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.

Alice Fong Yu was the first Asian American teacher in San Francisco

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Educator Alice Fong Yu is recognized as the first Asian American schoolteacher in San Francisco, California. Photo credit: The San Francisco Digital History Archive

Many American educators have been recognized as trailblazers in the classroom, and their contributions to the community. One of these was Alice Fong Yu, who was the first Asian American schoolteacher in San Francisco, California.

Alice was born on March 2, 1905, in a small mining town of Washington in Nevada County, California. She was the second child of ten born to third-generation immigrants from China. Her father was a supervisor in a gold mine and her mother was a teacher. At the time of Alice’s birth, anti-Chinese racism was widespread, but the intrepid young woman never let that stop her.

In 1923, Alice was the first of her siblings to graduate from high school. She then earned her undergraduate degree at San Francisco State Teachers College. Once she completed her education, Alice made it her mission to become the first Chinese American teacher to be hired to work in a San Francisco school. Despite intense opposition, she achieved her goal in 1926 when she was hired to teach at Commodore Stockton Elementary School in San Francisco. Her employment at that school spanned 34 years.

In 1938, Alice married Jon Yong Chang Yu, a Chinese newspaper editor and businessman. She gave birth to two sons, Alon and Joal. When she discovered that her second son was born with cerebral palsy, his condition motivated Alice to go back to school to learn more about coping with his diagnosis. She was 57 years old at the time. She enrolled at UC Berkeley where she earned her credential in Special Education and speech therapy. She then launched a new phase of her career as a Special Education teacher.

In addition to her work with students, Alice was active in the community. In 1924, she founded the Square and Circle Club, a community service organization, and she served as the club’s president. The organization raised money for the Chung Mei Home, a boys’ orphanage in San Francisco. The Square and Circle is still active today. Alice also served as the President of the Chinese Historical Society in 1974. In her year as president, she networked with a variety of organizations to promote Chinese culture, language, and history.

For her years of community service, Alice earned many awards. At San Francisco’s 17th Annual Awards in March, 1976, she garnered the Phoebe Apperson Heart Medallion, an award which recognized the former teacher as one of San Francisco’s Distinguished Ten for her many contributions and accomplishments, as well as for her courage to pursue her dreams despite her obstacles. In addition, the Alice Fong Yu School, the nation’s first Chinese immersion public school, was founded in her honor in 1995.

Alice Yu passed away on Dec. 26, 2000. She was 95 years old. To read more about her, click on this link to an essay published by the San Francisco Digital History Archive.

Teacher and activist Julia Flisch fought for equity for women

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History teacher and teache Julia Flisch fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century. Photo Credit: Georgia College

In my opinion, teachers are among the most dedicated proponents of social change in American society. Julia Flisch a Georgia teacher who fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century, is a fine example of this.

Julia was born on Jan. 31, 1861, in Augusta, Georgia, the daughter of immigrants from Switzerland and Germany. She was raised in Athens, Georgia, where her father operated a candy store and ice cream parlor, and her mother was a homemaker. As a young girl, Julia had always dreamed of attending the all-male University of Georgia, but when she applied in 1869 she was denied admission because of her gender. Instead, she enrolled at Cooper Union New York City, where she studied secretarial skills. But it was the rejection from the University of Georgia that inspired her life-long campaign for women’s rights and higher education, as an educator and scholar, and also as a journalist and author.

While still a student, Julia spend her summers working as a school teacher. Eventually she was able to take courses at both Harvard University and the University of Chicago. In 1905, she opened a school at the University of Wisconsin, where by 1908 she had earned both a Bachelor’s and a Masters degree in History. After earning her degrees, Julia accepted a position at Tubman High School in August, where she taught for 17 years. Until the 1950s, Tubman was the area’s only public high school for girls. Later Julia served as the first female instructor at the Junior College of Augusta.

Throughout her years in the classroom, Julia was a hardworking teacher dedicated to the success of her students. During this period, she advocated for collective bargaining rights for teachers, which had been unheard of before her time. She also actively lobbied for women’s suffrage and state grants to pay for women’s higher education. Her rallying cry was “Give the girls a chance!”

To advance her campaign for women’s education, Julia published an anonymous letter to the editor in 1882 in the Augusta Chronicle which called for opportunities for women to pursue financial and social independence. She also spread her message through fiction, and her first novel, Ashes of Hopes, which depicted the story of three young women searching for independence, was published in 1886. The effort earned wide acclaim.

Julia Flisch passed away on March 17, 1941. After her passing, this Chalkboard Champion was described as having accomplished “more than than any other person to advance the cause of women’s education in the state of Georgia.” In 1994, she was inducted into the Georgia Women of Achievement.

To read more about Julia Flisch, see this article about her published in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

OK educator Minta Foreman: She taught in Indian schools for 50 years

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Minta Foreman, a Native American from the Cherokee Tribe, spent five decades teaching students in government Indian schools. Photo credit: Choctaw Journeys.

Many dedicated Native Americans have served their communities as talented and hardworking educators. One who is an example of this is Minta Foreman, a Native American from the Cherokee Tribe who spent five decades teaching in government Indian schools educating students from the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes.

Minta was born on April 14, 1878, in Park Hill, near the town of Tahlequah in Oklahoma Indian Territory. Her given name was Araminta Ross Foreman. Her father was Stephen Foreman, a Presbyterian minister. During her childhood, Minta studied at the mission school in Muskogee. Later she attended Willie Halsell College in Vinita, Oklahoma, and the Presbyterian College in Independence, Missouri.

Once she completed her education, Minta taught sixth grade at Cherokee Female Seminary in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Her career there spanned from 1898 to 1909, during which time she also taught high school students and served as the school’s principal. Next, Minta taught seventh and eighth grade at the Cheyenne school in Colorado Springs, and later she taught Choctaw students for six years at Wheelock Academy in Oklahoma. She also completed stints at the Bloomfield Academy, a school for Chickasaw girls, and the Mehusky Indian School. In all, Minta’s career as an educator in government Indian schools spanned 50 years.

Minta’s students said she left a lasting impression on them. They described their teacher as “tall, straight and haughty looking.” Nevertheless, she commanded great respect from her students, who frequently expressed she was an enthusiastic, but dignified, role model.

Sadly, after all these years of dedicated teaching, Minta succumbed to a heart attack on April 29, 1952, in Craig County, Oklahoma. She was 74 years old. She is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Vinita, Craig County, Oklahoma.

Jeanne Manford: The teacher with a social agenda

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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. Jeanne Manford: A true Chalkboard Champion.