Category Archives: Education

Iowa’s Carrie Chapman Catt: Teacher, activist, and suffragist

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Carrie chapman Catt

Tireless suffragette and school teacher Carrie Chapman Catt of Iowa. Photo Credit: thought.com

Many times throughout American history, talented teachers earn national recognition for achievements outside of the classroom. Such is certainly the case for Carrie Chapman Catt, a school teacher and activist from Iowa who labored tirelessly to earn the vote for women.

Carrie was originally born Carrie Clinton Lane in Ripon, Wisconsin, to parents Lucius and Maria Louisa Lane. She was raised in Charles City, Iowa, where her family had moved when she was seven.

After high school, Carrie graduated from Iowa State Agricultural College, having worked her way through school as a teacher in the summer months. Her father, a subsistence farmer, contributed only $25 a year to her education, partly because he didn’t have a lot of financial resources, but mostly because he didn’t believe in advanced education for girls. But the young woman was determined to get a college degree. After her graduation, she continued to teach, earning a stellar reputation as an educator. In time, she was promoted to the position of Superintendent of Schools.

Carrie could have remained in that comfortable job until retirement, but she was determined to improve the lives of the women of her day. The right to vote for women became her life’s passion. The intrepid teacher became one of the leading forces for the Suffragist movement, which lobbied state by state, and eventually descended upon Washington, DC, to pressure Congress into passing a constitutional amendment that would grant women the right to vote. Once that goal was accomplished, Carrie spent the rest of her life advocating for peace and human rights.

You can read more about the life of this remarkable educator in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor, available on amazon.

NY teacher Bonnie Shimko earns acclaim as Young Adult author

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Retired elementary teacher Bonnie Shimko of New York has earned acclaim as an author of Young Adult novels. Photo Credit: Amazon.com

Often talented educators also earn acclaim as authors. One of these is Bonnie Shimko, an elementary school teacher from New York who has published five novels for young adults.

Bonnie was born in Plattsburgh, New York, in 1941. She taught school in upstate New York from 1963 to 1994, a career that spanned 33 years. At the time of her retirement in 1994, Bonnie was teaching second grade at Peru Central School.

Upon her retirement from the teaching profession, Bonnie authored five novels for teens and young adults. Her first novel, Letters in the Attic. The book, published in 2002, earned a prestigious Lambda Literary Award. Her other novels include Kat’s Promise, published in 2006; The Private Thoughts of Amelia E. Rye, published in 2010. This third book was named a 2011 Best Book for Young Adults and received two starred reviews. Her fourth book was You Know What You Have to Do, published in 2013, and her most recent novel is Stony Lonesome Road, published in 2015.

“Unlike most authors, I never wanted to be one,” Bonnie once confessed. “Years later, when I retired, I didn’t have enough to do, so I bought a computer, took a class to learn how to use it, and starting writing books. My first novel was published when I was sixty!” she concluded.

To learn more about Bonnie Shimko, see her author page at amazon.com.

Laura Baker-Coronis of Connecticut earns coveted Milken Award

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Congratulations are due to Laura Baker-Coronis, a high school math teacher from Connecticut who has earned a 2021 Milken Award. She is one of only 60 teachers nationwide to garner the coveted honor this year.

Currently, Laura teaches ninth graders at Ansonia High School in Ansonia, Connecticut. Her students use algebra to solve mysteries, compare cell phone plans based on data usage, design cars, and use real world data to make predictions and figure out which careers provide the most income. In the Cereal Box Challenge, a highlight of her geometry classes, Laura’s students design boxes to hold specific volumes, with constraints like production costs, graphics, and having to fit multiple boxes into specified shipping cartons. Every activity Laura designs centers around discourse, peer review, and teamwork Laura also emphasizes socialization, open communication, respect, and mutual commitment.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Laura serves as Math Department Chair, mentors student teachers, leads professional development in her district, and works on district committees for curriculum development and SRBI (Scientific Researched-Based Interventions). During the pandemic, Laura trained colleagues in Google Classroom, created instructional math videos to engage students, and helped re-vamp the curriculum to help students hit priority standards, despite the challenges of remote instruction. She also created a “problem bank” with thousands of sample problems for all teachers to use in their instruction in an effort to raise her school’s SAT scores.

Laura earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 2011 and her Master’s in Education in 2015, both from Southern Connecticut State University.

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the award includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country whose work strengthens best practices in education. To learn more, click on Milken Educator Awards.

Former Virginia teacher Jane Haycock Woods also a successful politician

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Former elementary school teacher Jane Haycock Woods was also a successful politician in the state of Virginia. Photo Credit: George Mason University

Many fine educators have also succeeded in the political arena. One of these is Jane Haycock Woods, an elementary school teacher who has served in the Virginia State Senate.

Jane was born on Oct. 10, 1946, in Bethesda, Maryland. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from American University, a private research university located in Washington, DC. Once she completed her degree in 1968, Jane taught in elementary schools in the Fairfax County Public School system for nearly two decades. Her career there spanned from 1968 to 1987, during which time she taught first grade at North Springfield Elementary School. During the course of her working life, Jane also worked with prisoners as a teacher through Metropolitan Prison Ministries, as a former Board Member and Government Counselor of Virginia Girl’s State, a member of the Advisory Board for Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, and as a Board Member of the Virginia YMCA.

Jane inaugurated her career as a politician when she was elected on the Republican ticket to represent the 37th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. She served there from 1988 to 1992. In 1992, she was elected to represent the 34th District in the Virginia State Senate. Her service in the Virginia Senate spanned from 1992 to 2000, during which time she served a portion of that time as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health. Jane continued her career in public office when she was appointed to the position of Secretary of Health and Human Resources by Virginia Governor Mark Warner. She served in that role from 2002 to 2006.

For her public service, Jane has earned important recognition. In 1987, she was named Outstanding Woman by the City of Fairfax Commission on Women.