New York’s William R. Everdell: Talented classroom teacher and successful author

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William R. Everdell

New York’s William R. Everdell: Talented classroom teacher and successful author.

Some of America’s most talented classroom teachers are also highly successful authors. This is true of William R. Everdell, a high school history teacher from Brooklyn who has published several acclaimed books about history and intellectual history.

William Romeyn Everdell was born in 1941.  As a youngster, he attended St. Paul’s, a private Episcopalian school located in Concord, New Hampshire. Following his high school graduation, young William enrolled in prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey. While a student in college, William was named a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and designated a Fulbright Scholar. Later William earned his Master’s degree from Harvard University and his doctorate in Modern Intellectual History from New York University.

This chalkboard champion is also a veteran. During the Viet Nam War, William served in the United States Marines. However, following his discharge in 1968, he became an outspoken critic of the war and even participated in anti-war marches.

In 1970, William accepted a teaching position at St. Anne’s School in Brooklyn, an arts-oriented private school located in the Brooklyn Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. There he taught world history until his retirement in 2016.

For many years William has been a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review. In addition, he has authored several books and articles on intellectual history and the history of ideas. His books are: Christian Apologetics in France published in 1989; The End of Kings, first published in 1983; and The First Moderns, 1872-1913, first published in 1998.

He has also written about the pedagogy of teaching history, and he has served on the committee to develop tests for the Advanced Placement World History Exams. The former educator has served as the president of the Organization of History Teachers and the East Central American Society for 18-Century Studies. In addition, he is a member of the American Historical Association.

Now 77 years old, William lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Barbara.The couple has two grown sons.

 

Melody Herzfeld, Theater Arts teacher at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, honored at Tony Awards ceremony

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Melody Herzfeld

Melody Herzfeld, Theater Arts teacher at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, was honored at last night’s Tony Awards ceremony.

Theater Arts teacher Melody Herzfeld was recognized last night with the Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the 72nd Annual Tony Awards ceremony at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Melody is credited with saving 65 student lives at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School last Valentines Day when the chalkboard hero barricaded them in her classroom’s office as a disturbed student opened fire merely 50 yards away. In the shooting, the gunman killed 14 of his fellow students and 3 staff members. Following the massacre, Melody supported and guided her students in their nationwide movement for tighter gun control.

Melody has taught courses in acting, theater production, and technical theater at Stoneman Douglas since 2003. During that time, she has directed more than 50 productions. Her drama program has earned state and Critic’s Choice recognition at various Thespian competitions, and has won awards from the South Florida Cappies and the Cappies Critics. Cappies is an international program that recognizes, celebrates, and provides learning experiences for high school drama students and teenage playwrights. Melody has also produced her community’s Children’s Theatre Project since 2003.

The Excellence in Theatre Education Award is given by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University to a K-12 theater educator who has demonstrated a monumental impact on the lives of students. It comes with a $10,000 prize for the winning teacher’s theater program. Melody is only the fourth recipient of the honor. In addition to her Tony award, this talented performing arts instructor also received the Educational Theatre Association’s 2018 Thespis Award earlier this year.

During her Tony Award acceptance speech, Melody asserted that performing arts educators teach students to speak their own truths, to develop a work ethic, to know that loyalty and collaboration is key, to be good to each other, to accept everyone, and to make a difference. “We teach this every day in every arts class,” she said. “Imagine if arts were classes that were considered core—a core class in education—imagine. And ours is only one small part, yet it’s the most important part, of a child’s education.”

You can view Melody’s entire Tony Award acceptance speech below:

Learn how to use Comic Life in the classroom

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Even during the summer, teachers are constantly looking for resources they can use in their classroom. Here is one I am happy to share with you: Comic Life, a download that allows the user to create their own comics. Teachers can use the program to create personalized comics to supplement their instructional programs, and they can also encourage their students to use the program to create their own classroom projects. Here is a tutorial I create a while ago that shows you how to use the program. If you like it, here is the online link to where you can learn more, and where you can download a free trial: Comic Life. Enjoy!

