Every classroom teacher knows that it is sometimes difficult to hold the attention of the students during a lesson. In Plymouth South Middle School located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, civics teacher Jonathan Hall experiments with using Artificial Intelligence tools to help keep his students engaged.
To learn more, view the video below. (Faith Lapidus reports for Voice Of America News.)
Milken Educator Award winner Tasha Wilson of Kingsland, Arkansas.
The teaching profession is so fortunate to have so many dedicated and talented educators working in our public schools. One of these is Tasha Wilson, a second grade teacher from Kingsland, Arkansas, who has been named a 2018-2019 Milken Educator Award winner.
Tasha is known for going above and beyond to ensure that her students treat each other with courtesy and respect, and she tolerates no bullying. The gifted educator has a reputation for motivating her students to do their best on their schoolwork, and her little ones say they feel safe to take academic risks they might not feel comfortable with taking in other classrooms. Her students demonstrate exceptional growth on their statewide assessments. Last year, her kids scored 34% higher in math and 37% higher in reading. One of Tasha’s many strengths is teaching the writing process to her young students. At the end of the year, her second graders can write a five-paragraph essay, a skill they will use and build on throughout the rest of their school years.Â
Tasha was born in Wilmar, Arkansas. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2003. She has taught at Kingsland for the entire length of her 14-year career. This is her eighth year as a second grade teacher.Â
Tasha says it was her love of reading and learning that compelled her to become a teacher. “This was my calling. This was the only profession that I ever thought I wanted,” Tasha reveals. “I love what I do. For someone to recognize me like this is just the icing on the cake,” she continues.
The Milken Educator Awards has been described by Teacher magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” The award has been used to honor exceptional educators over 30 years. Milken Educators are selected in early to mid-career for what they have achieved to date, and for the promise of what they will accomplish as they continue through their careers. In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 top teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education.
To learn more about Tasha Wilson, click on this link: Tasha Wilson.
Chloe Merrick Reed, teacher of newly emancipated slaves
In times of social and political turbulence, it is often the teachers who help with transition. Such is the case for Chloe Merrick Reed, a teacher from the Civil War period who opened a school for newly emancipated slaves.
Chloe was born in Syracuse, New York, on April 18, 1832. She became a teacher in Syracuse public schools, where she worked from 1854 to 1856. In 1863, while the Civil War was still raging, this intrepid teacher traveled to Fernandina, Florida, where she opened a school on Amelia Island to educate fifty-five of the children of slaves who had been liberated by the Union Army. Later she opened a home for orphans there. She was one of the first teachers to work with the Freedmen’s Bureau, a federal agency that was established to protect and assist newly-emancipated African Americans. Chloe’s work on Amelia Island is well documented. She is the only educator cited by name in Florida’s monthly education reports to the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
On August 10, 1869, Chloe married Harrison M. Reed, who served as the governor of Florida from 1868 to 1873. Reed was the ninth governor of the state. While First Lady of Florida, Chloe campaigned for legislation that would improve education, provide aid to the poor, and address other pressing social issues. The couple had one child, a boy they named Harrison Merrick Reed.
Chloe Merrick Reed passed away on August, 5, 1897. In 2000, this remarkable teacher’s name was added to the list of “Great Floridians,” a program which recognizes men and women who served their state through philanthropy, public service, or personal or professional service, and who have enhanced the lives of Florida’s citizens.
Educator Tom Payeur named Vermont’s 2019 State Teacher of the Year.
The Agency of Education for the State of Vermont has announced that their 2019 Vermont Teacher of the Year is Tom Payeur, a mathematics teacher at Winooski Middle/High School in Winooski, Chittenden County,Vermont.
Tom’s career as a math teacher has spanned six years, all at Winooski. Even though he is relatively new to the profession, he has been hailed as an innovator in proficiency-based education. He has been instrumental in his District’s efforts to teach their students 21st-century math skills. His efforts have obviously been noticed by officials at the state level. “Through his leadership, Tom helped his colleagues merge their math curriculum into a single online curriculum to provide flexible pathways for students,” declares Vermont Secretary of Education Daniel French. “And, to quote one of his peers, Tom Payeur is ‘undoubtedly the most visionary math teacher I’ve known in two decades of teaching.”
The talented educator says his students constantly challenge him to explore new ways of problem-solving. “The interest and fun comes out when they’re really given the chance to work with each other, to make models, to share ideas,” Tom asserts. “I try as much as possible to share with them the fact that learning math is not so much about memorizing things, it’s about the ability to break down a problem, see what’s true about it, and then find solutions that work,” he continues.
Tom earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics in 2010 and his Master’s degree in Secondary Education in 2012, both at the University of Vermont located in Burlington, Vermont.
Congratulations, Tom!
Outstanding educator Mamie Sue Bastian of Houston, Texas.
There are many excellent teachers who work hard to improve the work conditions of their colleagues. One of these was Mamie Sue Bastian, one of the foremost women educators of the state of Texas in the past century.
Mamie was born on November 27, 1874, in Houston, Harris County, Texas. She attended public schools, and then earned her degree at Houston Normal and High School in 1894. She attended college classes during summer sessions, during which time she also traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada.
After she earned her post-secondary degree, Mamie taught in the Houston School District from 1895 to 1922. From 1924 to 1925, she served as principal of Bowie Elementary, and from 1926 to 1940 she served as principal of Crockett Elementary.
In 1929, the former classroom teacher was one of 12 women educators who founded Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary society that still exists today. The organization promotes the support and professional growth of outstanding women employed at every level of education. Mamie is credited with founding 13 chapters of the organization in Texas, and helping establish six state organizations.
She also served on the Executive Committee of the Texas State Teachers Association in 1919, and she organized and served as president of the Houston Teachers Association. In addition, she formed the Houston Principals Association, she was active in the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and she was a member of the National Education Association. Furthermore, she served one term as vice president of the Texas State Textbook Board.
Mamie Sue Bastian passed away on February 20, 1946, and was interred in the Houston’s Glenwood Cemetery.
