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.

Educator, activist, and member of New Mexico House of Reps Miguel P. Garcia

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Educator, activist, and member of the new Mexico House of Representatives Miguel P. Garcia.

Many fine classroom teachers have also been successful in the political arena. This is certainly true of Miguel P. Garcia, a Spanish teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico who has served in his state’s House of Representatives since 1997.

Miguel earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, in 1973. He earned his Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 1993.

While still an undergrad, Miguel became an active participant in the civil rights struggle of Chicano people in the late 1960’s, 1970’s, and early 1980’s. In 1972, he was arrested at a sit-in at the Office of the President while protesting discrimination in the employment of Latinos at his university. He also worked for the creation of a Chicano Studies Program at the school. He chaired the Chicano Student Organization (AHORA) for two years. In those two years, his group created tutorial programs in the barrio schools of North Portales, and they opened a community center operated by the North Portales community.

Miguel has taught Spanish in Albuquerque Public Schools since 1989. Prior to becoming an educator, he worked as a real estate broker from 1985 to 1992. He was also employed as the Director of Casa Armijo Community Center from 1979 to 1985.

In 1996, Miguel was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. He continues to serve his constituents in District 14 there to this day. In the legislature, he is a member of the Labor Committee, the Veterans and Military Affairs Development Committee, and serves as the Chair of the Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committees. To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion’s political activities, follow this link to a Q&A published in the Albuquerque Journal.

Williamina Fleming: Talented educator and honored Harvard astronomer

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Williamina Fleming: Talented educator and honored Harvard astronomer. Photo credit: Astronomical Photographs at Harvard College Observatory.

I love to share stories about educators who have earned accolades for their work in scientific fields. Williamina Fleming, an immigrant from Dundee, Scotland, was one such educator.

Born on May 15, 1857, Williamina immigrated to the United States with her husband. The couple landed in Boston, Massachusetts. She was in her early 20’s  and pregnant when her husband abandoned her. After her son was born, Williamina was forced to find a way to support herself and her baby on her own. She took a job as a housekeeper in the home of Edward Charles Pickering, who happened to be the Director of Harvard College Observatory.

One day, Williamina’s employer became frustrated with the men he employed. In the heat of the moment, he yelled out, “My Scottish maid could do better!” While said in jest, there was a great deal of truth to his utterance. Williamina had been an advanced student while in Scotland. There she had been a pupil-teacher by the time she was 14 years old. She continued to teach for five years until she married.

In 1881, recognizing his housekeeper’s outstanding scholastic abilities, Pickering hired Williamina to be the first of what would become a famous group of Harvard Computers. All women, they studied the stars through glass plate photographs. A few years later, Williamina became curator of astronomical photographs. This role came with the responsibility of managing a dozen women computers.

While working at the observator, the former teacher devised and helped implement a system of assigning stars a letter according to how much hydrogen could be observed in their spectra. Her most notable achievement, however, is her discovery of the Horsehead Nebula in 1888.

Williamina went on to discover many stars and receive numerous awards and honors. She became a member of the Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America, the Astronomical Society of France, and an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. The Astronomical society of Mexico honored her with the Guadalupe Almendaro Medal. She was also named an Honorary fellow in astronomy at Wellesley College.

Williamina passed away from pneumonia in Boston on May 11, 1911, at the young age of 54.

Read more about this amazing teacher at ScientificWomen.net.

Texas educator Cathy Cluck conducts lessons while on the road

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Cathy Cluck, an AP History teacher from Austin, Texas, brings new meaning to the words “distance learning” as conducted lessons in US history from the road on her tour of significant historical sites. (Photo credit: Photo taken by Cathy Cluck and printed by Yahoo Life) 

I am continuously amazed by the ingenuity and creativity displayed by my fellow educators. Here’s one, in particular, that deserves accolades. She is Cathy Cluck, a history teacher from Texas. Cathy is bringing new meaning to the words “distance learning.”

As part of what she calls her “Great American Road Trip,” Cathy has traveled approximately 3,000 miles all over the country to visit such historically significant sites such as Gettysburg, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and the Lincoln Memorial. From these locations she conducts lessons about the important events that occurred there. Cathy teaches AP US History and AP European History at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

Over a span of 15 days, the innovative teacher set up a hotspot in her SUV and uses a camera on a tripod and her phone to broadcast her history-based lessons from the road. “I’ve had class from my car, I’ve had class from rest areas,” and she confessed that once she even administered a history online while in a parking lot in Tennessee. In all, Cathy visited a total of 11 historical sites. 

“This is something I’d never be able to do in a normal school year,” Cathy remarks. “I was just trying to figure out, how can I make this school year interesting and fun for kids? I mean, I don’t know how to do [remote learning]. I wasn’t trained to be an online teacher,” she confessed, “So I figured, what if I teach history from the places where it happened? Maybe that would at least make them want to log in to find out where their teacher is every day.”

To read more about Cathy’s amazing adventure, see this link at Yahoo Life.

New York teacher Gabrielle Gayle stood up for her colleagues

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New York special education teacher Gabrielle Gayle stood up for the rights of her colleagues, literally.

I often encounter stories about educators who work towards bettering the lives of their colleagues. This is true of Gabrielle Gayle, a fourth grade special education teacher from New York City. Sadly, this particular educator passed away from complications of Covid-19 on April 25, 2020.

Gabrielle Gayle taught at Merrick Academy, a public charter school located in the Queens. In a career that spanned 12 years, four of them were spent at Merrick Academy. Her fellow teaches remember her fondly as a generous person, willing to help both students and co-workers. She was known for her long days. One time she even stayed so late she got locked in the building!

This indefatigable educator was also a union representative. During the most recent contract negotiation, her colleagues describe what they describe as Gabrielle’s “Norma Rae” moment. “Our Board of Trustees was not giving us a date to negotiate, and Gabby and I organized staff to come to the Board meeting,” recalled colleague Christine Hernandez. “We all wore black and agreed we would determine the right time to stand up and be recognized. Gabby texted me, ‘I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to stand up.’ She stood up and she said, ‘We, the Merrick Academy teaching staff, demand that you recognize us. We’ve been waiting for a date for negotiations and we’re not going to wait any longer,'” Hernandez continued. Everyone stood up with Gabby, and educators soon got their negotiation date. “She really lived her principles and would not back down. She was not afraid to be vocal and stand up for what she knew was right,” Hernandez concluded.

While educating New York City schoolchildren, Gabrielle also served as a softball coach for Roosevelt Middle and High schools. At Utica College, where she double majored in special education and general education, Gabrielle mentored other students and fought for equity for women and students of color. She was also pursuing an advanced degree. She had only one semester to go before completing the requirements for her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University.

When she passed away, Gabrielle was only 34 years old, and pregnant with her second child. She leaves behind a husband and four-year-old daughter. To read her obituary, see this link to New York State United Teachers.