California teacher Maria Lopez worked to secure the right to vote for women

Posted on by
Reply

Dedicated English as a Second Language teacher Maria Lopez worked diligently towards securing the right to vote for women in California. Photo Credit: National Women’s History Museum 

There are many dedicated women educators who worked tirelessly to secure the right to vote for women. One of these was Maria Lopez, an English teacher from Southern California.

Maria Guadalupe Evangelina de Lopez was born in Los Angeles in 1881, at Casa Vieja, her family home in the San Gabriel. Her father, who worked as a blacksmith, was an immigrant from Mexico.

As a young girl, Maria graduated from Pasadena High School in 1897. She then enrolled at the Los Angeles State Normal School, which would later become UCLA. There she studied to be a teacher. Once she earned her teaching certificate, Maria accepted a position at Los Angeles High School, where she taught English as a Second Language. She also worked as a translator. During her years as a professional educator, Maria earned a reputation for being a devoted teacher, working diligently to educate the general public about California culture and to promote Spanish-language instruction. In 1902, Maria became part of the faculty at the University of California, becoming possibly the youngest instructor on staff there at the time.

In addition to teaching at the university, Maria became active in the local Votes for Women Club, and in 1911, she was elected President of the College Equal Suffrage League. She translated information about the suffrage movement into Spanish in order to marshal support for the movement in the Hispanic community. She traveled throughout Southern California, distributing suffrage posters and literature and giving speeches, all in Spanish. In addition, she wrote a persuasive opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Herald on Aug. 20, 1911, which advanced the argument that California could not call itself a democracy while disenfranchising half its citizens. Happily, California passed a suffrage proposition on Oct. 10, 1911, becoming the sixth state in the nation to grant the right to vote to women, nine years before the passage of the 19th Amendment.

During World War I, Maria left her teaching position to support the war effort. She relocated to New York City, where she took courses in auto mechanics and flying. Then she traveled to France, where she served as an ambulance driver. While there, the hospital where Maria and three other women were stationed was bombarded by enemy fire, and the four worked all night carrying wounded soldiers to safety. The French government honored the four women for their bravery in 1918.

Maria passed away on Nov. 20, 1977, in Orange, California. This intrepid Chalkboard Champion is buried at San Gabriel Christian Church in Los Angeles.

Teacher Charlotte Forten Grimke: A Civil War heroine

Posted on by
Reply

Here is a short video below by author and retired teacher Terry Lee Marzell. She describes a remarkable Civil War-era teacher, Charlotte Forten Grimke. This Chalkboard champion, born into a free Black family, went to the South to teach emancipated slaves, even though the Civil War was raging all around her. Watch to learn more:

 

 

Creating a memorable and meaningful first day of school

Posted on by
Reply

As the start of a new academic year is upon us, educators all over the country are contemplating ways to create a successful first day of school. Here are a few thoughts.

Think about what you want to accomplish with your students, right from the start. Of course, classroom management is important, but current educational philosophy suggests that classroom management is easiest when students are actively engaged in stimulating and meaningful activities. So, avoid reading aloud a list of your classroom rules and expectations or your course syllabus. Also, don’t plan a lecture. It’s a snore for the kids, and your throat will be sore by the end of the day.

To create a memorable first day, plan an activity that introduces students to your classroom values. Presumably these values would include respect for peers and working well together. Consider ice-breakers that encourage students to interact with each other. Reward them for learning the names of their classmates. It’s also a great idea to try and learn the names of your students as quickly as possible so that you can greet them by name on their second day. (Harder when you teach classes in a secondary school!) Also, create activities that give kids opportunities to help you and their classmates get to know what is unique about them. Example activities would include a round of Two Truths and a Lie, a Shoe Pile Mingle, or Never Have I Ever.

Another customary classroom value emphasizes the joy of learning. Many teachers want their class to be an exciting adventure as they and their students explore learning together. Crafting an activity that is interactive introduces this classroom value right from the beginning. Consider planning a trivia game, collaborative drawing, or a scavenger hunt.

Whatever you plan for that first day, just be sure it is stimulating and engaging. The time will be well spent if the effort kicks off the school year with a sense of excitement for your class or subject. And that list of classroom rules and expectations and the course syllabus? Consider emailing these to parents before the school year begins, and having them reply that they have received it, perhaps with a simple phrase such as “I Agree.” Or use the communication as an opportunity to invite parents to dialogue with you about their child’s individual needs or concerns.

Above all, have a great year!

Minnesota’s Hannah Kempfer: Teacher and politician

Posted on by
Reply

Minnesota teacher Hannah Kempfer was elected to her state’s House of Representatives once women earned the right to vote. Photo credit: Pubic Domain

Many teachers enter the profession because they experienced unhappy childhoods, and when they grow up, they want to do whatever they can to brighten the lives of other children. This could be said of Hannah Kempfer, a well-known educator from Minnesota.

Hannah Jensen Kempfer was born on December 22, 1880, on a ship in the North Sea, the daughter of a sailor and an unwed mother who was working as a stewardess. Shortly after her birth, she was abandoned by her mother and placed in an orphanage in Norway. Hannah was adopted the next year by a Norwegian family who immigrated to America in 1885. The family settled in Minnesota. There Hannah grew up in abject poverty.

When Hannah was only twelve years old, she took a train to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where she was taken in by the family of a local milkman. There Hannah attended Fergus Falls High School. Once she graduated, she enrolled at Park Region Luther College, where she graduated at the age of 17. After she earned her teaching certificate, Hannah taught from 1898 to 1908 at a small rural schoolhouse. She married farmer Charles Taylor Kempfer in 1903, and although the couple never had any children of their own, they fostered eleven orphans.

In 1923, Hannah was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she served from 1923 to 1930 and 1933 to 1942. She was one of four women elected to the Minnesota House following the passage of women’s suffrage, and she was the first woman elected to office from rural Minnesota. She is best known for championing the causes of children, the conservation of natural resources, and the official selection of the Showy Ladies’ Slipper as  Minnesota’s state flower.  In 1923, Hannah and her fellow female legislators co-authored legislation that guaranteed children born out of wedlock would receive inheritance rights. The bill also required that fathers to give their children their last name.

Hannah Kempfer is remembered today as a true Chalkboard Champion. To learn more about this trailblazing woman, see her entry at the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.