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.

KISS musician Gene Simmons: Flamboyant rocker and former sixth grade teacher

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Gene Simmons: Flamboyant musician and make-up wearing, tongue-wagging rocker once taught sixth graders in Spanish Harlem. Photo credit: guitar.com

Almost everyone has heard of the rock band KISS. But did you know that the band’s vocalist, Gene Simmons, was once an elementary school teacher? This flamboyant make-up wearing, tongue-wagging rocker once taught sixth graders in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City.

Gene was born on August 25, 1949, in Tirat Carmel, Israel. At birth, his mother, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, name him Chaim Witz. When he was eight years old, he immigrated to the United States with his mother. They landed in New York City. His father remained in Israel with his other children. Once he arrived in the United States, Chaim changed his name to Eugene Klein, adopting his mother’s maiden name.

Upon his high school graduation, Gene attended first Richmond College and then Sullivan County Community College, both located in New York. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education. A master of languages, Gene speaks Hungarian, Hebrew, Turkish, High German, Japanese, Spanish, and English.

Before he inaugurated his career as a performer, Gene worked a number of odd jobs in New York City. He served as a deli cashier, an office temp, and an assistant to an editor of the fashion magazine Vogue. He also taught sixth graders at PS 75 in Spanish Harlem.

To be honest, Gene’s career as a teacher was very short. “The reason I quit after six months,” the rocker once explained, “is that I discovered the real reason that i became a teacher. It was because I wanted to get up on stage and have people notice me,” he confessed. “I  had to quite because the stage was too small. Forty people wasn’t enough. I wanted forty thousand,” he concluded.

Gene still supports education. Not too long ago he filmed a British reality television show called Rock School in which he formed a rock band from a group of classically-trained children at a  prestigious English boarding school.

To read more about Gene’s career as a rocker, click on this link to A&E Biography.

 

Best-selling author Stephen King was once a high school English teacher

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Best-selling author Stephen King was once a high school English teacher. Here he is in his classroom in Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine, in 1978. Photo Credit: Reddit

Most people are very familiar with the popular novels and short stories of talented horror fiction writer Stephen King, but did you know he was once a high school teacher?

Stephen was born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. His father was a merchant seaman, and his mother was a kitchen worker in a facility for the developmentally handicapped. When Stephen was only two years old, his father abandoned the family, and after that his mother struggled to support herself, Stephen, and Stephen’s older brother, David.

When he was young, Stephen attended Durham Elementary School, and then Lisbon Falls High School in Lisbon Falls, Maine, where he graduated in 1966. Even as a child, Stephen displayed an interest in horror fiction. He was an avid reader of EC’s horror comics, which included the stories of Tales from the Crypt.  He began writing for his own amusement, contributing articles to Dave’s Rag, a home-based newspaper his brother published with a mimeograph machine. Later he began selling stories to his classmates based on movies he had seen, though he was forced to return his profits when his teachers discovered the enterprise. The first of Stephen’s stories to be independently published was “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber,” published in a popular fanzine in 1965.

Following Stephen’s graduation from high school in 1966, he enrolled as a student at the University of Maine, Orono, declaring a major in English. During his college years, he wrote a column for the student newspaper, The Maine Campus, entitled “Steve King’s Garbage Truck,” participated in writing workshops, and took odd jobs to help meet his living expenses, including one stint at an industrial laundry.  He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He sold his first professional short story, “The Glass Floor,” to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967.

After graduating from the University of Maine in 1970, Stephen earned his high school teaching credential, but was unable to find a teaching position right away. To earn a living, he sold short stories to men’s magazines such as Cavalier. In 1971, Stephen was hired to teach at Hampden Academy, a public high school in Hampden, Maine. He continued to contribute short stories to magazines and worked on ideas for novels. After his novel Carrie was published, Stephen left his job as a high school teacher to write full time, but he continued his career as an educator when he was hired as a professor of creative writing at the University of Maine, Orono.

