Category Archives: Education

Spanish-language teacher Marilyn Barrueta remembered

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It is always a wonderful thing when an exceptional educator is recognized for their endeavors. The recognition inspires the rest of us to work harder. I certainly experienced such inspiration when I read the story of Marilyn Barrueta, a Spanish-language teacher from Virginia. This innovative and tireless educator was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 2005, after a lengthy and illustrious career that spanned 48 years.

Marilyn was born November 28, 1935. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1957, and completed graduate work at several distinguished institutions, including Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Virginia.

For many years, Marilyn taught Spanish, Advanced Placement Spanish, and Spanish for Native Speakers at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to working at Yorktown High, Marilyn taught English as a second language, math, and social studies at Stratford Junior High School in Virginia. Marilyn also taught summer school sessions for Arlington’s adult education program.

Marilyn’s former students remember her influence on their lives with fondness. “She challenged me beyond just the classroom,” recalls former student Julianne Koch, “and when I look back at how much I have grown in the past several years, I know much of it is because of her.”

This most impressive educator was also greatly admired by her peers, and several took the occasion of her induction to express their admiration. “Most impressive to me,” expressed Bill A. Heller, Department Chair of Perry High School, “is Marilyn’s tireless pursuit of knowledge. Through the lens of her experience, she is able to examine and evaluate the most promising new research, techniques and materials, and integrate those new findings with the very best of her vast repertoire of highly effective classroom-tested activities,” he said.

Sadly, this Chalkboard Champion passed away on November 4, 2010, in McLean, Virginia. She was 74 years old.

Alice Burke: From teacher to trailblazing politician

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Elementary school teacher Alice Driscoll Burke of Massachusetts was the first woman in New England to serve as a city mayor. Photo credit: The Boston Globe

There are many excellent educators who have established a career in the political sphere, even becoming trailblazers. One of these is Alice Burke, a teacher who also served as the first woman mayor in New England.

Alice Driscoll Burke was born on June 19, 1892, in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. At only four years old, she became an orphan. After her parents passed away, she was raised by her paternal grandparents. As a teenager, she graduated from Northbridge High School, with honors, and in 1911 she earned her teaching degree at Fitchburg Normal School.

Once she completed her education, Alice accepted a teaching position in Hampden County, Massachusetts. She taught sixth grade in schools in the town of Westfield.

In the mid-to-late 1910s, Burke also taught n Westfield’s Americanization program, teaching immigrants about United States history, government, and culture to prepare for their citizenship tests. Ironically, she did this at a point in history when women were denied the right to vote.

Unfortunately, the Westfield School Committee adopted a policy of allowing only women who were single to be employed as teachers in their district, so Alice, who was married, lost her job. That fall, she was elected to a position on the Westfield School Committee.

After teaching for 20 years, Alice was elected mayor of Westfield, the first female to be elected mayor in the state of Massachusetts or in the region of New England. She served in the position from 1940—1943, from 1954—1955, and from 1958—1958. From 1968 to 1973, she served as a member-at-large of the Westfield City Council. However, her career as a politician was also marked by significant defeats. A Democrat, Alice ran unsuccessful campaigns for the Massachusetts Senate in 1944 and for the House of Representatives in 1946. With the passage of the 19th Amendment, Alice was eager to exercise her own right to vote.

Alice Burke passed away on May 14, 1974, in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was 81 years old. To learn more about this remarkable educator and politician, click on this link to a biography about her published by the Historical Journal of Massachusetts.

Michele Dunaway: English teacher and author of popular romance novels

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Michele Dunaway, an English and Journalism teacher from St Louis, Missouri, has published more than 29 popular romance novels. Photo credit: Michele Dunaway

Students who were in the classes of Michele Dunaway, an English and Journalism teacher from Missouri, may be surprised to learn that their teacher is a popular author of romance novels. In fact, she has published over 29 romance novels and she has sold over 1.7 million books globally.

Michele was born on July 14, 1965, in St. Louis, Missouri. She says she decided she wanted to be a teacher and an author by the time she was in the third grade at Mary Queen of Peace School in Webster Groves. And she was writing, even at that young age. After she earned her diploma from Kirkwood High School in 1983, Michele launched into her college courses so she could achieve her goals. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri at St. Louis in 1987. She earned her Master’s degree at Webster University in 1996.

