Bernard Ayotte: Former educator and member of Maine’s House of Reps

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Bernard Ayotte, former educator and member of Maine’s House of Representatives

There are many examples of fine educators who have also served in political office. One of these is Bernard Ayotte, who served in the Maine House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014.

Bernard earned his degree in biology from St. Francis University, a private coeducational university located in Biddeford, Maine. The institution is now known as the University of New England. He also owned a sawmill and served in the United States Army.

After his graduation from college, Bernard became a biology and mathematics teacher. He worked his way up the ranks to become the principal in New Sweden Elementary School in New Sweden, Maine.

In 2006, Bernard was elected to the Maine House of Representatives on the Republican ticket. He represented District 3. He was re-elected in 2008, 2010, and 2012. He was unable to serve further due to term limits.

In 2009, Bernard became a member of the National Environmental Leadership Group at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Dr. Cora Martin of Texas: Chalkboard champion and founding member of Delta Kappa Gamma

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Dr. Cora Martin of Texas: Chalkboard champion and founding member of Delta Kappa Gamma

I always enjoy sharing stories about amazing educators, and today I get to tell the stories of one of the best: Cora Martin of Austin, Texas.

Cora was born on November 22, 1884, the youngest of the eight children born to Theodore and Elizabeth Merriman. She was raised in Chico, Texas. Shortly after her graduation from high school there, Cora married Francis Martin. The couple settled on a ranch at Martin’s Prairie, but unfortunately Francis passed away early in their marriage. 

The young widow enrolled at North Texas State Normal School in Denton, Texas, where she graduated in 1909. In 1919, Cora earned her Bachelor’s degree, and in 1922, she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York.

Cora inaugurated her teaching career in Monday, Texas. She also taught in Fort Worth and Paducah, Texas. After earning her Master’s degree, she took a job as the supervisor of Bloomsburg Normal School in Pennsylvania, but in 1923 she returned to her native state of Texas. There she accepted a position to teach in the demonstration school established at North Texas State Teachers College. In 1927 Cora enrolled at the University of Texas to work on her Ph.D, which she earned in 1936. At the same time, she served as the Assistant Professor of elementary Education.

While at the University of Texas, Cora worked with Dr. Annie Webb Blanton, the first woman in Texas elected to statewide office. Dr. Blanton served as Texas State Superintendent of Education from 1920 to 1922. At Dr. Blanton’s urging, Cora became one of the founders of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (DKG), an organization which still endeavors today to promote the professional development of women educators.

Cora Martin suffered from heart disease for several years. In 1964, she collapsed after returning home from the DKG International Convention in San Francisco. She passed away on April 12, 1965. This chalkboard champion is interred in Chico Cemetery in Chico, Texas.

To learn more about this chalkboard champion, visit the Delta Kappa Gamma website at Cora M Martin.

 

Former English teacher Samira Ahmed earns success as an author of young adult novels

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Former high school English teacher Samira Ahmed earns success as an author of young adult novels.

There are many classroom teachers who have achieved success in arenas outside of the classroom. One of these is Samira Ahmed, a former high school English teacher who has established herself as an author of popular young adult novels.

Samira was born in Bombay, India. She was raised in Batavia, Illinois, and in Chicago, Illinois. As a youngster, Samira says she spent countless hours at her local library nestled in an overstuffed armchair next to an old Victorian fireplace with her nose in a book. Her favorites were Agatha Christie novels and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

As a young woman, Samira earned both her Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and her Master’s degree in English at the University of Chicago. After earning her college degrees, Samira accepted her first teaching position at Niles North High School in Skokie, Illinois. She taught high school English there from 1994 to 1999. Next, she worked as the Humanities Department Chair at Young Women’s Leadership School in New York City from 1999 to 2000. From 2005 to 2007, she was employed as the Director of External Affairs for New Visions for Public Schools in New York City.