William Allen Hadley: The blind teacher who taught blind students

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William Allen Hadley

William Allen Hadley: the blind teacher who taught bllind students.

There are many dedicated educators who have spent their professional lives working with handicapped students. This is the case with William Allen Hadley, a talented educator who founded a correspondence school for blind adults.

William was born in Moorsville, Indiana, in 1860. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in 1881, and his Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

After his college graduation, William taught school in Minnesota. He also served as the Superintendent of Schools in the small town of Wilmar, Minnesota. At the conclusion of his first year of teaching, William traveled to Germany to study at the University of Berlin. When he returned to the United States, he accepted a position at Marietta College in Ohio. Later he taught in public schools in Peoria, Illinois, and at a Chicago’s Lakeview High School for another fifteen years.

In 1915, at the age of 55, William contracted a severe case of influenza, and then he suffered a detached retina which resulted in his blindness. In order to pursue his academic life, William taught himself Braille. The hardworking educator soon discovered that there were few educational opportunities available for blind adults. He felt compelled to help others acquire communication skills and further their studies. In 1920, the enterprising teacher established a correspondence school for blind students he named The Hadley School for the Blind. Among the courses he offered were reading and writing in Braille, English grammar, business correspondence, and the Bible as literature. These courses were offered free of charge.

William’s first student was a farmer’s wife from Kansas who, like William, had suddenly lost her vision and sought to regain her ability to read and write. Teaching most of the early courses himself, William began by translating textbooks to Braille by hand and personally answering lessons with letters of correction and encouragement. Within a year he was teaching about ninety students in the United States, Canada, and China. William served as the Hadley School’s president for more than fifteen years and remained active on the Board of Trustees until his death.

For this work, William received an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1931 and a Doctor of Humanities in 1933 from Beloit College. The Bosma Industries for the Blind honored him as the 2004 recipient of the Hasbrook Award, given to a pioneer in the field of blindness.

In 1941, at the age of 101, this chalkboard champion passed away. He is buried in Moorsville, Indiana.

Margaret Clark Formby: Texas Teacher and Genuine Cowgirl

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Margaret Clark formby

Margaret Clark Formby: Texas teacher and genuine cowgirl.

Not many teachers can describe themselves as genuine cowgirls, but one who can is a Texas English teacher named Margaret Clark Formby. This remarkable educator is best-known for founding the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas.

Margaret was born in 1929 in Van Horn in Culberson County, Texas, a small town east of El Paso. She was the daughter of Fred and Mabel Clark, local ranchers. As a young woman, Margaret attended Van Horn High School, where she graduated in 1946, the salutatorian of her class. Following her high school graduation, Margaret enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Speech in 1950. After her college graduation, she accepted her first teaching position at Hereford High School in Hereford, Deaf Smith County, before relocating to a school in Fort Worth, Texas.

As a young woman growing up in a Western environment, Margaret believed it was important to have women recognized for their many contributions to Western culture. To this end, she founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Hereford. The museum was originally located in the basement of the local public library, but was later moved to a building in Fort Worth. Margaret also worked as the editor of Sidesaddle, the official magazine of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

In addition to cultural preservation, Margaret labored tirelessly to create better conditions for young people. She was one of two women in Texas who was named to a commission to investigate child pornography. She also served on a committee sponsored by the Texas House Speaker that researched teen pregnancy.

During her lifetime, Margaret earned many accolades for her work. In 1993, the talented educator was the first woman elected to Texas Tech University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame. In 2000, her name was added  to the list of “100 That Made a Difference: History Makers of the High Plains” by the Amarillo Globe News. She also received the Pioneer Woman Award from the American Cowboy Culture Society.

Margaret Formby passed away on April 10, 2003, at the age of 73. She will forever be remembered as a hardworking educator who worked tirelessly to preserve an important part of our Western heritage.