Once she earned her degrees, Michelle accepted a position as a middle school teacher in Fenton, Missouri. She worked there from 1994 to 2000. Next she taught for one year at the high school level in Brentwood, Missouri, and then she relocated to teach English at Pacific High School in Pacific, Missouri.

Michele published her first novel, A Little Office Romance, in 2000. The volume was the first in a long line of romance novels. Many of her books have a setting in her native St. Louis.

In 2012, Michele was named the High School Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

With all this success, would Michele quite teaching? “Writing is a job and a hobby so I’m always working,” she declares. “I also know that I will teach for a long time—it’s a myth that writers can immediately quit their day jobs, not that I want to do that right now anyway,” she continues. “I love to teach and write, so I’m living the best of both worlds,” she concludes.

You can read more about this Chalkboard Champion at her website.

Comfort Baker overcame adversity to become a respected teacher

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Comfort Baker over came family tragedy and adversity to become an educator in Omaha, Nebraska and elsewhere. Photo Credit: North Omaha History

I always enjoy shining a spotlight on outstanding educators. Educators such as Comfort Baker, an African American orphan from North Carolina who became a teacher in Arkansas, Texas, and Arizona. Her story is one of commitment, resilience, and perseverance.

Comfort was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on Feb. 15, 1870. Sadly, she became an orphan at the age of 13, and so she was sent to Omaha, Nebraska, to live with an aunt and uncle. She did well in school there, even earning recognition for her outstanding attendance.

When she was 15, Comfort enrolled at Omaha High School. Unfortunately, that same year her uncle also passed away, and her aunt became confined to a mental hospital.

Faced with the necessity of supporting herself, Comfort secured a job as a domestic in the household of Colonel Watson B. Smith and his wife, Fanny. In 1889, after three years of hard work, Comfort finally graduated from high school. She was the first female African American student to graduate from high school in Omaha, Nebraska. In a graduating class of 50 students, Comfort earned her diploma with honors.

Following her high school graduation, Comfort determined to enter the profession of teaching. She enrolled in Fisk University, a historically Black university located in Nashville, Tennessee. She was able to attend college with the financial assistance of Belle H. Lewis, a high school mathematics teacher in Omaha. Comfort earned her diploma, with honors, from Fisk in 1893. During her years in Omaha, Comfort also became a published author. She wrote numerous articles that were published by the Omaha newspaper, The Enterprise.

Comfort accepted her first teaching position when she became a summer school teacher for African American students in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, but by 1896 she was teaching in the town of Corsicana in Texas, and by 1905, she was teaching in Gainesville, Texas. A decade later she was teaching seventh and eighth grade at Frederick Douglas Grammar and High School in El Paso, where she was employed from 1914 to 1917.

In 1917, Comfort married, and with her husband she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. There she instructed courses in history, algebra, geometry, Latin, civics, and penmanship. She was the first African American teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District, where she taught for 21 years, serving several years as the principal of the school. During these years, Comfort continued to improve her professional techniques by completing courses at the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Comfort Blazer retired in 1940. In all, her career as an educator spanned 52 years. This highly-respected and distinguished trailblazer passed away on June 5, 1946, in Phoenix.

Thank you for your service, Veterans!

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Today is a day we have set aside to honor our United States Veterans. But the call to service is something that many service members don’t lose once they are discharged. That’s one of the reasons that so many veterans gravitate towards the teaching professions once their military service is complete. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 2% of teachers in our nation’s classrooms are military veterans.

Military veterans have many personality traits that make them particularly suited for a career in teaching. When entering the teaching profession, veterans are typically older and have had more varied life experiences. In addition, veterans can bring a wealth of leadership qualities to the classroom. An understanding of the importance of discipline, an appreciation of the value of education, the ability to adapt, and the capacity to work well, even under highly stressful circumstances, are some of the qualities that veterans can bring to the classroom. Also, often veterans possess the ability to persevere, which is a trait that is especially needed in a profession that has a high turnover rate.

Another valuable characteristic that many veterans possess is their potential to connect with students from ethnically diverse neighborhoods or lower-economic backgrounds, because many veterans themselves come from such circumstances. They understand from firsthand experience how challenging some school environments can be, and therefore may be more invested in helping to make a difference in such school systems. Furthermore, veterans have been especially trained to accomplish tasks collaboratively.

For these reasons, and many more, veterans are invaluable as Chalkboard Champions. So, today and every day, let’s celebrate our nation’s veterans who are also teachers!