Samira published her first novel, Love, Hate & Other Filters, in 2018. The book is about a Muslim Indian-American teenager and her attempts to cope with Islamophobia. The novel was praised by Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. Her second book, Internment, features a setting in the future where Muslims are sent to internment camps as the result of a law passed by an Islamophobic president. This novel received praise from Kirkus Reviews and Entertainment Weekly. This Fall, Samira will publish her third book, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know. The novel is a literary mystery inspired by a poem by Lord Byron and a painting by Eugene Delacroix. The plot follows a young Muslim girl that leads the readers through parts of forgotten Paris.

To learn more about this chalkboard champion and successful author, visit her website at Samira Ahmed.

Leonard Covello and the Making of Benjamin Franklin High School by Johanek and Puckett

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Here’s a great book for anyone who is interested in progressive education or pluralism in education: Leonard Covello and the making of Benjamin Franklin High School: Education as if Citizenship Mattered. The authors are Michael C. Johanek and John L. Puckett.

Leonard Covello came to the United States in 1896 as a nine-year-old Italian immigrant. Despite immense cultural and economic pressures at home, Leonard wanted to get an education. As an adult, he analyzed the cultural and economic pressures he faced as a child and teen, which were common in Italian immigrant households at that time. He realized that Italian parents viewed the school as a wedge between their children and the family. He recognized the pressure even the youngest Italian children faced to go out and get a job rather than succeed in school. His answer? Involve the parents in the school, and involve the students in the community. The result was New York’s Benjamin Franklin High School, a truly innovative marriage of school and home. Lots of lessons in this story are relevant even in today’s times, especially for school personnel who are clamoring for more involvement from parents in the school system.

You can find this eye-opening book on amazon.com at the Leonard Covello link. You can also read the abbreviated version of Leonard Covello’s life story in my first book Chalkboard Champions: Twelve Remarkable Teachers Who Educated America’s Disenfranchised Students.

Maritcha Remond Lyons: Educator, abolitionist, and humanitarian

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Maritcha Remond Lyons: Educator, abolitionist, and humanitarian

American history abounds with stories about teachers who have accomplished heroic achievements. One such teacher is Maritcha Remond Lyons, an African American woman who served the New York City public school system for 48 years. She was also an accomplished musician, an avid writer, and a published author.

Maritcha was born on May 23, 1848, in New York City, the third of five children born to parents Albro and Mary (Marshall) Lyons. She was raised in New York’s free black community, where her father operated a boarding house and outfitting store for Black sailors on the docks of New York’s Lower East Side. Her parents emphasized the importance of making the best of oneself, and they also modeled the significance of helping others.

A sickly child, Maritcha was nevertheless dedicated to gaining an education. Maritcha once said she harbored a “love of study for study’s sake.” She was enrolled in Colored School Number 3 in Manhattan, which was governed by Charles Reason, a former teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia.

Maritcha’s parents were abolitionists, and were both active in the Underground Railroad. Obviously, these activities were not without dangers. The family home came under attack several times during the New York City Draft Riots of July, 1863, when Maritcha was just a teenager. The family escaped to safety in Salem, Massachusetts, but after the danger passed, her parents insisted on sending their children to live in Providence, Rhode Island. In Providence, Maritcha was refused enrollment in the local high school because she was African American. Because there was no school for black students, her parents sued the state of Rhode Island and won their case, helping to end segregation in that state. When she graduated, Maritcha was the first Black student to graduate from Providence High School.

After her high school graduation, Maritcha returned to New York, where she enrolled in Brooklyn Institute to study music and languages, When she graduated in 1869, she accepted a teaching position at one of Brooklyn’s first schools for African American students, Colored School Number 1.

Maritcha’s worked first as an elementary school teacher, then as an assistant principal, and finally as a principal. During her nearly 50-year career, she co-founded the White Rose Mission in Manhattan’s San Juan Hill District, which provided resources to migrants from the South and immigrants from the West Indies.

This remarkable chalkboard hero passed away at the age of 80 on January 28, 1929.