Educator Peter Tabichi, a mathematics and physics teacher at Keriko Secondary School in Pwani Village located in Nakuru, Kenya, has been named a top 10 finalist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019. The Global Teacher Prize is an annual award worth $1 million. The award is presented to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their profession. Learn more about this remarkable teacher in the video below:
New Hampshire lunch lady Bonnie Kimball taught us some important lessons when she extended credit to a hungry student who didn’t have money to pay for the meal (Photo credit: people.com).
A national discussion revolving around meeting the needs of a hungry student was triggered this weekend when news stations reported a New Hampshire lunch room lady was fired because she gave food to a student who didn’t have money to pay. The lunch lady involved, Bonnie Kimball, worked for a food service company contracted by the school district to prepare lunches for students at Mascoma Valley Regional High School in Canaan. It was also reported that the next day, the mother of the student involved reimbursed the food service company for the $8 meal.
The incident brought to the surface a memory from my childhood. When I was a fifth grader, my mother, who headed a single parent household, worked the dinner shift as a waitress. She paid her bills primarily with her tips, which in those days consisted of nickels, dimes, and quarters. She worked the dinner shift because she could earn about $20 per week more, and that was a great deal in those days. Because I was asleep by the time she came home from work, she typically left my lunch money for the next day on top of the television. It was my responsibility to get myself up and dressed in the morning, and pick up the lunch money before leaving for school.
One day, as is typical of young children, in my rush to get out the door on time I forgot to scoop up the coins. At lunch time later that day, my teacher noticed I wasn’t eating, and she asked me why. When I told her I forgot my lunch money, my compassionate teacher lent me 35 cents, the cost of a student lunch in those times, and she asked me to pay her back the next day.
That evening, before she went to work, I confessed to my mother what had happened. As she handed me the coins I needed to repay my teacher, she said, “Don’t borrow money from your teacher again. If you forget your money, you don’t eat lunch. It won’t hurt you to miss one meal, and if that happens you won’t be likely to forget your money again.”
Over the years that have passed since then, there has been a difference of opinion among those who have heard this story. Opinions are divided about who was in the right: My mother, who was attempting to teach me a valuable lesson about responsibility, or the teacher, who was modeling compassion by helping a hungry child to eat. Personally, I think they were both in the right, and I am happy to report that I learned both lessons indelibly.
In the case of the New Hampshire lunch lady, Americans have overwhelmingly sided with the kindhearted Bonnie Kimball. To stem the flood of negative press, the food service company for which she worked has offered to rehire her and give her back pay for the work days she missed. She has declined the offer because, she says, that the company doesn’t really care about the welfare of her or the students, they only want to save face.
So, what is the life lesson we can all learn from Bonnie Kimball’s experience? I think one of the lessons is this: In a world where parents expect public school employees to act “in loco parentis,” no one who works with students should get in trouble for making sure a kid gets fed. I don’t blame the lunch lady for refusing to go back to work for a company that doesn’t support this core value. But in addition, I think this episode helps us all to become keenly aware that America is still a country where people like Bonnie Kimball treat others with compassion and kindness, and that’s a good thing to know about us. Thank you for that, Bonnie!
I love to share stories about plucky teachers, and in the short video below I share some information about a really plucky teacher from the American Southwest: Eulalia Bourne. Watch the video to learn more about her.
Educator, suffragist, and community activist Sadie Adams of Chicago, Illinois.
Many hardworking educators dedicate their expertise and energy towards improving the lives of all Americans. One of these was Sadie Adams, a school teacher from Virginia who also worked towards securing the vote for women.
Sadie was born in Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia, on February 24, 1872, just seven years after the end of the Civil War. She was one of three children born to William and Fanny (Moseby) Lewis. Sadie attended public schools in Staunton. After her high school graduation, she enrolled in Hartshorn Memorial College located in Richmond, Virginia. She earned her teaching certificate at Hartshorn.
After her college graduation, Sadie inaugurated her career as an educator in the Staunton Public School system. Her work as a teacher continued until she married James P. Adams in 1892. The union produced three children.
Once her children were grown, the couple moved to Chicago in 1910. Once settled there, Sadie launched herself into community improvement activities. She served as the recording secretary for the Home Missionary Society, and did volunteer work at Provident Hospital, where she weighed and recorded vital statistics on infants. She served as the treasurer of Chicago’s Inter-Racial Cooperative Committee, an organization which conducted fundraising to support the Amanda Smith Industrial School for Girls located in Harvey, Illinois. In fact, Sadie was one of the founders of that school. Later she served as a trustee on that institution’s school board.
When World War I erupted, Sadie’s only son enlisted in the military. While her son was abroad fighting on the front lines, the former teacher volunteered at the State Council of Defense, an organization that enlisted women to aid in the war effort.
Once the war was over, Sadie threw her energy into earning the right to vote for women. She served on Chicago’s Election Board, and she was one of the founders of the Douglas League of Women Voters. In 1916, the Alpha Suffrage Club, the first African American suffrage organization in Chicago, selected her to serve as their delegate to the National Equal Rights League Conference. In addition, Sadie was elected president of the Chicago and Northern District Association of Colored Women’s Clubs in 1921. She served in this capacity until 1934. In April, 1922, Sadie was selected y the National League of Women Voters to be a delegate at the convention of the Pan-American Congress. When she attended the gathering in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the only African American delegate to represent Illinois.
This remarkable educator passed away on July 30, 1945, at the age of 73. She is interred at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois.
Middle school math teacher and politician Susan Bauman.
There are many fine teachers who earn a name for themselves in careers outside the sphere of education. One of these is Susan Bauman, a middle school mathematics teacher who also has an exemplary career as a lawyer, and who also served as the first woman mayor of Madison, Wisconsin.
Susan earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965, and her Master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1966. She completed the requirements for her teaching certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1970.
Susan inaugurated her career as an educator when she became a middle school mathematics teacher in the Madison Public School System in 1970. She taught there for eight years. During this time, she was elected President of her local teachers’ union, Madison Teachers Incorporated.
When Susan decided to move on from her career as an educator, she earned a law degree at the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating in 1981. She served 12 years as an Alderperson on the Madison City Council. In April, 1997, she was elected the mayor of Madison, filling the unexpired seat left vacant by former Mayor Paul Soglin. Soglin resigned to run for Congress. Susan was the first woman to be elected to the mayoral position. Two years later, the former teacher was re-elected on the Dermocratic ticket to fill a full four-year term.
Once she left office, Susan was appointed to serve as a Commissioner on the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. Susan served in this capacity from 2003 to 2011. Since leaving her position on the Commission in 2011, the former educator has maintained a private practice as a mediator and arbitrator.
In 2017, Susan became an inductee for a Worldwide Lifetime Achievement Award from Who’s Who.
