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.

Boston’s Old State House offers valuable learning opportunity

Posted on by

Hal Marzell stands in front of the Boston National Historic Landmark known as the Old State House on the spot where the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

I’m sure many teachers would agree that one of the best methods of experiential learning is travel. And one of the most rewarding destinations for travel is Boston, Massachusetts. My husband, Hal, and I just returned from a history-packed visit to this beautiful city, which preserves many landmarks that date back to our nation’s earliest beginnings. There are many worthwhile museums and historical sites to visit in the city, and one of the most interesting of these is the Old State House.

An administrative building has stood on the site of the Old State House since 1657. The current incarnation originally served as the seat of British rule in the colony. One of the most notable features of the building is the pair of seven-foot tall wooden figures depicting the lion and the unicorn, traditional symbols of the British monarchy. Students of history will recall that here, on the night of March 5, 1770, a squadron of British soldiers opened fire in the square in front of the royal building, killing five Colonials and wounding many others. By the next morning, Bostonian leaders were calling the incident a “bloody massacre.” Six years later, on July 18, 1776, Bostonians gathered under the balcony of the Old State House to hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud for the first time. The Declaration signaled the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and the eventual emergence of the American colonies as a new nation.

Author Terry Lee Marzell explores the American Revolutionary War exhibits housed at the Old State House located on the Freedom Trail in Boston. Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Today, the Old State House, recognized as a Revolutionary Space and designated as a National Historic Landmark, is administered by the National Park Service. The structure can be found on a self-conducted tour of the Freedom Trail. The structure and museum inside, located at 206 Washington St., is open to the public for self-tours every day (except some holidays) from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is a small entrance fee.

Students and teachers who are unable to travel to Boston could learn more about this important historical place by examining the website at the Old State House. Here is a link to a 9-minute virtual tour of the building. For more information about the Freedom Trail, click on this link to Freedom Trail.

Whether you visit Boston’s Old State House in person or online, I bid you happy learning!

AZ elem teacher Derek Brown shares strategies for teaching kindness

Posted on by

Educators who are looking for ways to teach kindness win the classroom may want to take a cue from Derek Brown, an elementary teacher from Arizona. For ten years, he has been showing his fifth graders Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” stories aired by CBS Evening News. Derek says the stories, that have been called lessons in Kindness 101, teach the kids how to be “grounded and good.” To learn more about this, view the two-minute You Tube video below:

MO teacher Vanessa Thomson earns Milken Educator Award

Posted on by

Elementary school teacher Vanessa Thomson of Gladstone, Missouri, has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: North Kansas City Schools

I always enjoy sharing an inspirational story about a talented educator who has earned accolades for work in the classroom. Today’s story is about elementary school teacher Vanessa Thomson of Gladstone, Missouri. She has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award for 2023.

Vanessa teaches second grade at Chapel Hill Elementary School in her home town of Gladstone. In a career that spans 15 years, Vanessa has spent all of them at Chapel Hill. The honored educator has accomplished amazing results with her students. Last year, her kids demonstrated significant growth in all content areas, with 70% ending the year reading at or above grade level and more than 90% mastering most math standards. Because her school’s population of English language learners (ELLs) has grown in recent years, Vanessa has focused on building a variety of language development strategies. And her hard work has yielded the desired results. In spring 2022, 89% of her ELL students demonstrated mastery on all priority standards, up from 25% at the beginning of the school year.

On her campus, Vanessa has a reputation for being a passionate advocate for her students. And her devotion doesn’t end when they leave her classroom. “I follow up with them. I have been invited to graduations and parties,” Vanessa says. “The kids my first year of teaching are graduating from college,” she continues. “If one of them wants to be a teacher or they receive some encouragement from me that takes them on a positive path, I have done my job. After all, it was my first-grade teacher that inspired me to be a teacher,” she concludes.

In addition to working with students in her classroom, Vanessa serves as a facilitator for Chapel Hill’s leadership team, she is a member of her District’s strategic plan action team, and she mentors new and beginning teachers. She also serves as a District demonstration teacher for writing, hosting teachers from across the district for lesson observations and sharing of best practices.

Vanessa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, in 2008. She earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, in 2013.

The Milken Educator Awards are hailed by Teacher magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” For more than 35 years, the program has recognized excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with a $25,000  cash prize. The honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary professional educators from all over the country. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

Add Chalkboard Champions to your summer reading list!

Posted on by

Over the years, many people have asked me what inspired me to write my first book Chalkboard Champions. I guess a large part of it had to do with coming home every night after spending another day investing my ALL into my kids, my lesson plans, my classroom, lugging a pile of papers to grade the size of Mount Everest back and forth to school, and then coming home to turn on the television, only to hear some politician or news commentator bemoaning the sad condition of “failing schools.” How demoralizing!

Anyone who spends any time at all in schools knows that there is much more success than failure going on there! In any work environment I have been a part of in the forty years of my work history, I have never seen a more hardworking, dedicated group of individuals than the teachers, administrators, and support staff that worked at my school. And because I communicate with teachers from all over the country, I can tell this dedication and work ethic are shared by professional educators everywhere. The world is full of amazing teachers, and these Chalkboard Champions, present and past, need to be celebrated!

I love to share stories about remarkable teachers, and there are so many wonderful and inspirational stories to be told! I simply selected twelve of them throughout American history to explore in my book. My hope is that these stories will revive the spirit of the professional educator and cultivate respect and appreciation for the teaching profession from the general public. Why not add these stories to your summer reading list? The book can be found on amazon at the following link: Chalkboard Champions.