Category Archives: Education

Former teacher and acclaimed author Maxine Hong Kingston

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Maxine Hong Kingston

Former teacher and acclaimed author Maxine Hong Kingston

Many people are familiar with the famous author Maxine Hong Kingston. She wrote The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, a critically-acclaimed autobiographical account in which Maxine details the conflicting cultural messags she received as the daughter of Chinese immigrants growing up in America in the 1950s. She also wrote China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, The Fifth Book of Peace, and Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace. But did you know that this talented writer is also a teacher?

Maxine was born on October 27, 1940, in Stockton, California. Her parents were first-generation Chinese immigrants. In order to immigrate to the United States, her father had to give up a career as a professional scholar and teacher in his home village of Sun Woi, near Canton. Maxine was the third of the couple’s eight children, and the eldest of the six children born to them in the United States.

Maxine earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1962, and then obtained her teaching credential. She taught high school in the city of Hayward for a year, and then moved to Hawaii where she taught in various positions. From 1970 to 1977 she taught at Mid-Pacific Institute, a private boarding school. In 1990, she was invited to join the faculty of her alma mater, UC Berkeley, as a senior lecturer in the English department.

This remarkable educator has earned many awards. She garnered the Writers Award from the national Endowment for the Arts in 1980 and again in 1982. She was honored by President Bill Clinton with a National Humanities Medal in 1997. She has also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Literary Awards (2006), and a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation (2008). In 2013 this former English teacher was honored by President Barack Obama with a National Medal of Arts award.

Educator Susan Jordan: She died saving her students

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Susan Jordan

Indiana Principal Susan Jordan, heroic educator that sacrificed her life to save children from a runaway school bus

There are many examples of heroic educators who have made great sacrifices for the sake of their students. One such educator was Susan Jordan of Indianapolis, Indiana, who gave her life to save her students from a runaway bus.

Susan was born on August 15, 1946, in Evansville, Indiana. In a long career as an educator, she became the principal of Amy Beverland Elementary School in Lawrence Township, a suburb northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana. She served in the post for 22 years. Prior to her assignment at Beverland, she served as the principal of Brook Park Elementary School for four years.

On January 26, 2016, Susan was standing in front of the campus when a school bus that had been parked suddenly jumped the curb. The intrepid educator sprang into action, pushing several young students out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, the bus hit her, and she was killed. She was 69 years old.

“Susan was a legend in the field of education and represented a generation of educators who would do nothing short of giving everything she had for her students as well as her faculty,” remembered friend Jason White. “Susan was an amazing educator,” the Lawrence Township Board of Education posted on its website. “She had a remarkable way of making everyone she came in contact with feel valued and important. She had a passion for children that is unmatched,” the Board’s statement read.

The heroic educator was laid to rest in Fairmont Cemetery in Henderson, Kentucky. She has been recognized at the Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame located in Emporia, Kansas.

The amazing Thelma Dewitty, first African American teacher in Seattle Schools

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Thelma Dewitty

Thelma Dewitty, the first African American teacher hired by the Seattle Public School System, reading to her second grade students at Cooper School in 1950.

Many excellent classroom teachers became pioneering groundbreakers in their time. This is true of Thelma Dewitty, a talented classroom teacher who became the first African American educator in Washington state’s Seattle Public School System.

Thelma was born in 1912 in Beaumont, Texas. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, in 1941. Even before she earned her degree, Thelma inaugurated her career as a teacher in Corpus Christi, Texas, accepting her first position in 1942. She taught there for nine years, and then for another five years in Beaumont, Texas.

In 1947, Thelma moved to Washington State with her husband. There she attended graduate school at the University of Washington, and began writing a book about mathematics for children. When she expressed an interest in teaching in Seattle, she discovered that the city’s school system was not integrated. Although she was an African American, the NAACP, the Seattle Urban League, the Civic Unity Committee, and Christian Friends for Racial Equality encouraged the local school board to break the color barrier and hire her. The school board agreed, and Thelma was hired to teach at Frank B. Cooper School in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle. Throughout her long career as a teacher in Seattle, she also taught at several other elementary schools, including John Hay, Laurelhurst, and Sand Point, and she also completed a stint at Meany Junior High School.  After a career as an educator that spanned almost four decades, the dedicated classroom teacher retired in 1973.

