Schoolteacher and Arkansas state flag designer Willie Kavanaugh Hocker

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Willie Kavanaugh Hocker

Schoolteacher and Arkansas state flag designer Willie Kavanaugh Hocker

I truly enjoy sharing stories about dedicated educators who have earned fame for accomplishments outside of the classroom. One of these is elementary school teacher and Arkansas state flag designer Willie Kavanaugh Hocker.

Willie was born the youngest child of a farming family in Crooksville, Madison County, Kentucky, on July 21, 1862. When she was still a young girl, her family moved to Arkansas.

Once she became a young woman, Willlie studied at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 1887 she earned her teaching certificate, and then she began teaching at a rural elementary school in Wabbaseka, Arkansas. She taught there for 34 years. Throughout her long teaching career, she always emphasized Arkansas state history. She also wrote short stories and poetry. Her best known poems are “Arkansas” and “Ozark Mountaineer.”

Willie is best known as being the designer of the state flag of Arkansas. This came about when the teacher became a member of the Pine Bluff Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1912, the group decided to present a state flag to the newly commissioned battleship USS Arkansas. To their surprise, they were told that Arkansas didn’t have a state flag. To remedy this, Willie encouraged state legislators to hold a competition to design a new state flag. Willie created an innovative design for a flag which was later adopted as the Arkansas state ensign.

This accomplished educator passed away in Dunnington Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas, on February 6, 1944. She was 81 years old. She is interred at Bellwood Cemetery in Pine bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas.

A mural of this amazing chalkboard champion has been created on Highway 65 near the courthouse. View the photo of this mural below:

Mural

Colorful mural of schoolteacher and flag designer Willie Kavanaugh Hocker located on Arkansas Highway 65.

Meet Dr. Brian McDaniel, 2018 California Teacher of the Year

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As teachers, we all know that some of our students deal with situations at home that are very difficult. Some of them are downright tragic. But here’s a teacher that overcame his own childhood tragedy to become an awesome teacher. Meet Dr. Brian McDaniel, a middle school music educator who has just been named the 2018 California Teacher of the Year.

Despite his turbulent childhood home life, or maybe because of it, Brian developed a strong love for both music and school. As a survivor, he made it his goal to become an inspiration to others, and, against the odds, made that goal a reality. Brian earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from California State University, Long Beach, in 2005. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University, San Bernardino. He completed the requirements for his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Redlands in 2011.

Currently, Brian is a teacher and Director of Bands for the Painted Hills Middle School Bands and Choirs in the Palm Springs Unified School District in Palm Springs, California. He has a passion for teaching music that is evident through the transformation of his sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in his Desert Hot Springs community, where one third of the students choose to be a part of their school’s music program, known as “The Regiment.”

In the four-minute video below, watch this amazing chalkboard champion talk about his journey into the teaching profession, and listen to his students explain what makes him such an inspirational educator.

Teacher and African American Folklorist Daryl Cumber Dance

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Daryl Cumber Dance

Former English teacher and celebrated African American folklorist Daryl Cumber Dance

I always enjoy sharing stories about talented educators who have accomplished impressive successes in their field. One of these is Daryl Cumber Dance, a former high school English teacher who is best known for her work in African American folklore studies.

Daryl Veronica Cumber Dance was born on January 17, 1938, in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Allen Cumber, was a joiner and entrepreneur, and her mother, Veronica Bell Cumber, was an elementary school teacher.

As a young girl, Daryl attended Ruthville High School in Ruthville, Virginia. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia State College in1957. She earned her Master’s degree in English in 1963, and in 1971 she earned her Doctorate in English.

After earning her undergraduate degree, Daryl accepted a teaching position at Armstrong High School in Richmond, where she worked until 1962. At that time, she became a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she taught from 1972 to 1993. In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Richmond, and in 2013, she accepted a position at historical Black Howard University.

Daryl is best-known for her work in African American folklore studies. In this field, she has authored nine books and contributed to many others, including Shuckin’ and Jivin’: Folklore from Contemporary Black Americans (1978); Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical and Critical Sourcebook (1986); Honey, Hush! An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor (1998); and From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore (2002).

For her work as a folklorist, Daryl has garnered many honors. Among these are the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award; the Sister Circle Book Award for Outstanding Anthology; the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers Annual Conference; and The Sojourner Truth Award from The African American Studies Program of George Mason University.

Daryl Cumber Dance: a true chalkboard champion.

Former elementary school teacher and Four-Star General Lewis Blaine Hershey

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Lewis Blaine Hershey

Former elementary school teacher and Four-Star General Lewis Blaine Hershey

Many chalkboard champions serve in ways other than in the classroom. One example of this is Lewis Blaine Hershey, a four-star general in the United States Army who served his country in the military for sixty-two years.

Lewis Hershey was born on September 12, 1893, in Steuben County, Indiana. As a youngster, Lewis attended the local public schools. After his high school graduation, Lewis trained as a teacher at Tri-State College, now known as Trine University. After earning a Bachelor’s of Science in 1912 and a Bachelor’s of Arts in 1914, he taught at local elementary schools and served as a school principal in Flint, Indiana.

In 1911, Lewis enlisted in the Indiana National Guard. Almost immediately, his guard unit was called to active duty on the Mexican border, where they served until December, 1916. That year he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. His unit was again called to federal service during World War I, when Lewis was deployed to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force.  After the war ended, Lewis continued his education at both the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, graduating in 1933. Then Lewis taught military science at Ohio State University.

In 1936, Lewis was assigned to the General Staff in Washington, D.C. In 1940 President Franklin Roosevelt promoted the former teacher to brigadier general, and in 1941 President Roosevelt designated him Director of the Selective Service. Lewis was the longest-serving director in the history of the Selective Service System, and holding the position until 1970. His years of service spanned World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam War.  General Hershey was one of only three generals in the history of the United States Army to have served as a general during three major conflicts. Despite this distinction, his service during the Viet Nam War generated a great deal of controversy.

Lewis retired from the Army as a four-star general in 1973, at the age of 79. Suffering from heart failure, he passed away in Angola, Indiana, in 1977, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.