Florida teacher Chanique Davis creates Black History Month displays
Florida elementary school art teacher Chanique Davis shares door displays created to celebrate the annual observance of Black History Month. Photo credit: www.goodmorningamerica.com
Our annual observance of Black History Month is an opportunity for educators to share stories about African American culture with our students. One educator who does a wonderful job of this is Chanique Davis, a fifth grade art teacher at Lake Alfred Elementary School in Lake Alfred, Florida. Lake Alfred Elementary is a Title I school, with a high population of students receiving free or reduced price breakfast and lunch.
This year, Chanique has experienced limited access to her classroom. But last year, Chanique created two artistic door displays for her classroom. The one on the left shows her Graffiti Queen creation, and the one on the right is a tribute to Tyler Perry tpo celebrate his great accomplishment of opening his own film studio. “Decorating doors and teaching [students] about culture allows me to mold and shape their minds, and their hearts to be respectful and kind,” asserts Chanique. The Chalkboard Champion says she hopes to use art to teach her students an appreciation for diversity and beauty in the cultures of others.
Chanique overcame many obstacles to find her way into the classroom. During high school, she was homeless for three years, living in empty houses, in the family car, at local shelters, and in the woods. “A family member messed up some things for us financially,” Chanique recalls about how they lost their apartment. But those challenges never stopped her from achieving. “I still made straight A’s all through high school,” she continued. “I persevered through all that and graduated with a 4.0 (grade-point average),” she says. In fact, as a Lake Gibson High School student in the mid-2000s, she was a Ledger Silver Garland winner in the foreign language category.
To read more about this amazing educator, see this article published by Florida Headline News.
Share this:
Abraham Lincoln: “Upon the subject of education…”
During Black History Month, we honor Tennessee’s Mary Scales
In celebrating Black History Month, we pay homage to Mary Scales, an exemplary math teacher from Tennessee. (Photo credit: Murfreesboro Post.)
In celebrating Black History Month, we pay homage to our country’s many talented and dedicated African American educators. One of these is Mary Scales, an exemplary math teacher from Tennessee.
Mary was born on Sept. 24, 1928, in Columbus, Georgia, although she spent her girlhood in Chicago, Illinois. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Knoxville College in Knoxville, Tennessee. She earned her Master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). She also completed postgraduate work at both Peabody College and Vanderbilt University,
After she earned her degrees, Mary taught in Murfreesboro at both Bradley Middle School and Boxwood Middle School, where she taught mathematics. She also served the school district as an administrator. Impressed with her abilities in the classroom, she was offered a position in the Education Department at her alma mater, MTSU, where she worked first as an Associate Professor, and then as a full professor. In fact, she was the first African American to join the faculty at that institution of higher learning. Later, Mary would work there as the Dean of Continuing Education and as a math specialist with the Tennessee State Department of Education.
In addition to her work as an educator, Mary dedicated herself to her community as both a member of Murfreesboro City School Board and the Murfreesboro City Council. She was the first Black woman to serve on the Council. This hardworking educator had a reputation for being a strong advocate for Civil Rights.
For her tireless work in the classroom on behalf of children, Mary earned many accolades. She was inducted into the Tennessee Teachers Hall of Fame at MTSU in 2001. In 2005, a Murfreesboro elementary school was named in honor of both Mary and her husband, Robert.
Sadly, Mary passed away on Oct. 6, 2013, following a long battle with cancer. She was 85 years old. To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion, see her obituary published by MTSU.
Share this:
NY Social Studies teacher Andrew Beiter inducted into NTHF
Andrew Beiter, a social studies teacher from Springville, New York, has been inducted into the 2020 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo credit: www.academyfor humanrights.org
I enjoy sharing stories about exemplary educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Andrew Beiter, a social studies teacher from Springville, New York. Andrew is one of five educators who have been inducted into the 2020 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).
Andrew teaches eighth grade American history at Springville Middle School in Springville, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. Previously, Andrew taught in the Panama School District and at St. Bonaventure School in West Seneca. His career as an educator has spanned 25 years.
This amazing educator has garnered the respect of his colleagues, his students, and their parents. “I’m truly grateful for the impact Andrew has had on our school and students,” says Shanda DuClon, Principal of Springville Middle School. “He has successfully led several school-wide lessons where tolerance is the topic. He is an advocate for our students, and through his support, Andrew has created a safe environment where students can truly be themselves without judgment,” the principal continued. Fellow educator Megan Felt agrees. “His impact reaches beyond the boundaries of his classroom to include educators and students around the world,” Megan asserts. “His colleagues and students speak of his love and passion for teaching.”
In addition to his duties in the classroom, Andrew is also the Director of the Summer Institute for Human Rights of Buffalo, a Regional Education Coordinator for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. He is the Board President for the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights, an organization designed to provide education to teachers about the Holocaust and human rights in former conflict zones, including Rwanda, Bosnia, and Cambodia. He is also a Teacher Fellow for the Lowell Milken Center and a consultant for the Speak Truth to Power program at the Robert F. Kennedy Center. And as if all that were not enough, he is active in New York State United Teachers and the National Council for the Social Studies.
Andrew earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Philosophy from Michigan State University in 1987 and his Master’s in Education from State University of New York, Fredonia in 1998.
Well done, Andrew.
