Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Marva Collins: From One-Room School House to Innovative Educator

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Many talented educators come from humble backgrounds, yet manage to make the most of their modest beginnings. Such is the case with Marva Collins, a Chicago educator who earned national recognition for her innovative teaching methods.

Marva Delores Knight was born August 31, 1936, in Monroeville, Alabama, the first of two daughters born to businessman Henry and Bessie (Nettles) Knight. Raised in the heart of the segregated South, Marva attended a one-room school house and learned first-hand about the substandard educational opportunities offered to African American students. Nevertheless, her father expected her to study hard and succeed.

As a young woman, Marva attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia. After college, she taught school for two years. In 1959, the young woman moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she met and married draftsman Clarence Collins. The couple had three children. For the next 14 years, while raising her family, Marva worked as a substitute teacher in the Chicago School District.

Marva became concerned with youngsters she believed were not being served well by the school system, so in 1975 she withdrew $5,000 from her retirement account and founded a private school on the second floor of her home in the Chicago neighborhood of Garfield Park. Thus was born the Westside Preparatory School. Only a few students enrolled, but the dedicated educator resolved that her school would be open to any student who was not succeeding in the larger school systems, particularly low-income children, and those who’d been diagnosed with irremediable learning disabilities. At the end of the first year of the school’s operation, every student enrolled in Westside Prep earned test scores significantly higher than they had scored in previous years.

Marva’s methods became known as the Collins Method. Her program centered on phonics, math, reading, Language Arts, and the classics. She was also a big believer in the Socratic Method, which emphasizes learning through asking questions and engaging in dialogue with peers. “The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another,” Marva once said.

The talented educator and her innovative school quickly became a national story, featured in stories in the magazines Time and Newsweek and in television news programs 60 Minutes and Good Morning America. In 1982, the story of Marva’s life and school were the subjects of a television movie starring powerhouse actors Cicely Tyson and Morgan Freeman.

For her pioneering teaching methods, Marva was honored with the Watson Washburn Award from the Reading Reform Foundation (1978), the Jefferson Award for Public Service (1981) and the Humanitarian Award for Excellence. Marva also received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Monroe County Heritage Association during Black History Month (1994). In addition, she was awarded honorary doctorates from Amherst, Dartmouth, and Notre Dame. President George W. Bush honored the chalkboard champion with the National Humanities Medal (2004). To read more about this amazing teacher, click on the link for www.biography.com or the link For the Kids’ Sake.

Marva Collins died of natural causes on June 24, 2015, in Beaufort County, South Carolina. She was 78 years old.

Because of Teacher Carter Godwin Woodson, We Celebrate Black History Month

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Socially conscious teachers all over the United States are gearing up for Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. But did you know that Black History Month, itself, was the brainchild of a brilliant American teacher?

Educator Carter Godwin Woodson is credited with organizing and advocating annual Black History Month celebrations in American schools. He is also recognized as the first African American of slave parents to earn a doctorate in History. Admittedly, these are noteworthy accomplishments. But there is so much more to this brilliant man’s life story than is usually publicized. Did you know that, as a youngster, Carter was forced to work on the family farm rather than attend school? Nevertheless, he taught himself to read using the Bible and local newspapers. He didn’t finish high school until he was 20 years old. Did you know that he once worked as a coal miner in Fayette County, West Virginia, and then later went back there to teach school to the children of black coal miners, serving as a model for using education to get out of the mines? And did you know that Carter taught school in the Philippines, and then became the supervisor of schools, which included duties as a trainer of teachers, there?

To read more about this fascinating historical figure, check out my book, Chalkboard Champions.

Rod Paige: from classroom teacher to US Superintendent of Schools

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I love to share stories about talented educators who have also served successfully in the political arena. Today’s story is about Rod Paige, the first African American to serve as the US Secretary of Education.

Rod was born Roderick Raynor Paige on June 17, 1933 in Monticello, Mississippi, the oldest of five children. His father, Raynor Paige, was a public school principal, and his mother, Sophie Paige, was a public school librarian. After his high school graduation in 1951, Rod earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned both his master’s (1962) and doctorate degrees (1980) from Indiana University at Bloomington. Rod is also a veteran, having served as a medical corpsman in the US Navy from 1955-1957.

