Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

The remarkable Nell Choate Jones: Kindergarten teacher and artist extraordinaire

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Nell Choate Jones

The remarkable Nell Choate Jones, kindergarten teacher and celebrated artist.

I enjoy telling stories about accomplished educators who, in addition to their classroom successes, earn recognition in fields outside of the classroom. One such story is that of Georgia native Nell Choate Jones, a kindergarten teacher who was also an artist extraordinaire.

Nell was born on May 27, 1879, in Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia. Her father served as a captain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. When Nell was only four years old her father died, and her widowed mother moved the family to the fashionable Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York. There Nell was educated at Adelphi Academy. When she grew to womanhood, Nell taught kindergarten and elementary school in the New York public school system for many years.

When Nell was in her early 40’s, her husband, who was also an artist, encouraged her to study art formally. Her efforts were so appreciated that she won a scholarship to study at the Fontainebleau School for Fine Arts in France. She later studied in England as well.

In 1936 Nell returned to the United States to attend the funeral of her sister in Georgia. While there, she became inspired to paint scenes of the American South. Her paintings often captured the beautiful rural landscape of her native state. She also enjoyed depicting the leisure activities of African Americans in her work. Her artistic style is characterized by simple forms, rhythmic designs, and vibrant colors.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Nell’s work was exhibited all over North America, and also in France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, and Japan. Today, her paintings can be found in many museums, including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia; and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, Nell has won many awards. She garnered an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York in 1972, and the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1979.

Sadly, the former kindergarten teacher and celebrated artist passed away in Brooklyn on April 15, 1981. She was 101 years old. After her death, her ashes were scattered in the Georgia clay of the Hawkinsville city cemetery. To learn more about this remarkable chalkboard champion, see her entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Nell Choate Jones

Georgia Red Clay, perhaps the best-known work of artist Nell Choate Jones.

Educator Dr. Rebecca Palacios: A 2014 inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Rebecca Palacios

Early childhood educator Dr. Rebecca Palacios, in 2014, when she was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Our nation’s schools are fortunate to enjoy the limitless talent and dedication of many remarkable Latino teachers. One of these is Dr. Rebecca Palacios, an early education teacher from Corpus Christi, Texas.

Rebecca has long been recognized as a champion for better education for Latino students. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, she learned about American discrimination against Latinos first-hand. Her father, a World War II veteran who worked for the public park service in Texas, often spoke to her about the discrimination faced by Latinos in America. He talked about not being able to eat in segregated restaurants or use segregated water fountains. He shared stories of rules that forbade him from speaking Spanish in school.

Despite the obstacles faced by Latinos in America, Rebecca excelled in school. In fact, she was the first in her family to pursue a higher education. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1975 in Early Childhood Education from the University of Texas, Austin. The following year she earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M, Corpus Christi. In 1996, she completed the requirements for her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas, Austin.

Following her college graduation, Rebecca taught elementary school in the Corpus Christi Independent School District. There she taught Caucasian and Latino students in kindergarten, first grade, and third grade, first at Lamar Elementary and then at Zavala Elementary. Throughout her long and distinguished career, she became one of the most outspoken proponents of improved educational opportunities for Latino students. She also became one of the most celebrated early childhood educators in the country.

Rebecca’s career in Corpus Christi’ schools spanned more than 33 years. Following her retirement in 2010, she continued to work as a consultant for the district by mentoring other teachers. For her many contributions to the field of education, this chalkboard champion was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) in Emporia, Kansas, in 2014. To learn more about Rebecca, read this post at NTHF.

Emily Griffith: Founder of Denver’s Opportunity School

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Emily Griffith

Emily Griffith, teacher and founder of Denver’s Opportunity School, often wore hats created by students in the school’s millinery classes.

There aren’t many educators who are so revered their portrait hangs in a state capitol building, but one who does is teacher Emily Griffith of Colorado.

Emily was born on February 10, 1868, near Cincinnatti, Hamilton County, Ohio. Even at a young age, Emily knew she wanted to be a teacher. However, because her father often changed professions and frequently moved the family from state to state, and because she was expected to go to work at a young age to help support the family, Emily didn’t have much opportunity to earn a formal education.

Nevertheless, in spite of her youth, lack of formal education, and inexperience, Emily managed to convince the school board at Broken Bow, Oklahoma, she was capable enough to teach. The teenager began her teaching career in the sod schoolhouse she had briefly attended herself. How long she taught there is not known for certain, but it is estimated to be between eight and eleven years.

In 1895, Emily moved with her parents to Denver, Colorado. There she accepted a position as a long-term substitute sixth grade teacher at Central School. The following year she secured a full-time position. The students that attended Central School came from impoverished immigrants from many countries, and Emily could see that her kids’ parents needed help to learn math and how to read and write in English. Emily reasoned that it was just as important to offer educational opportunities to adults as it was to offer them to children.

In 1904, Emily was appointed the Assistant State Superintendent of the Colorado Education Department, a position she held for four years. When her term expired, the veteran teacher served a two-year stint as an eighth grade teacher at the Twenty-Fourth Street School in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver. In 1910, she garnered the position of Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, where she served another four-year term. After the end of this appointment, Emily once again taught at the Twenty-Fourth Street School, and before long, she became the school’s principal.

