Tag Archives: Celebrity Teachers

Teachers who have become famous for achievements outside the profession of education.

Teacher and Television Personality Jedediah Bila

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Many former educators have distinguished themselves in the entertainment world. This is certainly the case with Jedediah Louisa Bila, a middle school, high school, and college educator who has earned a name for herself as a prominent television personality.

Jedediah was born on January 29, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. As a youngster, she grew up in Staten Island where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school. Upon her graduation, she enrolled at Wagner College, a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, where she majored in Spanish and minored in business administration. She graduated from Wagner as the valedictorian of her class. After her college graduation, Jedediah earned her master’s degree in Spanish literature from Columbia University.

As an educator, Jedediah has taught various courses at the middle school, high school, and college levels. She has worked with learners from age three to adult, teaching them such subjects as creative writing, academic writing, Spanish, and public speaking. She has also been employed as a high school academic dean and adviser.

In the entertainment field, Jedediah served as a co-host on the popular television show The View from August, 2016, to September, 2017. In fact, in 2017, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. Jedediah has also served as a Fox News contributor and as a regular panelist on shows such as Red Eye, MSNBC, and Lou Dobbs Tonight. She has also published a book, Outnumbered: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative, in May of 2011. She has also held several leadership positions in the marketing field.

You can learn more about this amazing educator and television personality at this link: Jedediah Bila Biography.

Performing Arts teacher Jim Doughan is also an accomplished actor

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There are many examples of talented teachers who are also accomplished actors. One example of this is drama teacher Jim Doughan, who is probably best known for his role as Detective Doyle in the hit movie The Mask (1994). He also delivered notable performances as the voices of Detective Phil Allen and Lucky the Cat in the movie Stuart Little (1999) and as Mr. Pole, the driver’s ed teacher, in the popular TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).

Jim was born James Frances Doughan on August 2, 1959, in Apple Valley, Minnesota. After his graduation from Apple Valley High School, Jim enrolled in the University of Minnesota, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1977. He has taught history, English, and drama at Westridge School in Pasadena, and is currently employed as a performing arts teacher at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles.

Jim has donated much of his time as a mentor for student writers, serving as a director for the Harvard Westlake School Playwright’s Workshop. In addition, he has taught at the Summer Intensive Actor’s Workshop sponsored by Harvard Westlake School, and he has conducted a master class in improvisation at the University of Southern California and at Execuprov in Orange County, California.

Paul Zindel: High school chemistry teacher and celebrated author

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Many fine educators distinguish themselves in other fields. Such is the case with Paul Zindel, a high school chemistry teacher who is also a celebrated author and playwright.

Paul was born on May 15, 1936 in Tottenville, on Staten Island in New York. His father was a policeman, and his mother was a nurse. When Paul was still a child, his father abandoned his family, and his mother struggled to support the family alone. It was, by his own account, a difficult childhood.

Upon his high school graduation, Paul enrolled in Wagner College on Staten Island. Although he majored in chemistry, he took a creative writing course from celebrated playwright Edward Albee. Albee encouraged and nurtured Paul’s writing talent.

After Paul earned his college degree, he accepted a position as a technical writer for Allied Chemical. He was employed there for six months, but did not enjoy the work. Pursuing a passion for helping young people, Paul decided to go into teaching. For the next ten years, he taught chemistry and physics at Tottenville High School.

While still teaching, Paul wrote the book he is probably most famous for, The Pigman (1968). It was so successful that in 1969 he left teaching to write full-time. “I felt I could do more for teenagers by writing for them,” Paul once explained. “I started reading some young adult books, and what I saw in most of them had no connection to the teenagers I knew. I thought I knew what kids would want in a book, so I made a list and followed it,” he continued. “I try to show teens they aren’t alone. I believe I must convince my readers that I am on their side; I know it’s a continuous battle to get through the years between twelve and twenty — an abrasive time. And so I write always from their own point of view,” he concluded.

Paul’s other signature work includes The Effect of Gamma Rays on the Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, which received an Obie Award in 1970 for best American play. He garnered a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1971.

Sadly, Paul contracted lung cancer and passed away on March 27, 2003. He is interred in Moravian Cemetery in Staten Island.

To learn more about this extraordinary educator and author, visit his website at www.paulzindel.com.

Substitute teacher and award-wining sports newscaster Drew Esocoff

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Talented substitute teachers can also be considered chalkboard champions. A superb example of this is Drew Esocoff, a major network sportscaster who has also worked as a substitute school teacher.

Escoff_Drew-150x150Drew was born in 1957 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As a teenager, he attended Thomas Jefferson High School, an all-boys institution, where he graduated in 1975. The school incorporated a local all-girls school in 1977 and was renamed Elizabeth High School.

Following his high school graduation, Drew enrolled in Colgate University, a private liberal arts university located in Hamilton, New York. There he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1979. During his college years, Drew worked as a substitute teacher at his alma mater, Elizabeth High School, where he earned money to pay his college expenses. One of his students there was New York Jets football coach Todd Bowles.

After his college graduation, Drew  worked as a sports commentator and program director for ESPN and ABC, serving as the director for such national programs as Monday Night Football, Sports Center, the NBA Finals, Triple Crown horse racing programs, and five Super Bowl broadcasts. Drew’s work has not gone unnoticed. He has won eleven prestigious Emmy Awards for his television work.

Drew currently lives in West Redding, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Theater arts teacher Donald L. Leifert was also a sci fi/horror films actor

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7648_7efe4ce15e731268698a14ae125931e5_centerI have often heard it said that there is a certain amount of theatrics involved in teaching. This must be true to some degree, because there are many examples of talented educators who are also successful as actors. One example of this is Donald L. Leifert, Jr., an English and theater instructor who also made a name for himself as a science fiction and horror films actor.

Donald was born on February 27, 1951, in Maryland, the son of Dolores J. and Donald L. Leifert, Sr. During the Viet Nam conflict, Donald served as a soldier in the U.S. Army. Following his stint in the army, he spent two years studying at the Douglas-Webber Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.

Donald worked with indie director Don Dohler in such science fiction and horror film roles as the homicidal ghost in The Galaxy Invader, the contemptible lout Drago in Nightbeast, and the good-for-nothing redneck Frank Custer in The Alien Factor.

When Donald decided to change careers, he accepted a position teaching English and theater arts at the Carver School for the Arts in Baltimore County; English and journalism at Dundalk High and Catonsville High; and English and theater arts at Towson High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Donald was also a published author. He authored his biography, entitle Riggie: A Journey from 5th Street.

This exceptional educator passed away from natural causes at the young age of 59 on October 23, 2010, in Parkland, Maryland. At his passing, this chalkboard champion was remembered fondly by his former students. “He always pushed his students to be their best, because he knew we were capable of it, even when we didn’t,” remembered former student Jennifer Wallace. “He was kind, funny, and stern when he needed to be,” she said. Others agree. “As a senior in high school he would allow me to teach his beginner acting class now and then,” commented former student Jessica Wentling. “He gave to me the love of teaching, a passion that I intend to continue pursuing,” she concluded.