From Classroom to White House: Stories about White House teachers
I enjoy reading and researching stories about remarkable teachers. So it is no surprise that I was fascinated by a book that tells anecdotes about our nation’s presidents and first ladies, and their experiences as students and as teachers. The book is called From Classroom to White House by James McMurtry Longo, published in 2012.
This little volume describes the educational issues the presidents addressed during their White House years, the prevailing issues in education during their period in history, and a general overview of American schools over time.
I enjoyed reading about presidents and first ladies who had been teachers before they became residents in the White House. I am fascinated by the tales of President Lyndon Johnson as a teacher of middle school immigrants in southern Texas. And I also enjoyed the stories about First Ladies Laura Bush and Pat Nixon. Most especially, I was intrigued by the story of First Lady, Grace, who met her husband Calvin Coolidge while working as a teacher in the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts.
While reading this book, I learned so many interesting personal details about our presidents as students. For example, I was amazed to learn that John F. Kennedy’s teacher said he could “seldom locate his possessions,” and that the teacher of George H.W. Bush described the young student as “somewhat eccentric,” and that Bill Clinton’s sixth-grade teacher called him a “motormouth.”
If you’re a teacher as intrigued by presidential history as I am, you’ve got to read From Classroom to White House, which can easily be found on amazon.com.
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Chicago teacher Olga Quiroga succumbs to Covid-19
Elementary bilingual education teacher Olga Quiroga of Chicago, Illinois, succumbed to Covid-19 on Oct. 1, 2020. Photo credit: New York Post
We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Olga Quiroga, a bilingual education teacher from Chicago, Illinois, succumbed on October 1, 2020, after a three-week battle with the disease. She was 58 years old.
Olga’s career as an educator spanned three decades. At the time of her passing, she taught bilingual education to first graders at Funston Elementary School. The school offers a comprehensive bilingual/monolingual academic program for students in grades Pre-K through 8th grade.
This compassionate educator said she deliberately chose teaching assignments at schools in lower-income neighborhoods because she believed that is where she was needed most. “My mom [would tell us] … ‘Those are the families that appreciate a good education … If I’m going to make a change,’ that’s where she wanted to start,” remembered Olga’s daughter Giovanna Quiroga.
Colleague Lois LaGalle agreed. “She was never intimidated by authority or school policy,” La Galle recalled. “When she saw a wrong being done to a child or a child’s family … whenever she would see an injustice being done that could be fixed and should be fixed, she never hesitated for a moment to advocate.”
Olga’s patience and passion for helping immigrant students came easy to her, because she herself was an immigrant. She came to the United States with her husband from Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1985. Once she arrived in this country, Olga took job cleaning houses for $50 per week. She also enrolled in night classes to learn English and to earn her GED. Over time, she earned her Associate’s degree, and then she enrolled at Chicago State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree.
Olga inaugurated her career in the Chicago Public School system in 1991 as a Reading Instruction Assistant. She served in this role for ten years. In 2001, she earned her certifications in English as a Second Language.
To read more about Olga, see her obituary published in the Chicago Sun Times.
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Maggi Parker: Teacher, Hollywood celeb, and businesswoman
New Hampshire elementary teacher Maggi Parker, in her role on Hawaii Five-0.
Many American educators have also earned fame in the entertainment field. One of these is Marjorie Parker, also known as Maggi Parker, an elementary school teacher from New Hampshire who, in her heyday, also earned some notoriety in Hollywood.
Maggi was born in 1927 in Nashua, New Hampshire. As a child, she attended elementary schools in Merrimack. After her 1944 graduation from Nashua High School, she enrolled in Keene State College. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education. She earned her Master’s in Education in School
Administration from Boston University. She also completed some doctoral courses the University of Southern California
Once she completed her education, Maggi taught in elementary schools in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Then she was hired by the US Air Force, and through them she continued her career as an educator in schools in Tokyo, Madrid, and Mallorca. Later Maggi relocated to Hawaii, where she provided educational services to emotionally disturbed children and adults.
In addition to pursuing her career as an educator in Hawaii, Maggi also accepted roles in various television shows. She appeared in The King Family Show, I Dream of Jeannie, and a Kellogg’s cereal commercial. She also appeared in uncredited roles in Paradise, Hawaiian Style; I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew; and Hawaii. In addition, she was cast in Hawaii Five-0. She appeared in 14 episodes of that show in 1968-1969.
Not only is Maggi an excellent educator and a talented actress, but she has also proven to be adept in business ventures as well. She served as the publicity officer for the Friends of the Iolani Palace, the former official residence of Hawaiian royalty. She was instrumental in acquiring palace furnishings. She also worked for the royal family for many years.
Maggi, who is now 93 years old, currently lives in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu in Hawaii.
To learn more about this amazing educator, see this link to New Hampshire’s History Blog.
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Wisconsin Special Ed teacher Koren Jackson earns top state honors
Koren Jackson, a high school Special Education teacher from Milwaukee, is one of five educators selected for their state’s top honors as Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. (Photo credit: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)
I always enjoy sharing stories about excellent teachers who have been recognized for their work in the classroom. One of these is Koren Jackson, a high school Special Education teacher from Milwaukee, who is one of five educators who have earned their state’s honors as Wisconsin Teachers of the Year.
Koren has been employed at Milwaukee Transition High School in the Milwaukee Public School District since 1999. She works with post-expulsion or adjudicated students.To help her students succeed, Koren created a project-based curriculum which gives them multiple opportunities to earn credits towards graduation. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Koren does volunteer work for the Milwaukee Hunger Task Force and the Wisconsin Special Olympics.
Koren has earned other accolades in addition to her state’s top honors. She has been recognized as one of 86 stellar Wisconsin educators to earn a place in the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation’s Teacher Fellowship Program. The program honors and supports teaching excellence and innovation across the state. The honorees were selected by a diverse committee to represent voices, contexts, and perspectives as educational leaders throughout Wisconsin.
Koren earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Health at Carroll College in Milwaukee in 1996. She completed the requirements for her post-baccalaureate certification in Special Education (learning disabilities and emotional behavioral disabilities) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2002. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Special Education from Concordia University in 2012. In addition, in 2018, Koren earned an alternative education certification from Concordia University.
In addition to Koren, the other four who were selected as Wisconsin Teachers of the Year were Trisha Kilpin, Brooke Kintzle, Derrick Meyer, and Susan Richardson.
To learn more about Koren, see this link to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
