Category Archives: Education

School teacher Hercules Mooney was a Revolutionary War hero

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Hercules Mooney

New Hampshire school teacher Hercules Mooney served the cause of liberty during the Revolutionary War. Photo credit: Find a Grave

There are many examples of classroom teachers who serve our country as veterans. This is true of the Chalkboard Hero Hercules Mooney, who served in the American military during both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.

Hercules was born in 1715 in Ballaghmoor, Kings County, Ireland. As a young man in his home country, he found work as a tutor. In 1733, Hercules emigrated to the United States, where he settled in Dover, New Hampshire. There he inaugurated his career as a full-fledged teacher. He worked there for about 17 years, and then, after 1750, he found a teaching position in the nearby town of Durham.

When the French and Indian War broke out in 1757, the intrepid teacher joined the New Hampshire Provincial Regiment. He was given the rank of captain. During this war, Hercules fought at the Siege of Fort William Henry, a battle that unfortunately resulted in resounding defeat. When the war was over, Hercules returned to his teaching post in Durham. In addition to his teaching duties, he was elected a town selectman in 1765.

When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1776, Hercules was ready to serve the cause of liberty. He was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army. He served in Long’s regiment and fought at the Battle of Fort Anne during the Saratoga campaign. In June, 1779, he was given command of his own regiment of the New Hampshire Militia. This regiment was given orders to go to Rhode Island to keep watch on the British Army at Newport.

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Hercules moved to Holderness, Grafton County, New Hampshire, where he continued his duties as a teacher and also served as a justice of the peace.

This Chalkboard Hero passed away at his home in April, 1800. He was 89 years old.

Nathan Daboll: Colonial school teacher and Revolutionary War period figure

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Colonial school teacher and math wizard Nathan Daboll was also a Revolutionary War period figure. Photo credit: Public domain

Nathan Daboll was colonial school teacher and Revolutionary War period figure who authored the mathematics textbook used most often in American schools during the first half of the 19th century. In addition, Nathan published almanacs, which were important sources of information in his day, and he established a famous navigation school in New London, Connecticut.

Nathan was born in Groton, Connecticut, on April 24, 1750. As a child, the young Nathan received little formal education, studying for short time at the local school and then with an area tutor. Despite his lack of formal education, Nathan was born with a natural aptitude for mathematics. As a very young man, Nathan earned his living as a barrel-maker.

Because of his remarkable ability with math, an early colonial publisher of almanacs asked Nathan to calculate almanac entries for his books. Daboll accepted this position, and in 1771 began submitting almanac entries under the alias Edmund Freebetter. Before long, the gifted educator began to publish almanacs and registers under his own name. Almanacs were sometimes used as instruments of propaganda during the years of the American Revolution. Some of Daboll’s almanacs contained satirical or factual political commentary.

Thriving in an academic atmosphere, Nathan accepted a position as a teacher of mathematics at the Academic School in Plainfield, Connecticut. He taught there from 1783 to 1788. This remarkable educator is probably best known for writing a comprehensive math textbook, The Complete Schoolmaster’s Assistant: Being a Plain, Practical System of Arithmetic, which was published in 1799 and used extensively in American schools for nearly fifty years thereafter.

Nathan, who taught navigation to members of the merchant marine and the navy during the Revolutionary War, was also quite notable for the post-war maritime navigation school he founded in New London, Connecticut. There he taught navigation and nautical astronomy to as many as 1,500 sailors. In 1811, Nathan became an instructor of midshipmen on the frigate President.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away in Groton, Connecticut, in 1818, at the age of 67.

MO teacher Vanessa Thomson earns Milken Educator Award

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Elementary school teacher Vanessa Thomson of Gladstone, Missouri, has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: North Kansas City Schools

I always enjoy sharing an inspirational story about a talented educator who has earned accolades for work in the classroom. Today’s story is about elementary school teacher Vanessa Thomson of Gladstone, Missouri. She has garnered a prestigious Milken Educator Award for 2023.

Vanessa teaches second grade at Chapel Hill Elementary School in her home town of Gladstone. In a career that spans 15 years, Vanessa has spent all of them at Chapel Hill. The honored educator has accomplished amazing results with her students. Last year, her kids demonstrated significant growth in all content areas, with 70% ending the year reading at or above grade level and more than 90% mastering most math standards. Because her school’s population of English language learners (ELLs) has grown in recent years, Vanessa has focused on building a variety of language development strategies. And her hard work has yielded the desired results. In spring 2022, 89% of her ELL students demonstrated mastery on all priority standards, up from 25% at the beginning of the school year.

