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.

Wyoming teacher and politician Matilda Hansen

Posted on by

High school teacher Matilda Hansen also served her community in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Photo credit: Wyomingnews.com

Many fine educators have also served their community as capable politicians. One of these is Matilda Hansen, a high school teacher who also served in the Wyoming House of Representatives.

Matilda was born on September 4, 1929, near Paullina, Iowa. As a young girl, she attended one-room schools in northwest Iowa. As a teenager, she graduated from Scattergood Friends High School in 1948.

After her high school graduation, Matilda earned her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1963. She earned her Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Wyoming in 1970. She then taught high school at Englewood High School in Colorado from 1963 to 1965, and served as the Director of the Albany County Adult Learning Center in Laramie, Wyoming, from 1966 to 1978.

Later, Matilda was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent District 13, Albany County, in the Wyoming House of Representatives. She served there from 1975 to 1995. While there, she served on various committees, including Juvenile Affairs; Children, Families, and Social Services; Health and Human Resources; Rules; Judiciary; Administrative Rules; Lien Laws; and Appropriations. Matilda’s most notable legislative work addressed education and women’s issues. In addition, she was the driving force for the creation of the Wyoming Territorial Park in Laramie, Wyoming. She was the first woman to serve 20 consecutive years in the House, completing her term as Assistant Minority Floor Leader in 1994.

For her work in the classroom and in the community, Matilda earned several accolades. In 1963, she was named a General Electric Fellow in Economics for High School Teachers. She also garnered the award for Public Citizen of Year by the Wyoming Association Social Workers for 1980-1981.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on August 19, 2019, in Laramie, Wyoming, at the age of 89.

Jeanne Manford: The teacher with a social agenda

Posted on by

Elementary school teacher Jeanne Manford gained notoriety when she marched next to her son, Morty Manford, in a 1972 gay rights parade in New York. Later she founded PFLAG, which earned her a Presidential Citizens Medal in 2012. Photo credit: SFGATE.

Many American schoolteachers have worked diligently on social causes near and dear to their own heart. One of these was Jeanne Manford, a New York elementary school teacher who worked diligently to advance the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in this country.

Jeanne was born on December 4, 1930 in Flushing, Queens, New York. After earning her Bachelor’s degree from Queens College in the late 1930’s, Jeanne accepted a position as a teacher at PS 32 in Queens. She taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade there for 26 years.

Following a vicious attack in 1972 on her gay son, Morty, Jeanne and her husband, Jules, founded a local support group for parents of gays and lesbians. “She never thought twice about it. She fought for him,” recalled Jeanne’s daughter, Suzanne Swan. “This was a 5-foot-2, thin, blond woman who had a spine of steel. She just did what she knew to be right,” Swan continued.

Over time, the group Jeanne founded grew into the international organization known as Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG. It now boasts more than 350 chapters and more than 200,000 members and supporters in the United States.

Jeanne’s work on this social cause was so appreciated that she was named the Grand Marshal of New York City’s Gay Pride March in June, 1991. She was also the Grand Marshal of the first Pride Parade held in Queens, New York in 1993. President Barack Obama honored the Chalkboard Champion with a Presidential Citizens Medal in 2012.

After nearly three decades in the classroom, Jeanne retired in 1990 at the age of 70. She passed away on January 8, 2013, in Daly City, California at the age of 92.

Texas PE teacher and coach Joey Rodriguez succumbs to Covid-19

Posted on by

Sadly, beloved Texas PE teacher and soccer coach Joey Rodriguez succumbed to Covid-19 on Oct. 17, 2021. He was only 43 years old. Photo credit: The Dallas Morning News.

We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Joey Rodriguez, and teacher and coach from Arlington, Texas, succumbed to the disease on Sunday, Oct. 17.

At the time of his passing, Joey was a Physical Education teacher and soccer coach at Sam Houston High School in the Arlington Independent School District. Joey Rodriguez devoted 12 years of his professional life to the school.

Former student Selena Saldana, class of 2013, says she will greatly miss her former teacher. “He was my high school PE teacher, and he was always pushing me to do much more,” she remembered. “Every time we had to run on the track and I would stop to take a break, he would yell, ‘Come on, Selena. You can do it. Don’t stop now.’ He was really supportive,” she said.

In addition to teaching physical education, Joey worked as the school’s soccer coach since 2009. “Twice, he led his soccer teams to the state championship,” recalled  Marcelo Cavazos, Superintendent of Arlington Schools. “He grew the program so rapidly that the district had to hire more coaches so that all of the kids who wanted to learn from Coach Rodriguez could have the opportunity,” Cavazos noted.

Coach Rodriguez’s Sam Houston team made their first state tournament appearance in school history in 2015.That year, the student athletes reached the Class 6A semifinals and finished 23-3-2. In 2017, the Sam Houston team was the state runner-up, losing to Jesuit in overtime in the title game to finish 22-3-2. Sam Houston High School is one of only three schools in the Arlington District to qualify for the state tournament in boys soccer. In addition to coaching, Joey served as the President of the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches.

Joey graduated from Abilene High School in 1995 where he participated in soccer, football, and marching band. After his high school graduation, Joey enrolled at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he studied and played soccer for two years before transferring to Hardin Simmons University in Abilene. He graduated from Hardin Simmons with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 2001.

Today, our students celebrate Dia de Los Muertos

Posted on by

 

Today, all throughout the American Southwest and elsewhere, our Mexican American students are celebrating the Die de Los Muertos. Day of the Dead. Photo credit: 9news.com

On this day, all throughout the American Southwest and elsewhere, our Mexican American students are celebrating the Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead. This annual observance is a special day set aside to remember and honor the memory of beloved relatives who have passed away.

Here is a wonderful article that explains in detail the origins and practices of the Dia de Los Muertos. To see more photos, visit the School Arts Room, an art education blog for K-12 art teachers. Enjoy!