Today, at age 78, Stephen King lives in Bangor, Maine. His wife, Tabitha King, is also a successful author. Stephen and Tabitha provide scholarships for local high school students and  contribute to many other local and national charities.

Learn more about this famous celebrity at his official website.

Lillian Lowery completed a remarkable career in education

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Former English teacher Lillian Lowery logged many accomplishments as an educator. Photo credit: Newark Post

I always enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have completed remarkable careers in the field of education. One of these is former English teacher Lillian Lowery.

Lillian was born in Gastonia, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from North Carolina Central University in 1976. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1978. She completed the requirements for her Ph.D. in Education and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Lillian inaugurated her teaching career as a middle school English teacher at Gaston County Schools in Gastonia. She also taught in schools in Alexandria, Virginia; Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, Virigina; and Fort Wayne Community School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. With each new position, Lillian expanded her experience as an educator, serving as a high school English teacher, an assistant principal, a minority student achievement monitor, a principal, and an area coordinator.

In 2004, Lillian accepted a position as the Secretary of Education in Delaware, and then as the Superintendent of the Christina School District in Newark, Delaware. While living in that state, she also served as the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. Next she moved to Maryland, where she served as the Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education.

In September, 2015, Lillian became the first President and Chief Executive Officer of FutureReady Columbus, a non-profit specializing in early childhood education located in Columbus, Ohio. In March, 2017, she was appointed Vice President for PreK-12 Policy, Research, and Practice at The Education Trust, a national nonprofit working to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps in K-12 education. This organization is located in Washington, DC.

For her work as an educator, Lillian garnered many prestigious awards. In 2015, the National Association of State Boards of Education honored her as the “Policy Leader of the Year.” This honor is awarded annually to a national or state policymaker in recognition of significant contributions to education. Lillian has also garnered the Second Mile Award from the University of Delaware; Wilmington, Delaware’s Junior Achievement Award; the City of Fairfax Mayor’s Service Award; and the Outstanding Service Award from the City of Fairfax School Board.

During her career, Lillian served on the boards of several organizations, Delaware State University, edreports.org, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Her final appointment came when, in 2018, she became the Vice President of Student and Teacher Assessments for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey.

Lillian retired in January, 2022, and, sadly, she passed away three months later, on April 13, 2022. She was 67 years old.

AZ Sp Ed teacher Tiffani Jaseph named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year

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Special Education educator Tiffani Jaseph of Arizona has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Tiffani Joseph

I am always excited when I can share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today, I can share the story of Tiffani Jaseph, a Special Education teacher from Arizona who has been named her state’s 2026 Teacher of the Year.

Tiffani teaches kindergarten through fifth grade at Copper View Elementary School in Sahuarita, Arizona.

She had always wanted to be a teacher, Tiffani confesses, even since she was a student in college. After spending some time teaching in general education lasses, she realized her true passion was for special education.

“We must create a learning environment that embraces all learners,” asserts Tiffani. “I am dedicated to empowering diverse students and cultivating equitable educational opportunities, especially within the general education classroom,” she continues. “With a passion for developing and implementing differentiated curricula, I focus on addressing social-emotional needs, supporting students with diverse backgrounds, and championing practices that uplift neuro-divergent learners,” she concludes.

According to Tiffani, what makes an excellent special education teacher? “You need to be open-minded and be flexible, because we’re always learning and trying to figure out what works for our students and what works one day will not work the next day. So you have to be open-minded and flexible,” she responds.

Tiffani earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2005 and her Master’s degree Special Education in 2009, both from the University of Arizona. Her career as a professional educator spans 15 years, 10 of them as a Special Education teacher.

Her State Teacher of the Year honor is not the only recognition Tiffani has earned. She was named Teacher of the Year at both the Yuma and Sahuarita districts, and she was a finalist for Sahuarita District Teacher of the Year.