Category Archives: Education

Educator Mary Bethune McLeod honored in US Capitol’s Statuary Hall

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The newest addition to the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall is the image of educator Mary McLeod Bethune, a teacher, women’s rights activist, and Civil Rights leader in Florida. Photo Credit: US House of Representatives

Many exceptional educators have earned honors for their work in the profession, and now, one of them was singled out for recognition in the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall this month. She is Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American teacher who was was also a women’s rights activist and Civil Rights leader in Florida.

The statue of the honored educator towers at 11 feet tall and was created from marble originating from the same Tuscan quarry in the Italian Alps used by Michelangelo. The block, which originally weighed 11,500 tons, was fashioned into the image of the teacher by artist Nilda Comas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who was selected in a national competition run by Florida’s Council on Arts and Culture in 2016. Inscribed at the foot of her statue is Mary’s famous quote: “Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it may be a diamond in the rough.”

Mary was born on July 10, 1875, to former slaves in a log cabin on a plantation in Maysville, South Carolina. She was the only one of her parents’ 17 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 youngster, 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. Later, 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 became a teacher in South Carolina. While there, she married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune. In 1904 Mary founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. Beginning with 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. It is fitting and proper that she should be honored in our nation’s Capitol. To read more about her, see this link at the website for the National Women’s History Museum.

Wyoming’s Diana Ohman: Successful politician and former elem teacher

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Former elementary teacher and politician Diana Ohman of Wyoming. Photo Credit: Casper Foundation and Alumni Association

There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who go on to successful careers in politics. One of them is Diana Ohman, a former elementary school teacher from Wyoming.

Diana was born Oct. 3, 1950, in Sheridan, Wyoming. Her family later moved to Gurley, Nebraska, where she attended Gurley High School. Once she earned her high school diploma, Diana returned to Wyoming to attend first Casper Community College, and then the University of Wyoming, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education and her Master’s degree in Education Administration. After completing her education, Diana worked as an elementary school teacher at a rural school in Casper. There she developed her organization skills by meeting the needs of all the students who were at different grade levels. Later she became a principal in Torrington.

In 1990, Diana was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where she served until 1995. She was then elected Wyoming’s Secretary of State, a position she held from 1995 to 1999. Once her term was over, she worked as a school superintendent in Laramie County. She also became a Deputy Director of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA). In this role, she led the organization’s European Division and then, in 2009, she took charge of the Pacific Division. In 2011, she accepted a position with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Later, Diana worked in the National Cemetery Administration Department, where she was in charge of cemeteries throughout the Midwestern United States. The accomplished politician retired in 2018.

For her work in the classroom, Diana was named Best Teacher for Campbell County, Wyoming, in 1980. She also earned a State Principal Award from the US Office of Education in 1990.  She was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award by the Casper College Foundation and Alumni Association in 2009.

American Samoa’s former First Lady, teacher Susana Lutali

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Former Governor A.P. Lutali with his wife, former teacher and First Lady of American Samoa Susana Lutali. Photo Credit: Marion Malena

Many a fine classroom teacher has also earn fame as a celebrity. This is true of Susana Lutali, an elementary school teacher in American Samoa who became the territory’s First Lady.

Susana Legato was born May 23, 1932, in Fagaitua, American Samoa. Fagaitua is a village located on the south coast of American Samoa’s Tutuila Island. She attended St. Francis Sister School and then studied at Teachers Institute. As a young woman in the early 1950’s, she became a teacher at Fagaitua Elementary School.

In 1954, Susana married A.P. Lutali, a former teacher and public school administrator. When A.P. was elected Governor of the territory in 1985, and then re-elected in 1989, the she became American Samoa’s First Lady. She was also during her husband’s re-election, from 1993 to 1997. In her role as First Lady, the former teacher led the way for numerous landscape beautification programs throughout the island. She established committees of women who planted new trees and ornamental shrubs along the roadsides, and many of those originally planted can found found throughout the territory today. She also initiated many renovations to the Governor’s Mansion, called Maugaoali’i, and operating the governor’s residence in high style. Susana became known for her elegant manner of dress, from her beautifully coifed hair to her tailored puletasis,  a traditional outfit worn by Samoan women, which she wore in nearly every public appearance while she served as First Lady.

