David Benioff: Author, director, and former English teacher

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Author, screenwriter, producer, and director David Benioff was once a high school English teacher. Photo credit: Los Angeles Times.

Many avid readers may be familiar with the blockbuster book City of Thieves by David Benioff. But did you know the author was a former English teacher? This talented educator has made his mark as a consummate novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. He is perhaps best known as the co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones.

David was born on September 25, 1970, in New York City. As a young boy, David gravitated to all things literary, fancying comic books and classic far-flung fantasy such as Homer’s Iliad and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. His imagination was supplemented by an affinity for playing the video game Dungeons & Dragons.

David, who changed his surname to his mother’s maiden name of Benioff while in his teens, graduated from the exclusive New York City secondary school called The Collegiate School. He then enrolled at Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1992. David earned his a Master’s degree at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, writing his thesis on Samual Beckett.

After he graduated form college, David worked at various jobs, including a stint as a club bouncer, a radio disc jockey, and a high school English teacher at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, New York, where he also served as the school’s wrestling coach. In 1999, David returned to school, completing the requirements for a second Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of California, Irvine, in 1999.

While working as a high school English teacher, David wrote his first book called The 25th Hour, which earned him many accolades. He later adapted the book into a screenplay, which was made into a film directed by Spike Lee and starring Edward Norton. In 2004, David then wrote a collection of short stories titled When the Nines Roll Over (And Other Stories) and a screenplay about the Greek myth Troy which earned him $2.5 million from Warner Brothers pictures. That same year, he was hired to write the screenplay for the X-Men spin-off X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The following year, David wrote the script for the psychological thriller Stay, which was adapted into a film directed by Marc Forster and starred Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. His 2007 screenplay for The Kite Runner, adapted from the novel of the same name, marked his second collaboration with director Marc Forster. In 2008, David’s second novel, City of Thieves, was published. He is currently working on an adapted screenplay of the Charles R. Cross biography of Kurt Cobain. He is also working with D.B. Weiss as the executive producer of Game of Thrones, HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which David read and enjoyed as a teen.

David’s work in Hollywood has earned several awards. He has won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

To read more about this talented former teacher, see this interview of him published by Metro News in 2009.

Terry Lee Marzell’s books added to prestigious library collections

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Author Terry Lee Marzell is excited to learn that both of her books have been added to the collections of prestigious university libraris. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell.

I always get excited when I learn that one of my books has been added to the collection of a prestigious university library. A search of WorldCat reveals that both of my books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes, have been added to the collections of prestigious university libraries.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions (2012), part of the collection of the libraries at the University of Arizona, Tucson; University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii; the City University of New York in New York, New York; and Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. The volume is also part of the collection of the libraries of Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the State University of New York in Oswego, New York. The book is also available at Hunter College in New York, New York; Queensborough Community College Library in Bayside, New York; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts; and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. In addition, it is also part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Chalkboard Heroes (2015) has been added to the collections of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California; Chadron State University in Chadron, Nebraska; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the University of Chicago Library in Chicago, Illinois. The volume can also be found in the Alaska State Library in Juneau, Alaska; Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana; and Central Connecticut State Library in New Britain, Connecticut.

Many thanks to all these university libraries for honoring my work!

Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, chemistry teacher, succumbs to Covid-19

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Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, a former high school chemistry teacher who worked in Hawaii, California, and Germany, succumbed to Covid-19 on Feb. 3, 2021. Photo credit: Legacy.com.

With great sadness we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, a former high school chemistry teacher originally from Hawaii. She succumbed to the disease on Feb. 3, 2021. She was 83 years old.

Ruby, whose grandparents were Japanese immigrants, was born in Honolulu in 1937 She was raised in Hawaii in the days before statehood was declared in 1959. Her mother died when she was just 12 years old, and Ruby was raised by an aunt.

As a young woman, Ruby graduated from McKinley High School in Oahu. Following her graduation, she put herself through college, earning a Master’s degree in Chemistry and a teaching credential from the University of Hawaii. Later she earned a scholarship to Oregon State University in Corvallis, where she earned a second Master’s degree.

