Ever daydream about a career in the movies? Many of us teachers do. Without question, teaching is a performance. So, just for your entertainment, here is an eight-minute You Tube video that celebrates a list of ten celebrities who were teachers before they became famous. You’ll be surprised at a couple of them. Enjoy!
Tag Archives: Celebrity Teachers
Lisa Niver: Award-winning science teacher and travel blogger
Lisa Niver, award-winning science teacher and travel blogger
During their summers off, many teachers often enjoy improving their professional practice through sifting through resources in their field. Many teachers also enjoy expanding their horizons through traveling, either within the United States or abroad. Science teacher Lisa Niver is a talented educator who can help you with both!
Lisa is a former junior high school science educator from Los Angeles, California. She is well-known in science teacher circles for her instructional strategies that emphasize the use of technology in the classroom. She’s also noted for using students’ real world connections to explore their passions and to work towards solving today’s most complex issues. She also developed a successful summer science camp for students, and created a science-based website entitled Science Isn’t Scary. In 2009, Lisa founded the Los Angeles Science Teachers Network (LASTN), a professional development network that by May, 2012, involved over 70 teachers and 40 schools. The effort was praised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In addition to her career as a professional educator, Lisa is also a sought-after motivational speaker, travel agent, and travel writer. Lisa has traveled to over 99 countries, and has been recognized as one of the top five female travel bloggers. In addition, she is the Adventure Correspondent for The Jet Set, the first travel based TV Talk show. To learn more about unique travel experiences, check out Lisa’s fabulous website at We Said Go Travel.
Lisa has published many articles in online and offline magazines, including National Geographic, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and The Jewish Journal. She was a 2012 nominee for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. In 2018, she was nominated in three categories of the Southern California Journalism Awards: Science/Technology Reporting; Travel Reporting; and Personality Profile. Click below to view a 4-minute interview of this remarkable teacher:
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Minnette Gersh Lenier: Talented teacher and professional magician
Minnette Gersh Lenier, talented teacher and professional musician
Standing up in front of a classroom of students has often been compared to a theatrical performance. One teacher who would likely agree is Minnette Gersh Lenier, a talented teacher who also happened to be a professional magician.
Minnette was born on July 9, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from San Fernando Valley State College in 1967, and her Master’s degree at the University of Iowa the following year. In 1971, she completed the requirements for her Ph.D at the University of Southern California.
As an adult, Minnette became interested in magic, so much so that she studied the subject under acclaimed magician Jules Lenier. She was so good at the art form that she became one of the few female performing magicians to appear at the world-famous Magic Castle. Minnette and Jules were later married.
After earning her college degrees, Minnette worked as a reading specialist at Compton Community College, and as a consultant with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Later she joined the faculty at Los Angeles Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley. This gifted educator often used stage magic in her classroom to teach literacy, reading, and critical thinking skills. She performed various magic tricks using optical illusions for her students to evaluate, and then she would discuss with them how people can fooled. She encouraged students to try magic tricks and illusions at home so they could demonstrate that everyone is occasionally deceived by their eyes. She taught her students that although one can be fooled, that doesn’t mean one is stupid. Believing that learning magic is a mind-expanding activity, Minnette used the art form to teach both her remedial students and her gifted students.
Minnette was also a published academic. With colleague Janet Maker, she authored several books to improve literacy for college students. Among her titles are Keys to a Powerful Literacy (1993); Academic Reading with Active Critical Thinking (1996); College Reading with Active Critical Thinking (1997); and Keys to College Success (1998). Some of her volumes have been adapted into audiobooks.
Sadly, Minnette Lenier suffered a heart attack and passed away in her home in Woodland Hills, California, on February 7, 2011. She was 65 years old.
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Recommended reading: Tony Danza’s book about his experiences in the classroom
Tony Danza’s book about his experiences in the classroom is recommended reading.
It seems to me that in every teacher’s career, there comes a desperate moment in which we just want to be understood. We fervently wish that the public, the parents, and the media comprehended just how dedicated we are to our students, and just how hard we work on their behalf, and just how tough the job is. Tony Danza goes a long way to build this understanding in his 2012 book I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High.
Having already earned his degree in history and his teaching credential, Danza accepted a position as a first-year teacher in an inner-city school in Philadelphia, partly because he had always wanted to teach and decided now would be a good time in his career to explore that option, and partly because the experiment could be turned into a reality show that, Danza hoped, could accomplish some genuine good by turning an empathetic spotlight on our nation’s over-worked, over-criticized, and under-paid teachers.
Throughout the book, Danza provides an insider’s perspective on many of the topics that dominate political discussion in the media and professional conversation in the teachers’ lounge, including such topics as funding cuts, high-stakes testing, high absenteeism, student apathy, and lack of parental involvement. It’s amazing how he hit the nail on the head with every chapter.
I loved this book, and how Danza eloquently voiced the frustrations of practically every teacher in America. Most importantly, I loved how much his genuine affection and respect for his students, and his strong commitment to do right by them, shines through the frustrations. It’s an inspirational book I recommend you put on your summer reading list. You can find it on amazon at I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had. Find more recommended reading on this website’s “Books to Read” tab.
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Pioneering broadcast journalist and schoolteacher Nancy Dickerson
Pioneering broadcast journalist and schoolteacher Nancy Dickerson
Because of their experience as leaders in the classroom, educators are ideally suited to professions that require grace on a stage. One former teacher who exemplified this grace is Nancy Dickerson, a pioneering broadcast journalist, who was once an elementary school teacher in Wisconsin.
Nancy was born on January 19, 1927, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. After her high school graduation, she first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and then transferred to University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1948.
After earning her college degree, Nancy accepted a position as an elementary school teacher in Milwaukee. In 1951, she moved to Washington, DC. But Nancy dreamed of a career as a broadcast journalist, specifically as a reporter of political news. To achieve this goal, she completed courses in speech and drama at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
The former teacher worked diligently, and was able to realize her goal. In 1960, Nancy was selected to be the first woman reporter to cover the Presidential elections for CBS News. During her time at CBS, she covered the presidential campaigns of Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson, the assassination and funeral of President Kennedy, and key events of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1963 March on Washington. In 1971, Nancy took a major step forward when she launched her career as an independent broadcaster and producer. From 1971 to 1974, she was the first woman to have a daily news program on network television, Inside Washington. In 1980, Nancy founded the Television Corporation of America, where she produced quality documentaries for the Public Broadcasting System.
For her outstanding work as a journalist, Nancy earned many awards. She earned a Peabody Award and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and received honorary degrees from American International College and Pine Manor College.
Sadly, in 1996, at the age of 69, Nancy suffered a stroke. She passed away the next year in New York City on October 18, 1997. She was interred at Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband, John C. Whitehead, a Navy veteran.
To read more about this pioneering chalkboard champion, see her obituary at the The Washington Post.