After completing his military service, Rod accepted his first teaching position when he went to work as a health and physical education teacher at Hinds Agriculture High School in Utica, Mississippi. He taught there and coached football from 1957-1963. From 1971 to 1984, Rod served as the head coach and athletic director for Texas Southern University.

In 1980, Rod accepted a position as a professor at Texas Southern University, where he taught until 1984. While there, he became the Dean of the College of Education, a position he held until 1994. During this time, probably his greatest achievement was the establishment of the university’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility focusing on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems. During this time, Inside Houston Magazine named the former classroom teacher as one of “Houston’s 25 most powerful people” in guiding the city’s growth and prosperity. In 2001, Rod was honored as National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators.

Rod’s next job was as the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District in 1994. While there, Rod earned a reputation for outstanding leadership skills and innovative reforms. His professional goals were to focus on best instructional strategies, accountability at all levels, and developing of a core curriculum. Next, Rod returned to Texas Southern University, where he served as the Dean of the College of Education.

In 2001, Rod was named by President George W. Bush to be the seventh US Secretary of Education, a post he held until 2005. The major push in education during Rod’s tenure was the controversial No Child Left Behind legislation.

After leaving the Education Department, Rod became a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he helped fashion public policy. Recently, Rod has served as the interim president of his alma mater, Jackson State University in Mississippi.

To read more about this chalkboard champion, you can read Rod’s biography at the US Department of Education.

Nebraska’s Lucy Gamble, the first African American teacher in Omaha

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Many talented schoolteachers can also be applauded for their historic firsts. One such teacher is Lucinda (Lucy) Gamble, an elementary school teacher who was the first African American to be hired to work in Omaha public schools.

Lucy was born Lucinda Anneford Gamble on September 9, 1875, in Lincoln, Nebraska, the oldest of eight children of her parents, William and Evaline Gamble. The family moved to Omaha when she was five years old. As an elementary student, Lucy was first enrolled in the Old Dodge School, but later transferred to Pacific School. She graduated from Omaha Central High School in 1893.

Following her graduation from high school, Lucy enrolled in Omaha Normal School, a college which trained future teachers. She completed her two-year course of study there in 1895. “My teacher in the Normal school tried very hard to discourage me from going to the school as she said that I never would secure employment in the school system,” Lucy once recalled. But she must have been a very impressive candidate, because within three months of her graduation, Lucy was offered a position at her former elementary school, the Old Dodge School. With this appointment, Lucy became Omaha’s first African American school teacher. Later Lucy transferred to Cass School.

After six years of teaching, according to the custom of the day, Lucy resigned when she married the Reverend John Albert Williams, the son of a former slave who had escaped to Canada through the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War was won, John immigrated to the United States, landed in Nebraska, and became an activist for the African American community. The couple had one son they named Worthington, and two daughters, Catherine and Dorothy.

Even though she was no longer teaching, Lucy continued to serve her community. For ten years, she was the chairperson of the the board of the Omaha’s Negro Old People’s Home, and she was a prominent member of the Omaha Colored Women’s Club. In addition, she also served on the board of the Omaha chapter of the NAACP.

Read a transcript of Lucy Gamble’s personal history on file at the Library of Congress at this link: Lucy Gamble.

The Life Lesson Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Teaches Us All

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Today’s national celebration of the birthday of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., offers teachers an excellent opportunity to share the story of this prominent figure in America’s history, and to guide young people in their reflection on what lessons about life this great leader’s life can offer us.

As a young child myself in the 1960’s, I can remember vividly watching the “I Have a Dream” speech on television that hot August night in 1963. I was eight years old then, and impressionable. I’m all grown up now, but throughout the five and a half decades since that historic March on Washington, whenever I watch video of that historic speech, I am impressed all over again with the possibility that the world we share could, and should, be a better place, and that no matter how young—or old—I am, I can take action, even if it’s small, that would make such improvement come about. This is one of the most important lessons MLK has taught us all, not only then, but most especially now.

The video of King’s historic speech is below. To learn more about this amazing man, click on MLK Biography. To examine the website of the MLK Center for Nonviolent Change, click on King Center.