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.

Teachers: Marilyn Appelbaum offers Inspiration for You

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Marilyn AppelbaumHere is an inspirational quote for teachers by Marilyn Appelbaum. Marilyn is a respected therapist, consultant for schools, and former director of educational centers and private schools. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and Master’s degrees in Psychology and Education. In addition, she has served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Child Care Professionals and the National Center for Montessori Education.

Marilyn has published several books aimed at helping teachers and parents work more effectively with kids. Among her books are How to Handle Hard to Handle Students, How to Handle Hard to Handle Parents, and How to Talk to Kids So They Listen.

You can learn more about Marilyn Appelbaum at her website, ATI Seminars.

Todd Gerhart: Head football coach, physical education teacher, and former NFL player

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Todd Gerhart

Todd Gerhart, football coach and physical education teacher

There are many examples of talented athletes who have distinguished themselves as coaches and teachers after they have concluded their careers in sports. One of these is former NFL football player Todd Gerhart, who became a football coach and physical education teacher in Norco, California.

Todd, who was born on December 8, 1962, attended Norco High School in Norco, California. At 5’11” and 235 pounds, he made a great choice as a running back. Following his high school graduation, Todd enrolled at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). He played football for the Titans from 1981 to 1984. Once he graduated from CSUF, Todd was drafted by the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL). He also played in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Minnesota Vikings and did a very brief stint with the Houston Oilers.

When he retired from professional football, Todd returned to his alma mater when he accepted a position as a physical education teacher and Head Football Coach at Norco High School. During his tenure, which lasted nine years from 2004 to 2012, the Cougars posted a combined record of 85-28. Two times in three years, the Norco team advanced to the CIF championship, and they won the title in 2005 and 2006. Currently, Todd teaches physical education at Auburndale Junior High School in Corona, California.

To read more about this amazing educator, read the article at CNS Sports entitled Gerhart Juggles Fatherhood, Coaching and Heisman Hoopla.

 

Baltimore teacher and activist Henrietta Szold: She helped save thousands of Jewish teens from the Nazis

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Henrietta Szold

Baltimore teacher and activist Henrietta Szold at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, circa 1920.

I love to tell stories about exceptional educators who have made significant contributions to the world community. One of these is Henrietta Szold, a Baltimore teacher and activist who worked tirelessly with an organization that helped save thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis.

Henrietta was born on December 21, 1860, in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of eight daughters. Her mother was Sophie (Scharr) Szold, and her father was Benjamin Szold, a local respected rabbi. As a young girl, she attended Western Female High School, where she graduated in 1877.
After her high school graduation, Henrietta taught courses in French, German, botany, and mathematics at Miss Adam’s School and Mrs. McCulloch’s School at Glencoe. She taught in these schools for 15 years. When Henrietta saw a need to educate newly-arrived immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, she urged the Hebrew Literary Society to sponsor a program to teach them English. As a result, the first evening adult classes in Baltimore were established. This was the beginning of adult education in the city, and the program became a model for adult education in other American cities. Henrietta also taught courses in history and Bible studies for adults at Oheb Shalom Religious School.
In addition to her classroom duties, Henrietta served as her father’s literary secretary for many years. She became the secretary of the editorial board of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), a position she held until 1916. She translated works, wrote articles, edited manuscripts, and oversaw the publication schedule. In 1899 she was instrumental in producing the first American Jewish Year Book, of which she was sole editor from 1904 to 1908. She also collaborated on the compilation of the Jewish Encyclopedia.

Henrietta is probably best known, however, for founding the international volunteer organization known as Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. With the Nazis rise to power in Germany, Henrietta recognized the extreme danger the party presented to European Jews. In 1932, a plan called Youth Aliyah was developed to send German Jewish Adolescents to Palestine to complete their education. Youth Aliyah was able to save between 22,000 and 30,000 Jewish youths from World War II death camps.

Sadly, Henrietta passed away from complications from pneumonia on February 13, 1945, in Jerusalem, Israel, at the age of 84. She is buried in the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Following her death, Israel issued a coin and a stamp in her memory, the first American woman to be featured on Israeli currency. Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007, Henrietta Szold is truly a chalkboard champion. You can read more about this remarkable teacher in the Jewish Virtual Library.org.

