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Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Teacher and school counselor Minnie Steckel worked on social causes
Teacher and school counselor Minnie Steckel worked diligently for social causes that benefited women and her community as a whole. Photo Credit: The Sioux City Journal
Teacher and school counselor Minnie Steckel worked diligently for social causes that benefited women and her community as a whole. Photo Credit: The Sioux City Journal
Teachers are among the most civic-minded individuals in American society. They work diligently for social causes that benefit their community, and society as a whole. This is certainly true about Minnie Steckel, a teacher and school counselor who became part of the poll tax repeal movement.
Minnie was born on March 19, 1890, in Woodbine, Kansas. In 1906, she enrolled at Kansas Normal School in Emporia, Kansas, completing her course of study in 1913. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1917, her Master’s degree at the University of Chicago in Psychology in 1926, and her PhD from the University of Chicago in 1929.
While earning her degrees, Minnie taught school in Overbook and Burlingame, Kansas. She relocated to Iowa, where she taught in schools in Shenandoah, Blanchard, and Atlantic. By 1930, Minnie was working as a school counselor and the Dean of Women for Alabama College, a state-sponsored college for women located in Montevallo, Alabama. While there, she published many psychological and educational articles and books. She was also a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, the Alabama Mental Hygeine Society, the American Psychological Association, the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW).
In addition to her work as a counselor and author, Minnie conducted important research on the voting habits of women. She discovered that the low voting rate of women in elections was primarily due to the poll tax requirement, rather than their lack of interest in politics. This revelation launched her efforts to remove the poll tax, and to promote the rights of women to vote and serve on juries. She also worked tirelessly for the repeal of policies which prevented married women from working and for equal pay for women who did the same work as men.
Chalkboard Champion Minnie Steckel passed away on December 1, 1952. Following her passing, a scholarship for women was established by the Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs in her honor. To read more about her, see the article, 34 Notable Alumni of Emporia State University.
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Ruby Terrill Lomax: A founder of Delta Kappa Gamma
Texas educator Ruby Terrill Lomax: One of the founders of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (DKG). Photo Credit: DKG
Throughout history, there have been many superb educators that have served in Texas public schools. Many of these have even become the teachers of teachers. Among these is Ruby Terrill Lomax, a high school Latin teacher from Dallas.
Ruby was born in 1886 and raised in Denton, Denton County, Texas. As a young woman, she earned her high school diploma at North Texas Normal College. In 1905, she completed the requirements for an Associate’s degree at John B. Denton College, and in 1906 she earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas.
Once she earned her Bachelor’s, Ruby accepted a position as a teacher of Latin at Dallas High School. While teaching in Dallas, Ruby spent four of her summers furthering her education at the University of Chicago. The other two summers she spent completing courses in Latin and Greek at Columbia University in New York.
Ruby’s work as an educator at Dallas High was so highly prized that in 1924 she garnered a Latin fellowship to the University of Texas, Austin. In 1918, she was offered a faculty position at East Texas State Teachers College in Commerce. There she taught Latin and served as the Dean of Women.
Ruby completed the coursework for her Master’s degree in 1925. That year, she accepted a position as the Dean of Woman and Associate Professor of Classical Languages at the University of Texas. She held that position until 1937. During her years at the University of Texas, Ruby met and married the well-known folklorist John A. Lomax.
In 1929, Ruby was one of 12 educators who founded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society (DKG). By long-standing custom, the women were prohibited by from meeting together professionally, yet they believed there was a pressing need for an organization in which women educators could assist each other in their efforts towards becoming better teachers. They extended membership in the organization to rural and urban teachers; preschool, elementary, high school, college, and university teachers; librarians; and school administrators. DKG members worked to better professional preparation, to recognize women’s work in the teaching profession, and to fund scholarships to those who needed support to improve their professional skills.
Ruby served the organization as its Parliamentarian, a National First Vice President, and its Keeper of the Records. She also served on numerous national committees, including Constitution (1929-1930), Membership (1933-1937), Initiation (1933-1934) Letters and Publications (1940-1942), Nominations (1941-1942), Awards (1946-1952), and Teacher Welfare and Morale (1954-1956). She represented the Founders on the National Planning Committee from 1946-1950.
This amazing chalkboard champion passed away on December 28, 1961. She was 75 years old. She is interred at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas.
To read more about Ruby, click on this link at the DKG website: Ruby Terrill Lomax.
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North Carolina teacher and principal Louise Archer
North Carolina teacher Louise Archer taught core academic subjects and life skills in a segregated rural one-room schoolhouse. Photo Credit: Louise Archer Elementary School
Our nation’s students are indeed fortunate to have so many dedicated and hardworking educators teaching in our public schools. One of these was Louise Archer, an elementary school teacher from North Carolina.
Louise was born on Oct. 23, 1893, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As a young woman, she attended Livingston College, a historically Black Christian college located in Salisbury, North Carolina. She married Romulus Archer, Jr., in 1915. The couple relocated to Washington, DC, in 1922, and Louise continued her education at Morgan State College, a historically Black college in nearby Baltimore, Maryland. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree.
Louise inaugurated her career as an educator at the Oak Grove School in Southampton, Virginia, in a one-room schoolhouse for African American children. She taught there two years. In 1924, she became both the teacher and the principal for another one-room segregated school, the Vienna Colored School, located in Vienna, Virginia. The camped, unheated facility was the first in Fairfax County to educate African American students in fifth through seventh grades. For many, this was the only education they would receive.
The first boys who were the first to arrive at the rural school each morning chopped wood for the fire to keep the schoolhouse warm. Students brought water each day from a nearby spring and stored it in buckets in one corner of the classroom. Louise taught her students using tattered, secondhand textbooks, but she supplemented these with lessons in music and poetry. In addition, she taught her students life skills such as cooking, sewing, embroidery, cabinet-making, and rug-hooking.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Louise established a 4-H Club for African Americans in Fairfax County. Through this club, her students planted a garden and raised vegetables to add to a soup that was cooked each day on a potbelly stove.
By all accounts Louise was devoted to her young charges. For example, if they needed help getting to school, she drove them to the schoolhouse herself. She invited students to her home in Washington, DC, so they could experience a big city, and she let students use her home address when they enrolled in a DC high school so they could continue their education without paying expensive tuition fees.
Later in her career, Louise organized a Parent Teacher Association to raise money to buy much-needed classroom supplies. The group also raised money to construct a new schoolhouse, this one with three rooms, which opened in 1939. In 1941, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to pay for electric lighting, a music teacher, kitchen supplies, and bus transportation for the students.
Sadly, Louise suffered a heart attack and passed on April 1, 1948. In 1950, her school was renamed the Louise Archer Elementary School in her honor.
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Inspirational reading, great gifts for Winter Break
Season’s Greetings!
I’m sure busy educators all over the country are busy wrapping up their current instructional programs, creating holiday lessons and programs, working on finals, and calculating semester grades. So much to do before the onset of Winter Break. At the same time, these dedicated professionals are decorating their classrooms, homes, and yards for the season, while also addressing holiday cards, baking cookies, and shopping for gifts. So much to do to get ready for Christmas, too.
Speaking of Christmas shopping, I have a suggestion. Why not buy an inspirational book for the teacher in your family, your child’s special teacher, or that favorite co-worker at your school? Or you could indulge yourself, and stock up on something inspirational to read during your much-needed Winter Break. I have two splendid titles to suggest: Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students (available here) and Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor (available here), each one available in print or in e-book formats and reasonably priced.
Enjoy!
