STEM teacher Gertrude Clarke inducted into NJ Inventors Hall of Fame

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STEM teacher Dr. Gertrude Clarke was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Newton STEM

Students throughout America are incredibly lucky to be taught by some of the most brilliant educators that our country has to offer. One of these is Dr. Gertrude M. Clarke, a high school STEM teacher was been inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 1954, Gertrude earned her Bachelor’s degree from Douglass College in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She also completed courses in radiology at Rutgers University; electronics courses at the RCA Institute; chemistry and physics courses at Seton Hall University; and coursework in atomic, nuclear, and solid waste physics at the Yale University Graduate School. By 1987 the talented educator had earned her PhD from Rutgers University.

In the high school classroom, Gertrude taught STEM courses in basic science, physics, chemistry, and environmental science at Chatham High School, a public school located in Chatham, New Jersey. While teaching there, she also designed an Advanced Placement course in Nucleonics, a class that focused on aspects of nuclear physics.

For her excellent work in the classroom, Princeton University recognized her with Distinguished Secondary School Teaching in the State of New Jersey in 1978. In 1981, she garnered the Citation for Distinguished Service to Science Education Award from The National Science Teachers Association. In 1985, she was named a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Gertrude keenly wanted K-12 students in New Jersey to be excited about science, and to recognize the relevance of science, mathematics, computer science, and technology in their lives. To achieve this goal, she founded the New Jersey Business, Industry, and Science Education Consortium. She served as the consortium’s Executive Director from 1981 to 1999. In addition, she served for 16 years on the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame (NJIHF). After her retirement, Gertrude herself became an inductee into the NJIHF in 2011.

Sadly, Gertrude Clarke passed away on May 15, 2020. She was 88 years old. To read more about the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame, click on this link: NJinvent.org.

One-time teacher John Morehead once served as the Governor of Nebraska

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One-time teacher John Morehead also once served as the Governor of Nebraska. Photo Credit: Public Domain

Many excellent educators have also succeeded in political office. One of these is John Morehead, a country school teacher in Nebraska who also once served as the state’s governor.

John was born on Dec. 3, 1861, in Columbia, Iowa. As a boy, he was raised on an Iowa farm owned by his parents, who were pioneers, and he attended public schools. Later he attended the Shenandoah Business College. In 1884, when he was 22 years old, he moved to Nebraska, where he initially worked as a farmer. He also secured a teaching certificate and became a teacher in a local country school. He taught there for two years. Eventually, John changed careers when he established a mercantile business.

The former teacher inaugurated his career in politics when he was selected Treasurer for Nebraska’s Richardson County. He held this position from 1896 to 1899. He also served as Mayor of Falls City in 1900. Next he was elected a member, and later President, of the Nebraska State Senate, where he served from 1910 to 1912. As Senate President, John succeeded to the office of Lieutenant Governor, where he served from 1911 to 1912.

For his exemplary work as a politician, John earned the gubernatorial nomination of the Democratic Party. He was elected the 18th governor of the state in Nov.,  1912. He was re-elected in 1914. During John’s tenure, a workmen’s compensation law was enacted; the state deficit was reduced; the “blue sky” act was authorized; several appointments were made to the first Board of Control; and the first state budget was instituted.

After completing his term, John left office, but he continued to stay active in politics. He served as a member of the US House of Representatives, where he represented Nebraska’s 1st District from 1923 to 1935, a total of six terms. In 1940, he was selected to be a delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention.

Governor John Morehead passed away on May 30, 1942, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was 80 years old. He was buried in the Steele Cemetery in Falls City, Nebraska. Read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion and politician at National Governors Association.

Teacher Katie Hall: First African American woman from Indiana elected to US House of Reps

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Former social studies teacher Katie Hall was the first African American woman to be elected from Indiana to serve in the US House of Representatives. Photo credit: Public Domain

A successful career in the classroom can prepare an individual for success as a politician. One teacher who proved this to be true was Katie Hall, a social studies teacher from Indiana who was the first African American woman to be elected from Indiana to serve in the US House of Representatives.

Katie was born on April 3, 1938, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. As a young girl, she attended public schools in her home town. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, in 1960. She earned her Master’s degree in Education from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1968. She inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a social studies teacher in a public school in Gary, Indiana. She worked as a teacher in the district until 2004.