Once she earned her degree, Ruby taught for several years at a junior high school in Kaimuki, a small, quaint neighborhood in Honolulu. When she was 24 years old, she relocated to Palo Alto, California, where she was able to find a better teaching position at Palo Alto High School in Palo alto, California. In 1970, Ruby accepted a position to teach children in a US military base in Kaiser-Slautern, Germany. There she met Masaru Nakahara, who was working as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft. The pair were married in a small ceremony in Basil Switzerland.

Two years later, the couple returned to the United States, landing first in Massachusetts and then settling in Southern California. Over the next five decades, the veteran teacher did some substitute teaching, but health problems prevented her from going back to the classroom full-time.

Sadly, Ruby Fukiko Nakahara succumbed to Covid-19 on Feb. 3, 2021. Her ashes will be scatteredin Hawaii when travel restrictions are loosened. To read more about her, see this online obituary.

PE teacher, veteran, and pro basketball player Robert Mulvihill

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Beloved physical education teacher Robert Mulvihill of New Jersey was also a former professional basketball player and military veteran. Photo credit: St. Peter’s Preparatory School.

Over the last few years, I have read many stories about classroom teachers who are also talented athletes. One of these was Robert Mulvihill, a high school teacher who was also a professional basketball player.

Robert was born on March 9, 1924, in Washington, DC. As a youngster, he earned a scholarship to attend Gonzaga College High School, a private Catholic school located in the capital city. There he played basketball, and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Following his high school graduation in 1942, Robert enrolled at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. While there, he played college basketball. When World War II erupted, Robert enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and he also transferred to the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Later Robert returned to Fordham, where he completed the requirements for his degree in 1948. He was named an All American for 1947-1948, and he was also inducted into the Fordham’s Hall of Fame.

After college, Robert played professional basketball for Wisconsin’s Oshkosh All-Stars as part of the National Basketball League. He did this during the 1948-1949 season. As an All-Star, he played 34 games and averaged 0.9 points per game. Unfortunately, an ankle injury ended his stint with the All-Stars, although he later spent a season playing for Torrington Howards in the East Coast League.

When he concluded his career as a professional basketball player in 1952, Robert relocated to Clifton, New Jersey. There he taught physical education, math, and English at St. Peter’s Preparatory School, a private all-male Jesuit school in Jersey City, New Jersey. There he earned the nickname “The Legend of Prep.” In addition, he ran a summer camp and a tour company that took children on field trips in the summers. Before his retirement in 1989, Robert’s career at the school spanned 37 years.

The former educator passed away on May 17, 2016, in Manasquan, New Jersey. He was 92 years old. To read this Chalkboard Champion’s obituary, see this post on northjersey.com.

 

Katheryn Pourcho: Indiana’s 2020 State Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Katheryn Pourcho, an elementary school art teacher from Danville, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Linked In.

Congratulations are in order for Katheryn Pourcho, an elementary school art teacher from Danville, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Katheryn teaches Pre-K, Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade at Danville North Elementary School. In the classroom, she has a reputation for being imaginative, animated, and inspiring, and she is known for infusing her experiences as a professional artist into her instructional practices. Her curriculum develops a healthy balance between individual responsibility and team-oriented relationships. She makes frequent use of collaborative projects, and her students learn through multi-media storytelling and immersive experiences.

In addition to her work in the classroom during the school year, Katheryn provides art experiences in the summers for her students and for children abroad in countries such as Nicaragua, Lebanon, and Thailand. She has done this work for the past nine years.

Katheryn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Art Education in 2011 from Ball State University. She studied oil painting under artists CW Mundy, Pam Newell, and Thomas Kegler. She also painted in residency at La Romita School of Art in central Italy. In 2016, she received the Lily Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship to study theology and plein air painting, creating art in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh.

To learn more about Katheryn Pourcho, see the article about her published on the CCSSO Teacher of the Year website.