Sadly, Susana Lutani was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the uterus in 2011. She succumbed to the disease on June 15, 2012. She was 80 years old. Her funeral was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church and was buried next to her husband at their family compound in Illiili, American Samoa, on June 29, 2012.

Ohio’s Leila Kubesch a 2022 inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Leila Kubesch, a middle school educator from  Norwood, Ohio, has just been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: speaker hub

I always enjoy sharing stories about exemplary educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Leila Kubesch, a teacher from Norwood, Ohio, who has been inducted into the  National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF). She is one of five educators who has been inducted for the year 2022.

Leila teaches Spanish and English as a second language at Norwood Middle School in Norwood, a suburb of Cincinnati. As part of her instructional program, Leila organizes community service projects. For one project, her students created a talk show for a local television station where community members discussed topics of interest to young people. For that project, Leila and her students garnered the Ohio Education Association Media Award for Public Service. They also received a grant to expand their studio.

For another project, Laila secured a grant for a performing arts project. She guided her students in the creation of a display made of cut-out hands laminated on burlap sacks that stretched more than 100 feet. The project was so well-received that a special exhibit featuring the display opened at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Downtown Cincinnati.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Leila embraces an impassioned ideology of equity and social justice that extends beyond the walls of her school. She has served as an advocate for emancipated foster youth in Ohio, and has delivered speeches to large audiences including TedXCincinnati, where she won the Audience Choice Award for her talk. She worked diligently to help pass House Bill 50, legislation that enables foster youth in Ohio to have a home until age 21.

Not only has Leila been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame, but she has also earned many other accolades. In 2020, she was named Ohio state’s Teacher of the Year and the National Toyota Family Teacher of the Year. In 2021, she garnered an NEA Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence and an NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2000, she earned a Fulbright Hays Fellowship.

Well done, Leila!
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CA’s Robert Brooks: Teacher, veteran, and outstanding athletic coach

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Outstanding high school athlete Robert Brooks of Southern California went on to teach and coach at the high school level, and then became an excellent athletic coach at UC Davis. Photo Credit: Legacy.com

Many outstanding high school and college athletes go on to become excellent coaches and teachers. One of these was Robert Brooks, an outstanding athlete from Southern California who went on to a stellar career as a high school and college coach for wrestling, rugby, track, and football.

Robert was born in August, 1931, in Chino, California. As a young man, he attended Chino High School where he excelled as an athlete. He lettered in football, basketball, tennis, and track.

After his high school graduation, Robert attended Mount San Antonio Junior College in Walnut, California, where he played football. In 1949, his team captured a state championship, and Robert was named Player of the Year. In 1951 and 1952, the outstanding athlete attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played football.

Once Robert earned his Bachelor’s degree, he enlisted in the US Navy and was sent to Pearl Harbor. There, while stationed on the submarines USS Green Fish and USS Caiman, he played football for the Navy between his tours of duty. His team was crowned the Island Champions and played in the Hula Bowl versus the College All-Stars from the mainland.

After his discharge from the service, Robert returned to UC Berkeley and earned his Master’s degree in Education. He inaugurated his career in the teaching profession at Miramonte High School located in Orinda, California. There he served as the Head Football Coach, an Assistant Coach for the track team, and wrestling. His stint at Miramonte spanned five years. During these years, he also played rugby on a team that won a National Club Championship.

In 1962, Robert left the high school to accept a position at UC Davis as an Assistant Coach for football and track. In 1964, he founded the school’s rugby team, and from 1967 to 1990 he coached the Davis wrestling team.

For many years, in addition to his work with college students, Robert also worked with younger athletes. In the 1960s, he hosted a summer camp for children in foster care, pairing each child with a student mentor from Davis High School for a week of adventure in the Sierra Mountains. Beginning in the early 1970s, Robert also participated in the Davis Kids Summer Sports School program. For the program, which ran for ten summers, he taught wrestling and football. He even drove a bus to transport the kids back and forth to camp.

Robert Brooks, a true Chalkboard Champion, passed away in March of 2022. He was 91 years old.