Tag Archives: Celebrity Teachers

Sue Burns: The math teacher who became integral to the San Francisco Giants

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Sometimes in history talented educators make their mark in arenas other than the classroom. This is the case with Sue Burns, a math teacher who became an integral and beloved part of the San Francisco Giants franchise.

Sue was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 9, 1950. She earned her degree at California State University, East Bay, located in Hayward, California. Following her college graduation, she accepted a position as a math teacher at the Woodside Priory School, a private coeducational Catholic prep school located in Portola, Valley, California. She was employed there from 1983 to 1992.

Sue met and married Harmon Burns, an investor in a financial group that purchased the San Francisco Giants baseball team in 1992. Sadly, Harmon died of heart failure in 2006. Upon his death, Sue became the majority shareholder of the team and assumed the role of senior general partner. The former schoolteacher was extremely popular within the Giants organization. She attended almost every game, and often sat with Nikolai Bonds, the son of Giants outfielder Barry Bonds. In addition, Sue often traveled with the team when they went on the road and to Arizona for spring training.

In July, 2009, Sue discovered she had lung cancer. She succumbed to the disease a week later, on July 19, at the age of 58.  “Sue was a remarkable mother, grandmother, and friend whose loving and nurturing spirit touched everyone in the Giants family,” expressed Giants official Bill Neukom at the time of her passing. “Her unwavering loyalty to her beloved orange and black could be felt throughout the entire organization.”

To read more about this amazing lady, click on The Mercury News.

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.