Category Archives: Education

Chalkboard Champion and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune

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Mary McLeod Bethune was a teacher, women’s rights activist, and civil rights leader. Photo Credit: NMAH, Smithsonian Institution

Many fine educators have also made significant contributions to their communities and to society as a whole. One of these is Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American teacher who was was also a women’s rights activist and civil rights leader.

Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, to former slaves in a log cabin on a plantation in Maysville, South Carolina. Her parents were Samuel and Patsy McLeod. Mary was the last of the couple’s 17 children, and the only one of the McLeod children to be born into freedom.

When the Civil War was won, Mary’s mother worked for her former owner until she could buy the land on which the McLeod family grew cotton. By nine years of age, young Mary could pick 250 pounds of cotton a day.

Even as a young child, Mary showed an unusual interest in books and reading. However, in those days it was rare for African Americans to receive an education. Nevertheless, a charitable organization interested in providing educational opportunities for Black children established a school near Mary’s home. Her parents could scrape together only enough money to pay the tuition for one of their children, and Mary was chosen. The future educator earned a scholarship to attend the Scotia Seminary, a boarding school in North Carolina. She graduated from there in 1894. She also attended Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in Chicago, Illinois. Her studies there spanned two years.

When she grew up, Mary retained her strong desire to extend educational opportunities to other African Americans. She established her career as a teacher. While teaching in South Carolina, she married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune. The union produced one son in 1899.

In 1904 Mary founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. Starting out with only five students, she helped expand the school to more than 250 students over the next few years. Today, this school is known Bethune-Cookman University.

In her later years, Mary became a close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and also a trusted adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt. In recognition of her outstanding abilities, the President made her a member of his unofficial “Black Cabinet.” He also appointed her the head of the National Youth Administration in 1936. In 1937 the indefatigable educator organized a conference on the Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth, and she fought tirelessly to end discrimination and lynching. In 1940, Mary became the Vice President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP), a position she held for the rest of her life. In 1945, she was appointed by President Harry Truman to be the only woman of color present at the founding meeting of the United Nations.

This celebrated educator passed away peacefully on May 18, 1955. For all her accomplishments, Mary McLeod Bethune is truly a Chalkboard Champion. To read more about her, see this link at the website for the National Women’s History Museum.

Carly Maloney named Utah’s 2024 Teacher of the Year

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High school English and psychology teacher Carly Maloney has been named Utah’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Kier

I am always excited to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned recognition for the work with have done with young people. Today I share the story of Carly Maloney, a high school English and psychology teacher from Utah. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Carly teaches English, English Language Advancement, and Advanced Placement Psychology at her high school alma mater, Viewpoint High School in Bountiful, Utah. She has also coached soccer  on her campus and served as an advisor for sophomore, junior, and student body officers. She has served as a member of Viewmont High School’s joint staff school and standards-based learning committees. She is a member of the Davis Education Association Board and has been named a recipient of her District’s Teacher Leader Fellowship. The fellowship has taught her more about how to be a teacher leader in her own building, she says, and has given her an opportunity to speak with state leaders at the Capitol about what’s happening in her classroom.

The first thing she wants all of her students to know, Carly declares, is that they have a safe place at school where they belong, their voice matters, and they can connect with others. She also wants them to develop resilience. One of the signs on one wall in her classroom reads “Grow through what you go through.” Another says, “It’s OK to not be OK.” A third says, “Mental health is as important as physical health,” and a fourth reads, “Be kind to your mind.”

Carly earned  her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Idaho State University in 2014. She earned her Master’s degree in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2018. She is a member of the National Education Association and the American Psychological Association’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools.

Terry Lee Marzell and Kurby to appear at Paws in the Park event

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Author Terry Lee Marzell and her fur baby, Kurby, share Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles. Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

Join me and my beloved celebri-dog, Kurby, at an author appearance at the Paws in the Park event on Sept. 7, 2024, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. The event will be held at Vila Borba Dog Park located at 17001 Amadora Dr, Chino Hills, CA 91709. At the event, I will feature my new book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, a children’s book which features a setting at Vila Borba. I say the book is for children, but dog-lovers and animal lovers of all ages would enjoy it!

The novel shares the story of Bowser which is based on the true-life experience of Kurby, who was rescued from his abusive former owner. He’s even depicted on the front cover of the book! Another character in the novel is an elegant tuxedo cat, Licorice, another of my fur babies. She is depicted on the back cover.

But that’s not all the book is about! The narrative features a cast of charming animal characters and their human companions who live in or visit the dog park. Each event which takes place holds an essential message about kindness, community, inclusion, resilience, and personal responsibility. There are also messages about anti-bullying and anti-prejudice. In addition, the narrative includes commentary about how all of us can appreciate nature, even if we live in a suburban environment. For example, there are chapters about the migratory patterns of Canada geese, the natural instincts of the animal characters, and the progression of the seasons.

Come to the Paws in the Park event to meet me and Kurby! There you can purchase a copy of the novel and have it personally autographed. You can also purchase the book from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. And I will also have my award-winning teacher books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes on hand.

See you there!

Patricia Roppel, Alaska Home Ec teacher, historian, and author

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Alaska home economics teacher Patricia Roppel also earned fame as a historian and author. Photo Credit: SitNews.

Many excellent classroom teachers earn recognition for endeavors outside of the classroom. One of these is Patricia Roppel, a home economics teacher from Alaska who also earned fame as a historian and author.

Patricia was born April 5, 1938, in Ellensburg, Washington. As a young woman, she earned her degree in Home Economics from Oregon State University. As a young co-ed, she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. Patricia moved to Alaska in 1959, where she accepted a position as a home economics teacher at Ketchikan High School. She taught there until 1965.

In March of 1965, Patricia published her first article in the Alaska Sportsman. Over the next 50 years, she published 13 books and more than 100 articles about the history of southeast Alaska. In her writings, she expertly described the industries of the region, including mining, salmon fishing, hatcheries, and canning. For this work, she was honored as Alaska Historian of the Year in both 1978 and 2006.

In 1975, Alaska Governor Jay Hammond appointed the veteran educator to his newly-formed Alaska Historical Commission. She served on this body until 1983. Among the Commission’s tasks was the writing of a new high school textbook about the history of the state. In 1991, the former teacher was appointed by Governor Wally Hickel to the Alaska Humanities Forum, a position she held until 1996. In 2003, Patricia was once again named to the Alaska Historical Commission by Governor Tony Knowles. She served in this role until 2015. In addition, Patricia was one of the founding board members of Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture (SSRA).

Sadly, Patricia passed away from cancer in Bellevue, Washington, on January 6, 2015. You can read more about her in her obituary, published by SitNews.