Terry Lee Marzell encourages a visit to the International Spy Museum

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Retired educator and author Terry Lee Marzsell, who recently visited the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, encourages teachers and students to explore the museum’s resources.  Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell.

As a retired teacher, I know that educators who are still working in the classroom enjoy leading their students to a variety of academic activities. Field trips, virtual tours, and academic websites are among the most fascinating educational activities we can share. Recently I traveled to Washington, DC, where I was able to participate in an exploration of the International Spy Museum. I was there side-by-side with a number of groups of school students who were excited to be able to spend the day at this unique museum.

If you, like many educators, are unable to escort your students to the museum, you can still explore the exhibits through online resources at this link: Spy Museum. On the museum website, students can see information about code breaking, sabotage, spying that shaped history, interrogation, and surveillance. For an overview of notorious spies and spymasters throughout time and to learn about tools used to carry out spy missions, your students can click on this link to Stealing Secrets. They can view resources related to covert action, sabotage, secret soldiers, and propaganda at this link: Covert Action.

If you and your students are able to visit in person, you will find the museum at 700 L’Enfant Plaza, SW in Washington, DC. The museum is open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm every day. The cost is $24.95 for adults and students over age 12. While there, maybe your students would like to opt for a fictional cover identity and engage in activities that would test their spy sills on a fictional undercover mission. There’s also a fun museum shop with a plethora of novelty items and clothing items for sale. Enjoy!

South Carolina’s Mamie Garvin Fields: Chalkboard Champion and activist

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South Carolina’s Mamie Garvin Fields was a true Chalkboard Champion and indefatigable community activist. Photo credit: Blackthen.com

Many talented educators also become well-known for their community service and activism. One of these is Mamie Garvin Fields, a teacher and principal from Charleston, South Carolina.

Mamie was born on August 13, 1888, in Charleston. As a young girl, she attended Miss Anna Eliza Izzard’s School, the public Shaw School, and then Claflin College. At Claflin, she completed her high school education, earned her degree in Domestic Science, and completed the requirements for her teaching license.

Mamie inaugurated her career as a teacher in 1908 at Pine Wood School, which served primarily African American students in those days. The following year, she became one of the first African American teachers to be hired to work in public schools in Charleston County. Later she became the principal of Miller High School on Johns Island, a position she served for two years.

Mamie left the classroom to marry and raise a family, but she returned to the classroom in 1926. She accepted a teaching position at the Society Corner School,. She taught there until her retirement in 1943.

In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom, Mamie was active as a member of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, Inc. (NACWC) and the Charleston Federation of Colored Women’s Club. In addition, she in 1927 co-founded the Modern Priscilla Club of Charleston. Once she retired, the indefatigable educator volunteered in many local civid organizations and women’s clubs. She joined the National Association of Colored Women’s Club, served as President of the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women’s Club from 1958 through 1964, and as the Superintendent of the Marion Birnie Wilkinson Home for Girls located in Cayce, South Carolina from 1960 to 1963.

As if all this were not enough, she wrote her memoir, which she entitled Lemon Swamp and Other Places. The volume, published in 1983, covered her life and work in South Carolina from 1888 until her passing.

For her work as an educator and activist, Mamie earned many accolades. She was named the state’s Outstanding Oder Citizen from the South Carolina Commission on Aging.

Mamie passed away on July 30, 1987, in her home town of Charleston, South Carolina. She was 99 years old. To read more about this remarkable Chalkboard Champion, see the entry about her published in the South Carolina Encyclopedia.

 

Sara Wyffels of Arizona garners 2021 Teacher of the Year Award

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Congratulations to Sara Wyffels, a Spanish language educator from Chandler, Arizona, who has been named her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: AZ Big Media.

Congratulations to Sara Wyffels, a Spanish language educator from Chandler, Arizona, who has been named her state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Sara was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in Kent, Washington. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, in 2002. Her studies there included a study abroad experience in Segovia, Spain. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from the University of Portland in 2004. In addition, she is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. Her career as an educator has spanned 14 years.

Once she earned her degrees, Sara inaugurated her career as an educator at a middle school Spanish in West Linn, Oregon for two years before relocating to Arizona. Currently, Sara teaches high school Spanish Language Arts through the Chandler Online Academy associated with Chandler High School. The courses she teaches include Honors Spanish 3, International Baccalaureate Advanced Placement, and Spanish 4.

Sara says she doesn’t consider herself to be the person in the classroom who owns the knowledge. “I prefer to be into the curiosity with the students and to grow with them and to discover together, that it’s not just coming straight from me, but that collectively we’re building knowledge and learning skills together,” the honored educator explained.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Sara serves her school as the advisor for the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica and the Gender Alliance Club. She is also the Chair for her school’s World Language Department.

Sara says she became a teacher to make a difference. “I choose to teach and I choose to remain a teacher. Being a teacher is one of the most fulfilling careers an individual can have because you’re changing lives,” asserts Sara. “As a Spanish  teacher, I see firsthand how the power of language  inspires human connection. Teaching language isn’t just about learning new vocabulary; it’s opening the eyes of my students to a world beyond themselves and teaching them how to be global citizens,” she concluded.

To read more about this exemplary educator, see this story about her published online by azcentral.com.