In addition to serving as an educator, Thelma worked tirelessly for the Seattle branch of the NAACP, serving as its president in the late 1950s. She also served on the Washington State Board Against Discrimination, and she volunteered on the Board of Theater Supervisors for Seattle and King County.

This amazing educator passed away on August 19, 1976, in Seattle at age 63. She is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle, King County, Washington.

 

Julian McPhee: High school vocational education teacher and president of Cal Poly universities

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Julian McPhee

Julian McPhee, the high school vocational education teacher who became president of Cal Poly universities

There are many stories of talented high school teachers who work their way up into positions in universities. This is true of Julian McPhee, a high school vocational education teacher who eventually became the president of the California Polytechnic University system.

Julian was born in San Francisco on February 7, 1896. His parents were immigrants from Canada. After his graduation from high school, Julian enrolled at University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. While still working on his undergraduate degree, Julian inaugurated his career as an educator by teaching a course in agricultural education at Pomona High School in Pomona, a suburb of Los Angeles.

During the waning months of World War I, Julian enlisted in the US Navy, where he served as an ensign. While in the service, he worked as an instructor at the naval port guard and as an aide in Naval Intelligence. In 1918, at the conclusion of the Great War, Julian was given an honorable discharge.

After the war, Julian returned to the San Francisco area, where he accepted a position as a teacher of agriculture at Gilroy High School in Gilroy, Santa Clara County, California. During his many years as a high school educator, Julian strongly emphasized vocational education, particularly in the fields of agriculture. An advocate of hands-on learning, he formed clubs for agriculture and mechanics in each one of Gilroy’s public schools.

In 1928, Julian completed the requirements for his Master’s degree in Agricultural Education through the University of California at Los Angeles. Between 1926 and 1944, he worked as the chief of the State Bureau of Agricultural Education. In this capacity, he formed the California state headquarters of Future Farmers of America.

In 1933, Julian was selected president of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. There he converted the struggling school from a two-year technical school to a full-fledged four-year university in the CSU system.

When World War II broke out, Julian served as the director of California’s War Food Production Training Program. Later he served as acting chief of the Bureau of Readjustment Education, the Assistant Executive Officer of the State Board of Vocational Education, and the director of Vocational Education for the State of California. He also oversaw the founding of newly-built Cal Poly Pomona.

By 1966, Julian could claim 33 years as the president of the Cal Poly system. But because of deteriorating health, he decided to retire. Sadly, this amazing educator passed away of colon cancer on November 10, 1967. He was 71 years old.

Kindergarten teacher Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West

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Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton, the kindergarten teacher who played the Wicked Witch of the West in Hollywood’s 1939 production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo credit: Public domain

Not many people would recognize the name or photograph of actress Margaret Hamilton, but just about everyone knows the iconic movie role she played. Bedecked in green make-up and a black pointed hat, this pleasant face was the Wicked Witch of the West in MGM’s version of The Wizard of Oz.

Margaret was born December 9, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio. She was the fourth child of Walter and Mary Jane (Adams)  Hamilton. At an early age, Margaret was determined to make a career for herself in the theater. However, her parents insisted she get a college degree, so Margaret attended Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts. The institution was founded by Lucy Wheelock in 1888, and was known as Miss Wheelock’s Kindergarten Training School. The school offered undergraduate and graduate programs intended to improve the quality of early childhood education. In 2018, the college became part of Boston University’s School of Education.

It’s ironic that this very sweet and loving former kindergarten teacher is best known for her frightful disposition and her villainous behaviors, not to mention for scaring the daylights out of generations of little children. When asked about her role in The Wizard of Oz, the former teacher often said her greatest fear was that her monstrous film role would give young people a false impression of her true nature. The reality is that Margaret Hamilton cared deeply about children, and she was a lifelong advocate for educational causes, devoting much of her energy and money to benefit causes that improved the lives of children and animals. She served on the Beverly Hills Board of Education from 1948 to 1951, and she also taught Sunday school during the 1950s.

This amazing chalkboard champion passed away of a heart attack on May 16, 1985, at the age of 83. Her ashes were scattered in Amenia, New York.