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.

Laura Towne: The Chalkboard Champion Who Taught Emancipated Slaves

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35_towne_sm[1][1]American history is full of absolutely amazing chalkboard champions, and one excellent example is Laura Towne. This remarkable teacher was one of the first northern women to venture south in order to work with newly emancipated slaves.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in1825, Laura was raised in Philadelphia, where she moved in socially progressive circles. She was educated as both a homeopathic physician and a schoolteacher. She was also a dedicated abolitionist.

While the Civil War still was raging all about her, Laura travelled to St. Helena Island in Port Royal, South Carolina, where she founded the first school for freed slaves. She named her institution the Penn School. Laura was practical, independent, down-to-earth and strong-willed. She readily entered into the life of Saint Helena Island, where she began her work attending to the medical needs of the freed slaves. In June, 1862, Laura gave up her medical practice, and together with Ellen Murray, her life-long friend and fellow teacher, opened the first school for freed slaves. Nine adults students enrolled in the school, which operated out of the back room of an abandoned plantation house. Unlike most schools established for emancipated slaves, Laura’s school offered a rigorous curriculum, which was modeled on the schools of New England.

Laura spent forty years running her school and grew to love the life she had established in Port Royal. She and Ellen eventually adopted several African American children and raised them as their own. Upon her death in 1901, Laura bequeathed the Penn School to the Hampton Institute, at which time it began operating as the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School.

Native American Loren Brommelyn: The Chalkboard Champion Who is the Tradition Bearer of His Tribe

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7046458[1][1]Many teachers dedicate themselves to preserving the rich traditions of their culture group. One such educator is Loren Me’lash-ne Brommelyn, a “tradition bearer” for the Tolowa tribe. Loren, who is of Tolowa, Karuk, and Wintu descent, has dedicated him life to preserving the traditional songs, ceremonial dances, language, and basketry of his Native American culture.Loren was born in 1956 in the small fishing village of Nelechundun on the Smith River. His tribe, the Tolowa, numbered approximately 2,400 prior to European contact, but dwindled to only 121 people in the Smith River and Crescent Bay region by 1910. As a speaker and teacher of the Tolowa language, he considered the single most knowledgeable individual on the subject. He is also recognized as the largest single maker and contributor of men’s and women’s dance regalia in the Tolowa community, and he has a reputation throughout the northwestern part of the state as an expert basketmaker.
Loren earned his master’s degree in linguistices from the University of Oregon. He currently teaches at Tah-Ah-Dun Indian Magnet Charter School in Crescent City in northern California, and formerly taught for many years at Del Norte High School in the same town. He’s also a published author, producing educational material about the Tolowa language, and he played an important role in persuading the University of California system to recognize Native American language as part of the entrance requirements for world language. In 2002, Loren was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Education Association.

Chalkboard Champion Mary Jo Codey: The former First Lady of New Jersey

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$R4OPBFLMany times gifted and active educators find themselves immersed in the world of politics. This is certainly the case with Mary Jo Codey, an elementary schoolteacher who is also the former First Lady of New Jersey. Mary Jo served her state during the administration of her husband, Governor Richard Codey, from 2004 to 2006. Governor Codey took office upon the resignation of former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey.

Mary Jo was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and was raised in West Orange. After her high school graduation, she enrolled in Caldwell College, where she earned first her bachelor’s and then her master’s degrees in elementary education. She has also earned certification as a learning disabilities teacher consultant from Seton Hall University.

Once her husband took office, Mary Jo taught part time. Simultaneously she served as the ambassador to the Governor’s Book Club, which encouraged reading and literacy skills among elementary school children. This position gave her an opportunity to visit schools all over the state and read aloud to children. She also worked tirelessly to promote awareness for women’s mental health issues, particularly post-partum depression, and breast cancer.

After her husband left office, Mary Jo accepted a teaching position at a private elementary school in West Orange, New Jersey.

Clayton Brough: The Teacher and the Television Weatherman

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$RKZAZ3VVery often gifted teachers earn recognition in fields other than education. One such teacher is Robert Clayton Brough, a retired middle school teacher who is also well known as a climatologist and television personality. Known widely as Clayton Brough, he is probably best known for his position as a long-time weatherman of ABC4 in Salt Lake City, Utah, a position he held for twenty-eight years. He also worked on the weather team at CBS2.

Clayton was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1950. As a youngster, he was a longtime member of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1967 Clayton was selected by his district to report on the status of Scouting in America to President Lyndon Johnson. After his high school graduation, Clayton enrolled in Brigham Young University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1974 and his master’s degree in 1975, both in the field of geography.

During the years he worked as an on-air weatherman, Clayton also taught science, geography, and journalism in middle school. His first teaching assignment was at Springville Junior High in 1975 in Springville, Utah, where he worked between 1975 and 1978. Between 1978 and 1984, Clayton took a break from teaching, returning to the profession to teach at Springville in 1984. In 1986,  he transferred to Eisenhower Junior High in Taylorsville, Utah. Clayton has also served as an adjunct instructor of geography at Brigham Young University starting in 1989 and at the University of Utah  beginning in 2005. He has also written scientific articles and doctrinal books for the Mormon Church.

This gifted educator retired from his thirty-one-year career in the teaching profession in 2012.

Chalkboard Champion Joe Colone: The Gifted Athlete Who Became the Consumate Coach

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39190638_129470986447[1][1]Many acomplished athletes go on to become exceptional educators once they leave their careers in professional sports. One such athlete is Joseph F. Colone, a professional basketball player who once played for the New York Knicks.

Joe Colone was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania, on January 23, 1924. He attended Berwick High School in Berwick, Pennsylvania, where he established a reputation as a gifted athlete. Upon his high school graduation, he enrolled in Bloomsburg State Teachers College, now known as Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he also played basketball. After college graduation, Joe was not drafted into the NBA, but he still managed to make the Knicks’ roster for the 1948-1949 season.  At 6 feet 5 inches tall and 210 pounds, Joe played the forward position. He played for only one season, but during that season he appeared in 15 games and averaged 5.5 points.

After his brief career in the NBA, Joe moved to Woodbury, New Jersey, and accepted a teaching position at Woodbury Junior/Senior High School, where he taught from 1954 to 1986. There he served as an assistant coach for both the basketball and the football teams, and the head coach for the golf team. While at Woodbury, Joseph mentored rising basketball star Dave Budd, who later went on to play for Wake Forest University and then for the New York Knicks.

As a teacher and coach, Joe was described as genuinely nice, fun-loving, and family-oriented. Those who knew him said he had a passion for the art of teaching and a knack for motivating all his kids to do well. “Joe meant everything to me,” former student Dave Budd said in an interview published in nj.com in 2009. “Without him, I’d never have gotten a scholarship to Wake Forest. Without him, I doubt I’d ever have gotten to the NBA. He gave me direction, helped me with my temper. Joe was a major person in my life and we remained close over all these years. On the court and off the court, Joe helped many young people in Woodbury.”

Joseph Colone, chalkboard champion and professional basketball player, passed away on July 1, 2009, at the age of 85.