 

Montana’s Amanda Curtis: Math educator and politician

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Montana’s Amanda Curtis is a talented high school math teacher and successful politician. Photo credit: Ballotpedia.

Many talented educators also distinguish themselves as successful politicians. One example of this is Montana’s Amanda Morse Curtis, a high school math and physics teacher who has also served in her state’s House of Representatives.

Amanda was born September 10, 1979. Her working-class childhood was anything but idyllic. When she was only four years old, her parents divorced. Amanda watched her mother struggle with mental illness. The family was poor, and at times, they had to live without utilities and rely on food stamps in order to eat. Amanda saw several members of her extended family battle with drugs and alcohol. Two weeks before her high school graduation, Amanda’s younger brother killed himself while playing Russian roulette. He was only 16.

Amanda knew that education was her ticket out of poverty. After graduating from Skyview High School, she attended Montana Technology University of the University of Montana, earning her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology in 2002. She then attended the University of Montana Western where she earned her teaching credential.

After earning her degree, Amanda taught math and physics at Butte Central Catholic High School from 2004-2006. From 2006-2009, she taught math at Helena Middle School, and from 2009, she taught math at Butte High School. She also served as an executive board member for the Butte Teachers Union from 2011-2012.

Amanda began her political career when she was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Montana House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Representing Butte, Montana, in House District 76, Amanda served two terms. She was re-elected to the Montana House in 2016. There she represented District 74 until her term expired in 2019

While in office, she was assigned to the Committees for Business and Labor; Human Services; and Local Government. She sponsored the Hire Montana First Act to create more jobs in her home state, and she fought for increased benefits for volunteer fire fighters and a repeal of state legislation against the gay community. She was also outspoken about gun violence, calling for background checks and better gun-control measures to be enacted.

Naturally, Amanda has expressed her belief in the value of a good education. “As a high school teacher, I know the importance of investing in our students,” she expressed at a 2014 rally at the University of Montana. “Education is a path forward for better paying jobs and securing our economic future,” she continued.

Amanda met her husband, Kevin Curtis, at a rock-climbing store when he was training to be a speed skater. They live in a miner’s cottage in Butte with their cat, Geoff, and their dogs, Billie and Rick. The couple does not have any children. To read more about her, click on this link to her biography on Vote Smart.

On Memorial Day: Honoring my student Jonathan Castro

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Memorial Day is a solemn day of reflection about those who have given their lives to ensure our freedoms, For me, this means honoring my former student, Corporal Jonathan Castro.  Photo credit: US Army.

Memorial Day: For many, this end-of-May holiday marks the beginning of summer vacation, bringing with it sunny days, a break from school responsibilities, the chance to sleep in late, and time to have tons of fun. Many use the extended weekend to enjoy a quick trip to the river, spend a day at the beach, plan a family barbecue, or indulge in a baseball game with friends. For teachers, the three-day weekend offers an opportunity to rest up before that final push that ends the school year. But while indulging, it’s important to remember the true purpose of the holiday: Remembering and honoring the men and women who have paid the ultimate price in order that the rest of us may enjoy our freedoms.

For me, whenever Memorial Day rolls around, one of the soldiers I remember and honor is US Army Corporal Jonathan Castro.

When he was my student in my Language Arts class for seniors at Centennial High School in Corona, California, Jonathan Castro stood out for me, mostly because he was the son of my fellow teacher and friend. But he would have been memorable in his own right. He was intelligent, studious, and ambitious, which are characteristics that any teacher appreciates. But, in addition to this, his interactions with me were always polite, he was a good buddy to the fellows, and he treated the girls with respect, which are characteristics everyone can appreciate.

When he graduated in 2001, Jonathan declared his intention to pursue a career as an engineer. His parents were willing and able to pay for his college education, but the young man wanted to spare them the expense and make his own way. He declared his intention to join the US Army before enrolling in college. He wanted to pay for his own education through the GI Bill. So the summer after his graduation, he enlisted, signing up for a three-year stint. That was just before the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent US invasion in Iraq.

Jonathan was 21 years old when he was sent to Mosul, Iraq, with the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade, 25thInfantry Division. On December 21, 2004, the young warrior sat down with his buddies to eat his lunch at the Army dining tent on base. As he was dining, a suicide bomber who had infiltrated the base undetected entered the tent and detonated the explosives strapped to his body. The resulting blast immediately killed 22 people, 18 of them American soldiers. One of them was Jonathan Castro.

Jonathan was laid to rest at Riverside National Cemetery. Frankly, the service offered little in the way of closure or comfort to the fallen soldier’s family and friends. I was only his teacher, but I felt, and I still feel, the loss in a profound way. And I can’t even begin to describe how the death of her only child devastated his family.

Memorial Day, 2021, marks the seventeenth year that memories of this remarkable young soldier have dominated my thoughts. I contemplate the awesome courage of our warriors, the widespread ravages of combat, the staggering waste of life on both sides, the so-called glory of war, and the enormous gratitude I feel to those who are willing to suffer the sacrifice, not only the men and women in the military, but also their families. The phrase “Thank you for your service,” which we utter so often to the survivors, doesn’t even begin to compensate for such a gift.

To read more about Jonathan, see this article published by the LA Times.