Arizona teacher Eulalia Bourne: A women’s libber ahead of her time

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I love to share stories about plucky teachers, and in the short video below I share some information about a really plucky teacher from the American Southwest: Eulalia Bourne.

This daring educator, whose career spanned more than four decades, taught elementary school in rural areas, mining camps, and Indian reservations throughout Arizona during some of our country’s most challenging periods: World War I, the Depression, and World War II. This women’s libber was ahead of her time, becoming one of the very few women in her day to own and run her own cattle ranch.

NYC teacher Jeffrey Alston succumbs to coronavirus

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Coronavirus claims the life of beloved math and technology teacher Jeffrey Alston of New York City. (Photo credit: New York State United Teachers)

With great sadness, I must report that coronavirus has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. He is Jeffrey Alston, a teacher at Juan Morel Campos School of the Arts in New York City. Jeffrey passed away on April 12, 2020. He was only 56 years old.

For the past 15 years, Jeffrey taught math and technology at Juan Morel Campos School of the Arts in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The dedicated educator truly enriched his school community. He wrote grant proposals that led to the creation of the school’s computer lab 13 years ago. More recently, he was able to successfully advocate for an upgrade to the lab.

Jeffrey was also known for his wonderful sense of humor and his willingness to lend an ear. “He often chose not to give advice but to guide you to your decisions,” remembers colleague Keith Miller. “I am a better man and teacher for having known Jeff. His best quality was his ability to let you know he was there and he was listening; you knew he cared. That sense remains.” Colleage Camille Stephens agrees. “Alston was not just a teacher. He was a mentor, father figure, and motivator that brought calm and peace to students who were going through turbulent times,” she recalls.

To read more about this beloved educator, see his obituary at the New York State United Teachers.

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

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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

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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

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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.