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.

“Wolverine” actor Hugh Jackman also worked as a PE teacher

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Hugh Jackman, who earned celebrity status for playing the role of Wolverine in the popular X-Man film series, was once a physical education teacher. Photo Credit: The Guardian

Hugh Jackman has earned celebrity status for playing the role of Wolverine in the popular X-Men film series. But did you know that before he became an actor, he was a physical education teacher in England?

Hugh was born in Sydney, Australia, to parents who had immigrated to the Down Under from the United Kingdom. As a youngster, he attended public schools, where he sometimes participated in amateur theatrical productions, until his graduation from high school.

At first, Hugh toyed with the idea of become a journalist, and he enrolled at Sydney’s University of Technology. It was during his gap year in 1987 that Hugh accepted a position as a physical education teacher at Uppingham School, a public school located in Uppingham, England. At the conclusion of his teaching assignment, Hugh returned to Sydney, where he completed the requirements for his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Technology in 1991. By then, Hugh had been bitten by the acting bug, so he enrolled in “The Journey” at the Actors’ Centre in Sydney, where he completed a one-year course. Next he attended the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University located in Perth. There he earned a second degree in 1994.

As it turns out, the former teacher’s decision to change careers turned out to be a good one. His most celebrated role is as Wolverine in the X-Men movies, a character he played from 2000 to 2017. He was also cast in the lead role in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold in 2001;  the popular musical Les Miserables in 2012; the musical The Greatest Showman in 2017, and the political drama The Front Runner in 2018. In addition, he voiced roles in the animated films Happy Feet in 2006; Rise of the Guardians in 2012; and Missing Link in 2019.

Throughout his acting career, Hugh has earned many accolades. For his role as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, he was nominated for an Academy Award and he won a Golden Globe Award, and for his role in The Greatest Showman, he earned a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album. He has also garnered two Tony Awards.

 

Teacher, counselor, and Civil Rights activist Norma Snipes Marcere

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English teacher and counselor Norma Snipes Marcere of Canton, Ohio, served as a pioneer of Civil Rights for women and people of color in her community. Photo Credit: The Repository

I always enjoy sharing stories about dedicated and forward-thinking educators who have served as pioneers of Civil Rights in their communities. Norma Snipes Marcere, a teacher and school psychologist from Ohio, was one such educator.

Norma was born on Oct. 21, 1908, in Canton, Ohio. She attended high school at Canton McKinley in 1926. After her graduation from high school, Norma worked her way through college to earn her Bachelor’s degree in 1929 in Elementary Education from Kent State University. She also earned a Master’s degree in Counseling there.

Once she completed her education, Norma applied for a teaching position in her home town of Canton. Unfortunately, a bigoted superintendent refused to hire her because she was an African American. Because of this incident, Norma declared her intention to work tirelessly for the rest of her life to advance the Civil Rights of women and people of color.

When she was denied employment in Canton, Norma went to Massillon, Ohio, where she accepted her first teaching position at Edmund A. Jones Junior High School. There she taught English. Later she moved to the Akron City School District, where she became the first African American counselor and school psychologist in the district. During her lengthy career, Norma founded Project Academic Excellence (PAX), a Saturday school run completely by volunteers to help inner-city minority students succeed in their academics. The program emphasized high expectations and tutored students in basic subjects, study skills, and ethnic cultures.

In 1976, Norma retired from the teaching profession and authored not one, but two, autobiographies. The first was ‘Round the Dining Room Table, published in 1985, and the second, The Fences Between, was published in 1989. In 1994, these autobiographies were transformed into a play by Lois DiGiacomo which was performed in front of an audience of more than 12,000 people.

The former teacher earned other accolades for her work in the classroom. In 1973, the Junior League named her their Woman of the Year. In 1980, she was awarded an honorary PhD from Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. In 1991, she garnered the Norma Award, an honor named after Norma Sigler Atkins Rowlands. In 1998, she earned the Sister Thea Bowman Medallion from the Office for Black Catholic Ministries of the Diocese of Toledo. In 1985, the Chalkboard Champion was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame.

Norma Snipes Marcere passed away on Aug. 20, 2004, in Louisville, Ohio. She was 95 years old.

English teacher Linda Baker also served in Maine State Senate

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Talented English teacher Linda Baker, now retired, also served in the Maine State Senate. Photo Credit: Linda Baker

Very often, talented educators make equally talented politicians. This is the case with Linda Baker, a high school English teacher who also served in the Maine State Senate.

Linda was born in 1948.  She graduated from the University of Southern Maine. In 2001, she qualified for the prestigious National Board Teacher Certification. Her career as an educator has spanned 31 years. Linda taught in public schools in Bath, Maine, from 1980 to 1985, and at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine, from 1985 to 2011. She taught English, creative writing, and history. For five years she served as the Academic Coordinator at Mt. Ararat. In addition, she spent ten years working for Merrymeeting Adult Education. Today, she teaches an adult education course through the University College at Bath and Brunswick.

Linda inaugurated her career in local politics when she was elected to serve as a Selectwoman on the Topsham Town Council, where she served three years. In addition, she served eight years on the Topsham Finance Committee. In 2014, she was elected on the Republican ticket to represent District 23 in the Maine State Senate, a position she held for two years. While there, Linda served as the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services. During her tenure in the Maine State Senate, Linda sponsored a bill that would dock the pay of legislators that had a history of absenteeism. She also initiated legislation that would require school administrators to complete fifty hours of direct student instruction to renew their credential. And she was honored by Maine’s League of Conservation Voters for co-sponsoring the Kids Safe Products Act, a bipartisan bill which dealt with toxic chemicals.

In 2002, this Chalkboard Champion was honored with the World of Children Award given by the Girl Scouts of America. She still lives in Topsham, Maine.

STEM teacher Todd Knight named Idaho’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school STEM teacher Todd Knight of Meridian, Idaho, has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Todd Knight

It is always my pleasure to share the story of a teacher who has earned honors for their stellar work in the classroom. One of these is Todd Knight, a middle school STEM teacher from Meridian, Idaho. He has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Todd is a native of Meridian. After his graduation from Meridian High School, Todd earned his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University in 2008. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in STEM Education from Concordia University in 2015.

After substitute teaching for a year and a half in Meridian’s West Ada School District, he taught fourth grade at the District’s Star Elementary and then fifth grade at River Valley Elementary School. In 2014, Todd accepted a teaching position at Crossroads Middle School. There he currently teaches physical science, engineering technology and robotics, and coding to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. For the past five years, has served as the Digital Technology Lead and Chair of the Science Department. Previously, he also served as the Math Intervention Lead and as a mentor teacher in science.

As a teacher of middle schoolers, Todd says he strives to relate the content he teaches to the everyday lives of his students. “I take a hands-on approach and try and get students to see that learning is not just sitting in a desk doing book work,” he explains. “We talk about learning permits and learning how to drive, then we start talking about how a motor works or why there are spoilers on some vehicles,” he continues. “We start looking at their life and relating it to the curriculum and the content that I’m teaching.”

Good work, Todd!