On her campus, Vanessa has a reputation for being a passionate advocate for her students. And her devotion doesn’t end when they leave her classroom. “I follow up with them. I have been invited to graduations and parties,” Vanessa says. “The kids my first year of teaching are graduating from college,” she continues. “If one of them wants to be a teacher or they receive some encouragement from me that takes them on a positive path, I have done my job. After all, it was my first-grade teacher that inspired me to be a teacher,” she concludes.

In addition to working with students in her classroom, Vanessa serves as a facilitator for Chapel Hill’s leadership team, she is a member of her District’s strategic plan action team, and she mentors new and beginning teachers. She also serves as a District demonstration teacher for writing, hosting teachers from across the district for lesson observations and sharing of best practices.

Vanessa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, in 2008. She earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, in 2013.

The Milken Educator Awards are hailed by Teacher magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” For more than 35 years, the program has recognized excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with a $25,000  cash prize. The honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary professional educators from all over the country. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

Former Minnesota science teacher Jeff Isaacson is also an Olympic athlete

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Olympic athlete Jeff Isaacson taught junior high school science courses in Gilbert, Minnesota. Photo credit: Time Magazine

There are a few examples in our country’s history when an outstanding athlete is also an educator. One of these is Jeff Isaacson, a former science teacher from Minnesota who  competed in the Olympic Games—twice!

Jeff was born on July 14, 1983, in Virginia, Minnesota. Even as a boy, he expressed an interested in the sport of curling. As a young man, he attended Bemidi State University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Science, and the University of Wisconsin, Superior, where he earned his Master’s degree in Teaching Administration.

In 2010, Jeff worked as a substitute teacher in Gilbert Junior High School in Gilbert, Minnesota. Eventually, he was offered a permanent position as a science teacher at Eveleth-Gilbert Junior High. He instructed courses in chemistry, Earth science, and life science to students in grades six through eight.

While earning his living as a teacher, Jeff formed a curling team and developed his talents as an athlete. In 2007, he captured a World University Gold Medal title in Italy. In 2009, the team captured the Moncton World Men’s Championship title. In both 2010 and 2014, Jeff and his team competed in the Winter Olympics. In the 2010 Games, which were held in Vancouver, Canada, the men finished in 10th place. In the 2014 Games, which were held in Sochi, Russia, the team finished in 9th place.

As a send-off to the Olympics, a special assembly was held at the school. His kids presented him a jumbo-sized gold medal and chanted encouraging slogans. “The students were so excited about it,” Jeff recalled. “They all had these signs with my picture on it. What a nice thing they did,” he continued.

Currently, Jeff works as the Curling Center Manager at the Chaska Curling Center in Chaska, Minnesota.

 

Elem teacher Melissa Kmetz named Ohio’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Elementary school teacher Melissa Kmetz has been named as her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Ohio State Department of Education

I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional teachers who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today, I shine a spotlight on Melissa Kmetz, an elementary school teacher from Cortland, Ohio. She has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Melissa was raised in Campbell, Ohio, where she graduated from Campbell Memorial High. At the time of her graduation, she earned a full academic scholarship to Youngstown State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, summa cum laude, in 2003. She earned a Master’s degree as a Reading Specialist from Youngstown in 2007. That year, she earned the ETS Recognition of Excellence award. She has also completed courses at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Once she earned her degree, Melissa inaugurate her career as an educator in Salem, Ohio, where she taught first grade. While there, she garnered a Martha Holden Jennings Grant to Educators, which she used to fund a literacy lending library. Later she relocated to Lakeview Local Schools, where she has been teaching ever since. In all, her career as a professional educator spans 20 years.

Currently, Melissa teaches third grade at Lakeview Elementary School, where she has been since 2006. She has a reputation for being a strong advocate for culturally diverse curriculum, global education, and student activism. In fact, in 2010, the honored teacher developed a Change the World Project in her school district. Through this project, for the past 12 years, Melissa’s students have been activists, developing charitable projects to benefit those in need both in their community and abroad. Over the years, these projects have included support globally to help those experiencing hunger, offering assistance to individuals impacted by natural disasters, helping to grant the wishes of terminally ill children, creating comfort kits for children in foster care, and supporting local animal shelters.

Melissa can really see the value in these projects. “It’s just really getting them to see that their hard work can reach out into the community and also other countries, as well,” she asserts. “That there’s a reason they’re doing everything. Not just that ‘A’ on a paper, but that they can use what they know to make the world a better place,” she concludes.

Indeed, Melissa.