkness.”
Inclusion is very important in Nanette’s classroom. “We have a large Native American population, and so I like to incorporate the community,” she declares. “We invite the Indian Education Program to come into our classroom, and they do a wonderful job of sharing the culture with our students, some of whom are Native American,” she says.
Nanette earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Creative Arts in 1994 and her Master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision in 2009, both from Northern Michigan University.
To learn more about Nanette Hanson, view the four-minute video below:
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FL teacher Susana Diaz Hernandez named finalist for Dwyer Award
Elementary school teacher Susana Diaz Hernandez was named a finalist for a 2023 Dwyer Award for Excellence in Eduction. Photo credit: Economic Council of Palm Beach
There are many fine educators working diligently in Florida schools. One of these is Susana Diaz Hernandez, a Spanish language teacher from Palm Beach, Florida. She was named a finalist for a 2023 Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education.
Susana teaches Spanish at Greenacres Elementary School in Greenacres. Ever since she joined the faculty at Greenacres, she has worked diligently to advance her goal of creating an environment where her students can embrace the Spanish language, engage in Spanish literacy, and honor Hispanic cultures. To this end, she has contributed to supplying and sponsoring English and Spanish books in vending machines so that students could have easy access to reading material. Additionally, she organized a Hispanic Cultural Exhibition on her campus in order to honor Hispanic cultures.
For her outstanding efforts as an educator, Susana was named a finalist for the 39th annual William T. Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education presented by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Inc. in 2023. The Dwyer Awards is an annual program developed and supported by the Economic Council to honor outstanding educators from public and private schools in Palm Beach County. The awards increase awareness of exemplary teaching in the community, provide financial support to educators, and encourage all residents to promote high standards for excellence in education. In addition to her Dwyer Awards honors, Susana was also recognized at the Hispanic Heritage Awards Celebration from the Florida Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce in 2022.
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Kindergarten teacher named “Citizen of the Month” by CA Sen. Josh Newman
Educator Leslee Milch, left, received an award from CA State Senator Josh Newman for her dedication to her summer reading program. He named the teacher his “Citizen of the Month” for July, 2023 Photo credit: CA Senator Josh Newman
Very often dedicated educators who work tirelessly in the classrooms all year round continue to devote themselves to students, even on their summer break. This is certainly true of Leslee Milch, a kindergarten teacher from California who founded a summer reading program 25 years ago, and still dedicates her entire summer break to the enterprise. For her effort, she has been named a “Citizen of the Month” by CA Senator Josh Newman.
Leslee, a National Board Certified teacher, works Gilbert Elementary School in the Buena Park School District in Buena Park, California. Throughout her more than 30 years as an educator, she has consistently demonstrated a passion for fostering essential academic and social skills in her kindergarten students. Every day in the classroom where she often reads to and with her students, Leslee places a special emphasis on literacy.
One day 25 years ago, Leslee was inspired to continue her work beyond the end of the school year and help decrease learning loss during the summer. To further this goal, she established the “Read to Me” summer reading program. She began by meeting with students at George Bellis Park in Buena Park each week to read a story together and share a healthy snack. Since that first year, she has continued the program, so much so that “Read to Me” has become a well-known and cherished community institution. She started by reading to just ten students. Now, hundreds of students and their parents enjoy the free program each week.
For her efforts in the “Read to Me” program, Leslee has been named a “Citizen of the Month” for July, 2023, from California State Senator Josh Newman. Senator Newman represents the 29th Senate District.
To learn more about the “Read to Me” program, click on this link to Education News.
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Amos Bronson Alcott: Progressive educator, philosopher, and reformer
Amos Bronson Alcott was a supporter of the Progressive Movement in the early 19th century. Many of his practices are commonly implemented in schools today. Photo credit: National Park Service
In the early 19th century, the Progressive Movement was responsible for great changes in the field of education. One progressive educator from this period was Amos Bronson Alcott, a teacher, philosopher, and reformer from Connecticut.
Amos was born in 1799 in Wolcott, New Haven County, Connecticut, the self-educated son of a farmer. When he grew to manhood, he became a prominent proponent of the Transcendentalists, a philosophical movement that emphasized the value of nature and the inherent goodness of people.
Even as a young man, Amos was interested in a career as a teacher. He disliked the rote memorization, lecture, and drill so prevalent in the schools of his day. Instead, he focused on the students’ personal experiences, advocated a more conversational style of interaction with pupils, and avoided traditional corporal punishments. He was one of the very first teachers to introduce art, music, nature study, and physical education into his curriculum. He engaged his students in Socratic dialogue to bring their ideas to the forefront. He treated children as adults, and would allow the class to address disciplinary problems as a group.
In 1834, Amos founded a “progressive school,” the Temple School in Boston. Under great skepticism and criticism almost from the start, the school still managed to stayed open for six years. Eventually it was closed, not because of its unorthodox methods, but because Amos, an ardent abolitionist, had enrolled an African American girl in the predominantly white school.
In 1859, Amos returned to Connecticut, where he was appointed the superintendent of Concord Public Schools. There he revamped the curriculum by introducing calisthenics, singing, and physiology. He insisted that his teachers use the Socratic method in their classrooms. He also established the first parent-teacher association. His work inspired later educational reformers. In fact, many of his practices are commonly implemented in schools today.
Amos was also an advocate for women’s rights. This remarkable Chalkboard Champion is probably best known, however, for being the father of Louisa May Alcott, the author of the classic American novel Little Women.
Amos Bronson Alcott passed away from natural causes in 1888. To read more about him, click on this link to the National Park Service.
