Category Archives: Books

Here s a list of books written for teachers that are worth reading. Enjoy!

Gifting for Teacher Appreciation Day!

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Super Teacher!

Super Teacher!

Teacher Appreciation Day is just around the corner! When trying to decide just the right gift to give to your friends and family members that are teachers, or that special teacher that works with your child, consider copies of Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes. Each volume is packed with inspirational stories about remarkable educators in American history, and the historical implications of their pioneering work. These books make great gifts for individuals in the teaching profession and those aspiring to become teachers some day. They are also appealing to history buffs and social scientists.

Among the captivating stories in Chalkboard Champions is the story of Charlotte Forten Grimke, an African American born into freedom who volunteered to teach emancipated slaves as the Civil War raged around her. Read the eyewitness account of the Wounded Knee massacre through the eyes of teacher Elaine Goodale Eastman, and educator Mary Tsukamoto, imprisoned in a WWII Japanese internment camp. Read about Mississippi Freedom Summer teacher Sandra Adickes who, together with her students, defied Jim Crow laws to integrate the Hattiesburg Public Library. Marvel at the pioneering work of Anne Sullivan Macy, the teacher of Helen Keller, the efforts of teacher Clara Comstock to find homes for thousands of Orphan Train riders, and the dedication of Jaime Escalante, the East LA educator who proved to that inner city Latino youths could successfully meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum.

In Chalkboard Heroes, read about dedicated educators who were heroes both inside and outside of the classroom, including WWI veteran Henry Alvin Cameron and Civil War veteran Francis Wayland Parker. Learn about teachers who were social reformers such as Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights activist Robert Parris Moses, suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, and Native American rights advocate Zitkala-Sa, all of whom put themselves at risk to fight for improved conditions for disenfranchised citizens. Discover brave pioneers who took great risks to blaze a trail for others to follow such as Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space; Willa Brown Chappell, the aviatrix who taught Tuskegee airmen to fly; Etta Schureman Jones, the Alaskan teacher who was interned in a POW camp in Japan during WWII; and Olive Mann Isbell, who established the first English school in California while the Mexican american War raged around her.

All these remarkable stories and more can be shared with someone you know this year on Teacher Appreciation Day!

The campaign to establish Legendary Teachers Day

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At the Tucson Festival of Books last weekend I was excited to meet Dr. Nicholas I. Clement, a former teacher and superintendent of schools with a distinguished 38-year-long career as an educator. Nicholas is currently championing the cause of establishing a Legendary Teacher Day, to be celebrated on September 27, 2018. What a spectacular idea!

Nicholas explains that the definition of a legendary teacher is specific, yet simple. He says the premise is based on three tenets: building relationships, engaging deeply with students, and creating high expectations. “Legendary Teachers have frog eyes,” says Nicholas. “Frogs have great vision. They can see colors. They can see bugs at night. Some frogs have three lids, closing one for camouflage while still being able to see everything around them.” More about how to become a legendary teacher can be found in a slim little book Nicholas authored entitled How to Catch a Swamp Frog. The volume is available on amazon.com at this link: How to Catch a Swamp Frog.

Nicholas has spent many years in the field of education. This amazing educator began his career as a Special Education teacher, then moved on to become a principal at both the high school and junior high school level, and as an assistant superintendent. He also served as the superintendent of the Flowing Wells School District. Nicholas is currently the Dean of the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, where he is responsible for teaching and advocating for education throughout Arizona.

Nicholas earned his doctorate in Educational Administration at the University of Arizona. He earned his master’s degree in Educational Administration at the University of Nevada, and his bachelor’s degree at the University of Michigan.

Learn more about the campaign to establish Legendary Teachers Day at www.legendaryteacher.com.

 

Author Terry Lee Marzell to appear at Tucson Festival of Books

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Author Terry Lee Marzell will be appearing at the 2018 Tucson Festival of Books to be held on March 10-11 on the campus of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Terry’s appearance will be in the Wheatmark Publishers booth, Booth 402, on Sunday, March 11, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

This year’s celebration of literature will be the tenth year of the annual festival. Over the last decade, the two-day event has grown to become the third largest reader event in the country. Each year, the festival attracts more than 130,000 book lovers who enjoy author presentations, panel discussions, workshops, exhibits, and great food. This year, event organizers are offering special programming for children and teens, a literary circus, culturally diverse programs, and a poetry venue. And it’s all free to the public! To learn more about the Tucson Festival of Books, visit their website at TFoB.

Terry Lee Marzell is the author of two books about remarkable teachers in American history: Chalkboard Champions (Wheatmark, 2012) and Chalkboard Heroes (Wheatmark, 2015). She is a retired secondary school teacher and school librarian, who is engaged today as an author, blogger, public speaker, and adult literacy tutor. Come visit her at the Tucson Festival of Books!

 

 

 

Meet Memphis Teacher Michael Scruggs: “You have everything it takes to be #1”

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Meet high school social studies teacher Michael Scruggs from Memphis, Tennessee. He is such an inspiration to his students! Every day he begins his classes with a motivational mantra such as, “You have everything it takes to be #1.”

This passionate chalkboard champion was featured last June in an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. View the video below to see him in action, and to meet one of his former students.

 

 

Journalist Barbara Demick tells the story of Mi-ran, the North Korean Kindergarten Teacher who Defected

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The country of North Korea and its quarrelsome Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un have taken top billing in the news quite a bit recently, and with the upcoming Winter Olympic Games scheduled in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, we’re likely to hear a lot more. You can learn a great deal about the political climate of the two Koreas, as told by the citizens themselves, by reading a fascinating book entitled Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, written by award-winning journalist Barbara Demick.

The volume traces the lives of six ordinary North Korean citizens who were raised to accept without question the totalitarianism of the Kim regime. One by one, each of these citizens experiences a life-altering disillusionment with their Supreme Leader, and each ultimately feels compelled to attempt defection from their inhuman conditions. Eventually, each one escapes into the welcoming arms of South Korea.

One of these individuals was Mi-ran, a neophyte kindergarten teacher assigned to a school near her girlhood home of Chongjin. Mi-ran dearly loved her little students, but although she faced her class each day with the most cheerful attitude she could muster, she soon became embittered by her government’s expectation that she systematically brainwash her kids into believing they had “nothing to envy” while she watched them die a slow, agonizing death from starvation. The riveting story of Mi-ran’s defection, and the sweetheart she left behind, make fascinating reading. Equally engrossing are the stories of the other five defectors included in the book, one of whom is Mi-ran’s lost love.

Up to now, when Americans think of North Korea, we see only the menacing visage of Kim Jong-Un. The stories of these six ordinary citizens who have survived in, and escaped from, one of the most repressive governments in the world bring a humanizing perspective to that nation.

The book, first published in 2009, was named a National Book Award finalist and was similarly recognized by the National Book Critics Circle. You can find Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick on amazon.com.