Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell
Reflections about America’s Chalkboard Heroes
Author Terry Lee Marzell with her book, Chalkboard Heroes. Photo credit: Hal Marzrll
It seems to be a universal practice in classrooms to ask students to think about, talk about, and write about the topic of heroism. Teachers frequently ask, “Who are our heroes?” “What are the qualities of a hero?” “What actions are considered heroic?” Often, a common response to these questions is a hero is an individual who goes above and beyond the usual, the expected, or the required, and that a heroic act involves significant courage, risk, and sacrifice.
In book, Chalkboard Heroes, you will find the stories of 12 courageous teachers in American history who took considerable risks and made substantial sacrifices. For example, there are the countless teachers who protect our country by serving in the Armed Forces and the National Guard. If the times call for it, they valiantly march off to war. Henry Alvin Cameron who fought in World War I and Francis Wayland Parker, a Civil War veteran, are but two of these soldier-teachers. There are the social reformers, the chalkboard heroes who endanger their personal safety to bring about improved conditions and better lives for America’s disenfranchised citizens. Teachers like Dolores Huerta, the champion of migrant farm workers; Robert Parris Moses, the 1960’s civil rights activist; Prudence Crandall, who defied prevailing social convention to open a school for African American girls; Carrie Chapman Catt, the suffragist; and Zitkala Sa, who campaigned tirelessly for the constitutional rights of Native Americans. There are the courageous pioneers who take great risks to blaze a trail for others to follow. Educators like Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space; Willa Brown Chappell, the pioneer aviatrix who taught Tuskegee airmen to fly; Etta Schureman Jones, the Alaskan pioneer who landed in a POW camp in Japan during WWII; and Olive Mann Isbell, who immigrated to the West and established the first English school in California—while the Mexican American War raged all around her. And then there are the teachers who lay down their lives to protect the students whose safety has been entrusted to their care. Teachers like Dave Sanders, the chalkboard hero of Columbine High School.
These 12 are but a few of the countless heroic teachers in American history. Their stories are perhaps all the more remarkable when we consider that in our society, teaching is usually considered a safe profession, classrooms are typically considered safe places, teachers are not usually recognized as risk-takers. The accounts of the 12 chalkboard heroes presented here show us that these perceptions are not at all a reflection of reality.
You can find Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor at amazon.com.
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ME teacher Nancie Atwell, first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize
English teacher Nancie Atwell of Maine became the first recipient ever of the Global Teacher Prize. Photo credit: Nancie Atwell
One of the most inspirational teachers in American history is Nancie Atwell, an English teacher from Maine who was named the first teacher ever to win a Global Teacher Prize.
Nancie discovered a love of books as a child, when she became bedridden with rheumatic fever. As an adult, she became an English teacher, inaugurating her career at a middle school in New York State in 1973.
In 1990, Nancie founded the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), a non-profit demonstration school she organized to develop and disseminate effective classroom practices. The center’s faculty conduct seminars, write professional books and articles, and invite teachers from across the US and other countries to spend a week at the school. There they experience the center’s methods firsthand and expose students to other culture groups. So far, 97% of CTL graduates have matriculated to university.
Nancie is also a published author. Her book, In the Middle, describes her innovative reading-writing approach to reading. She also developed the curriculum for a related workshop, where her students were given the freedom to choose the subjects they write about and the books they read. The students, who may not have been readers before taking her workshop, created an average of 20 pieces of publishable writing and read 40 books each year. They also engaged in writing practice that leads to improvement in their writing and reading skills. To learn more about the Center for Teaching & Learning, examine their website at CTL.
Since 1976 Nancie has written nine books on teaching (with praise from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education), edited five collections, and delivered 120 keynote addresses on her teaching. In addition, Nancie has won awards from the Modern Language Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2011 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of New Hampshire.
In 2015, Nancie became the first recipient of the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award presented by the Varkey Foundation to “one innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on their students and their community.” To learn more about the Varkey Foundation, click here.
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Basketball coach Mike Hilmer garners a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year honor
Iowa basketball coach Mike Hilmer named one of 24 high school coaches by the National Federation of High Schools. Photo credit: Mike Hilmer
I always enjoy highlighting an exceptional coach who has earned accolades for his work with young athletes. Today I shine the spotlight on Mike Hilmer, an outstanding coach from Iowa. He has been named one of 24 high school coaches from around the country who have been honored as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the NFHS (National Federation of High Schools).
Mike was raised in Forest City, Iowa. After his high school graduation, he attended Cornell College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1991. Later he earned his administrative degree online through Grand Canyon University.
Mike inaugurated his career as a physical education teacher and boys basketball coach at Iowa’s Lincoln Central High School. He then completed stints at Estherville-Lincoln Central High School as a geography teacher and boys basketball coach.
In 1999, Mike accepted a position as a teacher of US History at North Linn High School in Troy Mills, Iowa. Additionally, he served as the Activities Director there since 2006. During his tenure at North Linn, Mike coached boys and girls golf, softball, and boys basketball. In the 16 years that Mike worked at North Linn, his teams have won 234 games and lost only nine. Since 2018, North Linn has reached the Iowa State Championship every year—an amazing seven consecutive seasons—winning a state title three times, including the year 2024.
Mike;’s prowess as an exceptional coach has not escaped attention. In the 33-year span of his coaching career career, Mike had been named State Coach of the Year six times. The is in addition to his recognition as a 2023-2024 National Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High Schools.
This year, Mike left North Linn to become the Superintendent of Bellevue Schools in Bellevue, Iowa. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association for ten years, and the IHSAA Boys Basketball Advisory Committee for six years.
Congratulations, Mike Hilmer: A true Chalkboard Champion!
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Music educator Maria “Madi” Bacon established famous San Francisco Boys Chorus
Music educator Maria “Madi” Bacon established the famous San Francisco Boys Chorus. Photo credit: Find a Grave
During Women’s History Month, we spotlight many exemplary educators who taught in America’s schools One of them was Maria “Madi” Bacon, a music teacher who established the famous San Francisco Boys Chorus.
Madi was born on Feb. 15, 1906, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Dr. Charles Sumner Bacon, was the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Illinois, and her mother, Marie Francisca Elise von Rostorn, was an Austrian countess. Madi was the fifth child born to the couple.
As a youngster, Madi graduated from high school in 1922. While still a high school student, she met Albert Einstein and, because she was fluent in German, she became his translator when he delivered lectures at the Covenant Club in Chicago. Later, Madi earned her Bachelor’s degree in Romance Languages in 1927 and her Master’s degree in 1941, both from the University of Chicago.
Madi inaugurated her career as an art teacher at Chicago’s Hull House, and in 1928 accepted a position as a music teacher and tennis coach at the Katherine Branson School in Ross, California. In 193, she relocated to a position as a music teacher at Glencoe Public School in Glencoe, Oklahoma.
Madi’s most significant achievement was to form the San Francisco Boys Chorus, which was the country’s only boy’s opera repertory chorus at that time. Many participants in the group went on to participate in the San Francisco Opera and some became major international musical talents. She also mentored several renowned conductors, including Calvin Simmons and Kent Nagano. She also served as Dean of Roosevelt University’s School of Music for six years.
Madi Bacon succumbed to congestive heart failure on Jan. 10 in Berkeley, California, on Jan. 10, 2001. She was 94 years old. For her work as an outstanding music teacher, Madi was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. You can learn more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion from this article published by the Chicago Tribune.
