Johan van Hulst: The Dutch teacher who saved 600 Jewish children from the Nazis

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Johan van Hulst

Dutch educator Johan van Hulst (right) and some of the Jewish children he was determined to rescue (left).

In my book Chalkboard Champions, I asked the question, “What can a teacher do, what is a teacher expected to do, in highly charged periods of social change, political upheaval, or times of war?” This question can be answered with the inspirational story of Johan van Hulst. He was a Dutch teacher and principal who risked his life to rescue hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II.

Johan was born on January 28, 1911, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. His father was a furniture upholsterer, and his mother was a homemaker. While a young man, Johan studied psychology and pedagogy at the Vrije University in Amsterdam. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1929, and then two Master’s degrees, and a Ph.D. During his studies, Johan worked as a school teacher and university lecturer.

In 1942, Johan became the director of the Reformed Teacher Training College, a Protestant seminary in Amsterdam. The college was located across the street from the Hollandsche Schouwburg, a former theater that had been set up to house Jewish children until they could be transported to Nazi concentration camps. In 1943, Johan worked with the Dutch Resistance and students from the University of Amsterdam to rescue as many of the Jewish children as they could. The children were smuggled across the street to the Training College, and then into a temporary safe house that shared a back yard garden with the school. Then, with the assistance of student teachers and local university students, the intrepid educator hoisted the children over the hedge separating the neighboring back yards of the safe house and the school. Later the children would be hidden in bags, sacks, or laundry baskets and spirited out of their hiding place into the care of rescue families. Because of these efforts, Johan and his co-conspirators saved the lives over 600 Jewish children.

After the war, Johan was elected to the Dutch Senate, where he served from 1956 to 1981. He was also elected to the European Parliament, where he served throughout the 1960s.

For his humanitarian work during the war, in 1973 Johan was recognized by Israel with the distinction of the Righteous Among the Nations, a title given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. But despite Johan’s heroic achievements, the courageous educator often said he always felt ashamed that he did not do more.

This valiant chalkboard champion passed away last month on March 22, 2018. He was 107 years old. In 2016, the former Reformed Teacher Training College where Johan worked was transformed into the Dutch National Holocaust Museum.

You can read more about Johan van Hulst at Van Hulst Obituary or at his entry for Yad Vashem.

 

 

Margaret Herrera Chavez: New Mexico teacher and celebrated artist

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There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who have distinguished themselves in other professions. Elementary school teacher and celebrated artist Margaret Herrera Chavez is a shining example of this.

Margaret was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1912, the daughter of ranchers. She was raised in Gascon, Mora County, New Mexico. As a young woman, Margaret worked as an elementary school teacher. For a time, she also worked for the Works Progress Administration.

Margaret Herrera ChavezIn addition to teaching, Margaret was a self-taught artist. She painted primarily in watercolors and oils, and experimented with printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. She later completed formal training at Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She also attended the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and the Instituto San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The natural environment of northern New Mexico where she was raised provided the greatest inspiration for Margaret’s art. Her pieces featured mostly broad landscapes painted in light colors. Margaret’s Nuevo Mexicana art pieces were so exceptional that she was able to exhibit her work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she won several prizes. Currently, her pieces are part of the permanent collection of Highlands University, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Museum of International Folk Art.

In addition to her own successes, the former teacher was eager to promote the work of other emerging women artists. She was able to accomplish this as a member of the Hispanic Cultural Society, the New Mexico Education Association, and the National Education Association. She also served as the president of the Albuquerque branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

Margaret passed away in Alburquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in 1992. To read more about this educator and artist, see Printmakers You Should Know.

Alan Lawrence Sitomer: Nationally recognized educator, public speaker, and novelist

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Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Alan Lawrence Sitomer

You know, sometimes teachers make the best authors. One educator who proves this is true is high school English teacher Alan Lawrence Sitomer. Alan has earned a reputation nationally for his success in engaging reluctant readers and his aptitude as an engaging motivational speaker. He is also the celebrated author of children’s books, young adult fiction, and books about teaching pedagogy.

Born in 1967, Alan earned his Bachelor’s degree from University of Southern California, his teaching certificate through San Diego State University, and his Master’s degree from National University. He has taught English, creative writing, speech, debate, and AVID at Lynwood High School, an inner city school located in Lynwood, Los Angeles County, California. He has also worked as a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Alan’s published novels for kids include The Hoopster, Hip Hop High School, and Homeboyz. He has also authored Hip-Hop Poetry & the Classics, a text that is currently being used in classrooms throughout the United States to teach classic poetry through hip-hop. The approach is intended to engaged reluctant students in both poetry and academics. Other titles published by Alan are a teacher’s methodology book entitled Teaching Teens & Reaping Results: In a Wi-Fi, Hip-Hop, Where-Has-All-The-Sanityh-Gone World and The Alan Sitomer BookJam.

Recently, Alan has been working on a series of “BookJams.” These projects are designed to raise test scores by promoting his standards-based activities and lesson plans, hands-on learning projects, useful grading rubrics, differentiated assessments, and award-winning literature. See more about this at The Alan Sitomer BookJam.

This amazing teacher was named California Teacher of the Year by the California Board of Education in 2007. You can find his books on amazon.com and his website at www.alanlawrencesitomer.com.

How Do Teachers Change Lives?

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There are days when dedicated teachers just need a reminder of why we work so hard for our students. Here is a dose of inspiration to help you start your day, supplied by YouTube. It will only take one minute and six seconds, but hopefully it will give you the energy to complete your work today. Enjoy!

Elizabeth Almira Allen, teacher and advocate for teacher benefits

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Elizabeth Almira Allen

Teacher and activist Elizabeth Almira Allen

There are many examples of dedicated teaches who have worked tirelessly to improving the benefits and conditions of the teaching profession. One such teacher who exemplifies this is the activist Elizabeth Almira Allen of New Jersey.

Elizabeth Allen was born in Joliet, Illinois, on February 27, 1854. She was the oldest of five children born to James and Sarah Allen. Her father was a Civil War veteran. Her family lived for brief periods in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, but by 1867, they settled in New Jersey.

Elizabeth was thirteen when she enrolled in the Model School of Trenton, a facility associated with the State Normal School. The college is now known as Trenton State College. Two years later, Elizabeth graduated from the institution. She began teaching in Atlantic City. In 1871, she took a position in Hoboken, New Jersey. In a career that spanned 48 years, she taught in the classroom and served as the principal of local elementary and high schools. She also supervised the training of new teachers at Hoboken Normal and Training School.

Elizabeth worked tirelessly as a teachers’ rights advocate. In 1913, she became the first woman president of the New Jersey Education Association. In this role, she argued for tenure laws, disability benefits, and pensions for teachers.

This amazing educator could speak German and French fluently, and some Russian and Italian. She was an avid student of history. In addition, she published a book of poems entitled Golden Nails to Hang Memories On (1890) which detailed the accomplishments of famous people. Despite her limited means, she loved to travel, and made many cross-Atlantic voyages. She also visited Canada, Alaska, Central America, and Algiers.

This chalkboard champion passed away from congestive heart failure on May 3, 1919, at the age of 65. She is buried in Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey. You can read more about her in Pedagogies of Resistance: Women Educator Activists by Margaret Crocco and Petra Munro Henry, available on amazon.com.