Katie served as the Chairwoman of the Lake County Democratic Committee from 1978 to 1980, and the Chairwoman of the 1980 Indiana Democratic Convention. She launched her own career in politics when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Indiana State House of Representatives, where she represented the 5th District from 1974 to 1976. Next, she was elected to the Indiana State Senate, where she represented the 3rd District from 1976 to 1982.

Then Katie was elected to the US House of Representatives, where she represented Indiana’s 1st District from 1982 to 1985. She was the first African American woman from Indiana to be elected to the US Congress. While in office, Katie sponsored legislation to make the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday. Pres. Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on Nov. 2, 1983. Katie also concentrated on issues related to education, labor, and women’s issues, and she became involved in the fight to alleviate famine in Africa after witnessing widespread suffering during a Congressional trip to northern Ethiopia. The former teacher also supported a variety of measures designed to bring jobs and better opportunities to her urban, industrial district, and to direct federal resources to help families struggling with debt, bankruptcy, and addiction.

Sadly, Katie Hall contracted heart disease and passed away on Feb. 20, 2012, in Gary, Indiana. She was 73 years old.

Travel to Egypt teaches appreciation of American schools

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Oh, Winter Break! How we teachers love it when you arrive! This is the time of year when many educators are eager to get away, sometimes to visit family for the holidays, and sometimes to take a tour of exotic places in warmer climates that are most appreciated when escaping colder climates.

I remember the time I toured Egypt during my Winter Break, way back in 1988. I had scrimped and saved and worked a second job for four years to save the money for this sojourn. I loved gazing at the pyramids, staring into the face of the sphinx, and cruising down the Nile River with daily stops at ancient archeological sites, including those found in the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel, Karnak, and Luxor.

Teacher and students the author met when she visited an elementary school on Christmas Eve in 1988. Photo Credit: Terry Lee Marzell

While in Luxor, I had the good fortune to visit a local elementary school. It was 6:00 at night and Christmas Eve, but the school was open and the children were still there. Remember, Egypt is a Muslim country, so there were no Christmas celebrations in progress. Those were simpler days: I simply walked in, introduced myself, and asked for a tour. No need to worry about security.

This was a small school, only three classrooms, furnished with dilapidated, mismatched tables and benches. There were no globes or maps, no computers, no projectors, no video players—none of the modern equipment one finds in the typical American classroom, even back then. I was led to an enclosed area in the back, where I was shown a dirt-packed playground. Nothing more. No balls, no swings, no slides, no ladders. Beyond, a shack with two small rooms that served as the outhouse.

Teacher Terry Lee Marzell observed that classroom and playground facilities available for these Egyptian students in an elementary school in Luxor, Egypt, were minimal and basic. Photo Credit: Terry Lee Marzell

Bare bones facilities, to be sure.

I was busy snapping pics of everything in sight with my film camera—no digital cameras in those days—when I suddenly discovered I was out of film. My driver kindly offered to escort me to a place where I could buy more, so I leapt into his “taxi”—which was actually a horse-drawn carriage—and he drove me to a jewelry store, of all places. It was after dark, but as I alighted from the carriage, I saw a young student about ten years old, sitting on the curb under a street lamp, working on his homework.

Just about everyone in Egypt speaks English, so I asked the young man, “How is it that you are here, on the street, in the dark, doing your homework?”

This young student in Luxor, Egypt, was forced to complete his homework assignments on the curb, under city street lights, because it was after dark and he had no electricity in his home. Photo Credit: Terry Lee Marzell

“There is no electricity in my house,” the boy explained, “so if I’m going to complete my assignment, I must do it here.”

Wow. What fortitude.

Once I returned from my tour and classes resumed, I would sometimes think of this youngster, especially when my own students were offering what I deemed to be feeble excuses for their own incomplete assignments.

Sometimes I would dig up my photo of this little Egyptian boy and tell my students his story. In “talk-to-the-hand” style, I would stop them in their tracks and say, “I don’t even want to hear your excuse unless your obstacle is greater than this young man’s.” Rarely was my student able to top the story of the little Egyptian boy.

We’re fortunate in this country, I attempted to convince my students, to have access to resources and facilities not available in schools in many other countries. We all need to remember this, I would tell them, when we’re tempted to complain or to take these benefits and resources for granted.