In 1916, Emily inaugurated a radical progressive experiment, a nontraditional school open from early morning until midnight, available to “All Who Wish to Learn,” including adults and working youngsters. The school offered courses the students deemed useful, such as English as a second language, American citizenship, mathematics, millinery, auto repair, cooking, carpentry, sewing, needlework, typewriting, and telegraphy. Instruction was individualized, and students could attend free of charge. When Emily became aware that some of her younger students had no time or money to eat, she organized free soup to be served. After 17 years, Emily retired from her work at the Opportunity School in 1933, but her years of service were not over. For the next 12 years, she served on the State Board of Vocational Education.

After Emily completed her public service, she and her sister, Florence, retired to a rustic cabin located in Pinecliffe, Boulder County, Colorado. Sadly, on June 18, 1947, the two sisters were found murdered in their home. Authorities have never been able to prove with certainty who the murderer was.

Emily Griffith

The portrait of Emily Griffith in the Denver State Capitol building.

For her tireless work in public schools, Emily garnered many honors, both during her lifetime and after. In 1911, she was recognized with a diploma and two Bachelor’s of Pedagogy degrees from the Colorado State Normal School and Teachers College in Greeley, Colorado, an institution now known as University of Northern Colorado. In 1976, a stained glass portrait of Emily was dedicated in the Colorado State Capitol. In 1985, Emily was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, and in 2000 she was recognized with the Mayor Wellington Webb Millennium Award for Denver’s Most Useful Citizen.

Emily Griffith: truly a Chalkboard Champion.

Sekou Biddle: Talented elementary school teacher and politician from Washington, DC

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Sekou Biddle

Sekou Biddle: Talented elementary school teacher and politician from Washington, DC

There are many fine examples of talented classroom teachers who go on to become influential in local politics. One such teacher is Sekou Biddle, an elementary school teacher and politician from Washington, DC.

Sekou was born and raised in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. His parents, who both worked for the federal government, stressed the importance of education, and they made sure Sekou went to quality public schools. The youngster attended Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Tenleytown, a historic neighborhood in Northwest, DC. There he played sports, including football, basketball, and crew. He also dated the valedictorian, whom he later married.

Following his high school graduation, Sekou attended Morehouse College, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Once he earned his degree, Sekou accepted a position as a fifth and sixth grade teacher at an elementary school in the Bronx borough of New York City. The job fulfilled his obligation to the Teach for American program. Later, Sekou accepted a teaching position at an elementary school at Atlanta, Georgia. In 2005, he moved back to Washington, DC, where he taught math for the Knowledge is Power Program. Eventually he was named the Director of Community Outreach for the Knowledge is Power organization.

When he decided to throw his hat into the political ring, Sekou ran for and won a seat on the District of Columbia State Board of Education. He served in that capacity for four years. When his term expired, he became the Executive Director of Jumpstart for Young Children, a nonprofit organization that prepares youngsters to enter elementary school. He worked there for four years. Since 2012, Sekou has been employed as the vice president of the United Negro College Fund, where he oversees the advocacy platform that builds coalitions and supports education reforms.

Give an Inspirational Book to Dad on Father’s Day

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Give an inspirational book to Dad on Father’s Day! If he is an educator. a history buff, or an avid reader, I can recommend two great choices: Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes.

Chalkboard Champions presents stories of 12 gifted and dedicated teachers who worked with some of America’s most disenfranchised and disadvantaged students.  Among the captivating stories included is that of Charlotte Forten Grimke, an African American born into freedom in the North, who during the Civil War volunteered to teach emancipated slaves in a South Carolina school established just behind the battle lines. There’s the gripping eyewitness account of the Wounded Knee Massacre by teacher Elaine Goodale Eastman, the talented New England child poet who founded a school for Sioux Indians on a south Dakota reservation. There’s the story of Leonard Covello, the Italian immigrant turned school teacher who enlisted in the US Army during World War I to fight alongside his students, and educator Mary Tsukamoto, imprisoned in a World War II Japanese internment camp.

Then there’s Mississippi Freedom Summer teacher Sandra Adickes who, together with her students, defied the Jim Crow laws of the South and integrated the Hattiesburg Public Library. And Clara Comstock, who found homes for thousands of Orphan Train riders. And what collection about remarkable teachers would be complete without a discussion of Anne Sullivan Macy, the teacher of Helen Keller, and the dedication of Jaime Escalante, the East LA educator who proved to a skeptical establishment that inner city Latino youths could successfully meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum.

Chalkboard Heroes shines a spotlight on courageous teachers in American history who were both exemplars of teaching and role models of society. There are the veterans, such as Henry Alvin Cameron, who fought in World War I, and Francis Wayland Parker, a Civil War veteran. There are the social reformers who put themselves at risk to fight for improved conditions and better lives for disenfranchised citizens, such as Dolores Huerta, the champion of migrant farm workers; Robert Parris Moses, the Civil Rights activist; Prudence Crandall, who defied prevailing 19th-century convention to open a school for African American girls; Carrie Chapman Catt, the suffragist; and Zitkala-Sa, who campaigned for the constitutional rights of Native Americans.

Readers also learn about the brave pioneers who took great risks to blaze a trail for others to follow, such as Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space; Willa Brown Chappell, the aviatrix who taught Tuskegee airmen to fly; Etta Schureman Jones, who was interned for four years in a POW camp in Japan during World War II; and Olive Mann Isbell, who established the first English school in California while the Mexican American War raged around her. And then there are the savior teachers like Dave Sanders of Columbine High School, who put their own life at risk to protect the students whose safety was entrusted to their care.

Share these stories with your Dad this Father’s Day. He’ll be pleased.