English teacher W. E. Blackhurst records West Virginia’s old-time timber industry

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Throughout American history, there are times when a talented educator will earn acclaim as an author and social commentator. Warren Elmer Blackhurst of West Virginia is just such an educator. His novels and nonfiction pieces record the old-time timber industry that flourished in West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century. In his day, he was also known as a conservationist and expert on local wildlife.

W. E. Blackhurst

W. E. Blackhurst, West Virginia educator and author

W. E. Blackhurst was born in Arbovale, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, on October 10, 1904. He was the seventh of eleven children born to Reverend Harry and Lula (Burner) Blackhurst. As a young boy, Warren attended Green Bank High School. Following his high school graduation, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Glenville State Teachers College.

Once he earned his degree, Warren returned to Green Bank High School, where he taught English and Latin from 1932 to 1964. His career as an educator spanned a total of 32 years. In addition, Warren developed and taught the state’s first class in environmental conservation. Every year, as part of the course, he supervised his seniors in planting five acres of seedlings in the Monongahela National Forest.

All his life, Warren collected and wrote stories West Virginia’s early days in the logging industry, conservation, and local wildlife. His work was published in many magazines and newspapers. He also published several novels retold stories of his home town of Cass and the history of the timber boom years in the Greenbrier Valley. The most acclaimed of his novels is Riders of the Flood (1954), which has been reworked into an outdoor play and is performed annually. Warren also wrote Sawdust In Your Eyes (1963), Of Men and A Mighty Mountain (1965), and Mixed Harvest (1970). A collection of poetry and prose entitled Afterglow was published posthumously in 1972. 

Warren passed away on October 5, 1970, in Cass, West Virginia. To learn more about this chalkboard champion, consult West Virginia Encyclopedia.

Chalkboard Champion Mary Hatwood Futrell: Teacher and former president of the NEA

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Mary Hatwood Futrell

Chalkboard champion Mary Hatwood Futrell, teacher and former president of the NEA

One of the most amazing chalkboard champions I have ever researched is Mary Hatwood Futrell, a high school business teacher from Virginia who was eventually elected president of the National Education Association (NEA).

Mary was born in Altavista, Campbell County, Virginia, on May 24, 1940. Young Mary was raised by a single mother, who worked as a housekeeper and factory worker. When she became an adult, Mary established a relationship with her biological father, a construction worker.

As a teenager, Mary attended Dunbar High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. There she participated in cheerleading, student government, Future Business Leaders of America, and the National Honor Society. After her high school graduation in 1958, Mary enrolled in Virginia State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education In 1962.

Mary accepted her first position as a teacher at Parker Gray High School, a segregated school located in Alexandria, Virginia. She taught there from 1962 to 1964. In 1965, the young teacher moved to George Washington High School, where she was instrumental in integrating the teaching staff. She taught business courses at George Washington until 1980. While there, Mary pursued her Master’s degree in Secondary Education from George Washington University. She completed the degree requirements in 1968.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Mary was active in the teachers’ union. She worked her way up the ranks, and was eventually elected president of the National Education Association (NEA) in 1983. Only the fourth person of color to be elected to that office, she served there until 1989. During her three terms as NEA president, Mary led the organization to achieve gains in civil and human rights, especially women’s rights. Because of her tireless efforts, the NEA created the Mary Futrell Award to recognize individuals who have made a significant impact on education and on the achievement of equal opportunities for women and girls.

In 1992, this amazing educator joined the faculty of George Washington University. In 1995, she was promoted to Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She also served as the director of the George Washington Institute for Curriculum Standards and Technology. She did all this while earning her doctorate in Education Policy Studies. Mary has also served in a number of other important organizations. She was the president of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession; The Virginia Education Association; Education International; and ERAmerica.

To guide fellow teachers in their search for best practices, the former classroom teacher has published numerous scholarly articles about the pedagogy of teaching. “When the uncapped potential of a student meets the liberating art of a teacher,” Mary once wrote, “a miracle unfolds.”

For her work in education policy and reform, Mary has been awarded numerous honors and awards, including more than 20 honorary degrees. To learn more about this amazing chalkboard champion, see her biography at History Makers.