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.

Paul Timm named Nebraska’s Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska, who has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: AgUpdate.

Congratulations go out to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska. Paul has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Paul currently works at Lyons-Decatur Northeast Secondary School in Lyons. The school is located about 70 miles northwest of Omaha. There he teaches biology, agriculture education, and health science for grades 7 through 12. Throughout his 17-year career, he has taught 18 different courses, including AP Biology, a science research course, Earth and space science, and welding and agricultural mechanics. In addition, Paul has taught a leadership class, sponsored his school’s Quiz Bowl, advised the National Honor Society on his campus. As if all this were not enough, Paul has also coached cross county and track and field. His cross country teams have earned four conference championships and five state qualifications.

Paul says he views learning as an entrepreneurial venture. Students are not just employees at the job, he believes, but business owners building an enterprise of learning with passion, personal choice, and full ownership. “I begin by fostering a culture which promotes curiosity and questions, sharing of ideas, celebrating successes, and willingness to learn from failures,” explains Paul. “Project- and inquiry-based learning drives education to the highest levels while extending the learning environment beyond the classroom and providing student choice,” he declares. Using this philosophy, Paul strives to prepare his students for life outside school.

Paul earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education and his Master’s degree in Entomology, both from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is also a National Geographic Certified Educator, a 2020 Advocate for the Society for Science and the Public, and a 2017 Nebraska Finalist for the Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching.

To read more about Paul Timm, click on this link to the University of Nebraska.

Korey Harrington, Florida Sp Ed teacher, succumbs to Covid-19

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Sadly, we announce that Special Education teacher Korey Harrington of Florida has succumbed to Covid-19. Photo credit: St. Johns Family Funeral Home.

Regretfully we announce that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet anther beloved teacher. Korey Harrington, a middle school Special Education teacher from Nocatee, Florida, succumbed to the disease on Sept. 14, 2021. She was 47 years old.

Korey was born in New York on Nov. 12, 1973. She was raised in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and earned her degree at Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. In 2005, Korey relocated to Florida in to work at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. During her teaching career, she also worked at the Microschool in Jacksonville, Acclaim Academy, Seacoast Christian Academy, and Nease High School. At the time of her passing, Korey was working as a middle school Special Education teacher at Pine Island Academy in the St. Johns County Schools in Nocatee. Pine Island Academy just opened up this year.

As an educator, Korey had a reputation for showing up to work early and staying late, and she would go the extra mile to help just a single student, says her mother, Katherine Harrington. “She was dedicated to her students, making sure they succeeded in every way they could, Mrs. Harrington remembered. “She would work with them after hours, she would work with them during school. She was valuable to them, and I can honestly say that many of them thank her for where they are now,” Mrs. Harrington continued.

Korey;s co-workers also remembered the fallen educator this way. “I was lucky to have worked with Korey at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind,” remarked friend Evan Birnholz. “She was a special person that went out of her way for the students she worked with and became a good friend to me,” he said. “She will be missed but not forgotten by anyone who’s life she touched!”

To learn more about this exceptional educator, see this link to News4Jax.

This season, gift an inspirational book to a dedicated teacher

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Another winter season is fast approaching, and many people are thinking about getting a head start on their holiday shopping.

When making your gift list, I hope you will remember the dedicated teacher that has been working tirelessly during the pandemic to provide the best education he or she possible can for your child or children. As a gift during the upcoming holiday season, consider gifting that teacher with a copy of an inspirational book. What a wonderful way to thank them for all their hard work. Or, if the teacher we are speaking of is you, you could indulge yourself and stock up on something inspirational to read during your upcoming and much-anticipated 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 is reasonably priced.

Enjoy!