Oklahoma’s Becky Oglesby: Known as the “Batman Teacher”

Posted on by

Becky Oglesby, Oklahoma’s “Batman Teacher,” named her states 2019 Teacher of the Year. (Photo Credit: Oklahoma State Department of Education)

Here’s a boast not many states can make: Oklahoma has their very own Caped Crusader teacher. She is Becky Oglesby of  Yukon, Oklahoma. Becky is known in her school as the “Batman Teacher” because of the abundance of comic-book memorabilia she keeps in her classroom.

Becky, who has been named her state’s 2019 Teacher of the Year, currently teaches art for kindergarten and grades 1, 2, and 3 at Ranchwood Elementary School  in Yukon Public Schools.

“Batman believed that one man could make a difference and took it upon himself to do so and in turn became a legend. I want to be Batman,” Becky confesses. And early in her career she actually achieved her goal. The teacher became a hero to her students in 2013 when a deadly tornado ripped through her classroom at Plaza Towers Elementary in More, Oklahoma. At the height of the storm, the young hero used her body to shield her first-graders as the twister destroyed the school. Sadly, seven students from the school were lost in the melee.

The events of that day, the honored educator said, illustrate the dedication and compassion of Oklahoma’s teachers. “Any educator who truly has the heart of a teacher would have done the exact same thing given the opportunity,” Becky says. “My greatest contribution to education has been showing the world that teachers are more than babysitters worried about test scores. Your kids become our kids, and our priority is to create a safe learning environment where they can flourish.”

Through her art lessons, Becky incorporates core subject areas, provides the opportunity for students to express their uniqueness, emphasizes state academic standards, and provides significant life lessons.

To read more about Becky Oglesby, click on this link to the article provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Educator, activist, and member of New Mexico House of Reps Miguel P. Garcia

Posted on by

Educator, activist, and member of the new Mexico House of Representatives Miguel P. Garcia.

Many fine classroom teachers have also been successful in the political arena. This is certainly true of Miguel P. Garcia, a Spanish teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico who has served in his state’s House of Representatives since 1997.

Miguel earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, in 1973. He earned his Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 1993.

While still an undergrad, Miguel became an active participant in the civil rights struggle of Chicano people in the late 1960’s, 1970’s, and early 1980’s. In 1972, he was arrested at a sit-in at the Office of the President while protesting discrimination in the employment of Latinos at his university. He also worked for the creation of a Chicano Studies Program at the school. He chaired the Chicano Student Organization (AHORA) for two years. In those two years, his group created tutorial programs in the barrio schools of North Portales, and they opened a community center operated by the North Portales community.

Miguel has taught Spanish in Albuquerque Public Schools since 1989. Prior to becoming an educator, he worked as a real estate broker from 1985 to 1992. He was also employed as the Director of Casa Armijo Community Center from 1979 to 1985.

In 1996, Miguel was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. He continues to serve his constituents in District 14 there to this day. In the legislature, he is a member of the Labor Committee, the Veterans and Military Affairs Development Committee, and serves as the Chair of the Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committees. To learn more about this Chalkboard Champion’s political activities, follow this link to a Q&A published in the Albuquerque Journal.

Williamina Fleming: Talented educator and honored Harvard astronomer

Posted on by

Williamina Fleming: Talented educator and honored Harvard astronomer. Photo credit: Astronomical Photographs at Harvard College Observatory.

I love to share stories about educators who have earned accolades for their work in scientific fields. Williamina Fleming, an immigrant from Dundee, Scotland, was one such educator.

Born on May 15, 1857, Williamina immigrated to the United States with her husband. The couple landed in Boston, Massachusetts. She was in her early 20’s  and pregnant when her husband abandoned her. After her son was born, Williamina was forced to find a way to support herself and her baby on her own. She took a job as a housekeeper in the home of Edward Charles Pickering, who happened to be the Director of Harvard College Observatory.

One day, Williamina’s employer became frustrated with the men he employed. In the heat of the moment, he yelled out, “My Scottish maid could do better!” While said in jest, there was a great deal of truth to his utterance. Williamina had been an advanced student while in Scotland. There she had been a pupil-teacher by the time she was 14 years old. She continued to teach for five years until she married.

In 1881, recognizing his housekeeper’s outstanding scholastic abilities, Pickering hired Williamina to be the first of what would become a famous group of Harvard Computers. All women, they studied the stars through glass plate photographs. A few years later, Williamina became curator of astronomical photographs. This role came with the responsibility of managing a dozen women computers.

While working at the observator, the former teacher devised and helped implement a system of assigning stars a letter according to how much hydrogen could be observed in their spectra. Her most notable achievement, however, is her discovery of the Horsehead Nebula in 1888.

Williamina went on to discover many stars and receive numerous awards and honors. She became a member of the Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America, the Astronomical Society of France, and an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. The Astronomical society of Mexico honored her with the Guadalupe Almendaro Medal. She was also named an Honorary fellow in astronomy at Wellesley College.

Williamina passed away from pneumonia in Boston on May 11, 1911, at the young age of 54.

Read more about this amazing teacher at ScientificWomen.net.

Texas educator Cathy Cluck conducts lessons while on the road

Posted on by

Cathy Cluck, an AP History teacher from Austin, Texas, brings new meaning to the words “distance learning” as conducted lessons in US history from the road on her tour of significant historical sites. (Photo credit: Photo taken by Cathy Cluck and printed by Yahoo Life) 

I am continuously amazed by the ingenuity and creativity displayed by my fellow educators. Here’s one, in particular, that deserves accolades. She is Cathy Cluck, a history teacher from Texas. Cathy is bringing new meaning to the words “distance learning.”

As part of what she calls her “Great American Road Trip,” Cathy has traveled approximately 3,000 miles all over the country to visit such historically significant sites such as Gettysburg, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and the Lincoln Memorial. From these locations she conducts lessons about the important events that occurred there. Cathy teaches AP US History and AP European History at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

Over a span of 15 days, the innovative teacher set up a hotspot in her SUV and uses a camera on a tripod and her phone to broadcast her history-based lessons from the road. “I’ve had class from my car, I’ve had class from rest areas,” and she confessed that once she even administered a history online while in a parking lot in Tennessee. In all, Cathy visited a total of 11 historical sites. 

“This is something I’d never be able to do in a normal school year,” Cathy remarks. “I was just trying to figure out, how can I make this school year interesting and fun for kids? I mean, I don’t know how to do [remote learning]. I wasn’t trained to be an online teacher,” she confessed, “So I figured, what if I teach history from the places where it happened? Maybe that would at least make them want to log in to find out where their teacher is every day.”

To read more about Cathy’s amazing adventure, see this link at Yahoo Life.