Here’s a great video created on October 27, 2015, by NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia which describes what teachers do all day. Enjoy!
Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers
Educator Jenifer Fox: A Champion of the Strengths Movement
Many innovative teachers make wonderful mentors to other educators. One terrific example of this is Jenifer Fox, a leader in what is known in educational circles as the Strengths Movement.
Jenifer was born on December 9, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she spent her childhood. After her high school graduation, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s degree from Middlebury College, and a second master’s degree in education from Harvard.
Jenifer has over 25 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in a variety of settings, including public and private schools, day and boarding schools, religiously affiliated, single-gender schools, special needs schools, and international and American schools. But she is best known for her work in promoting a strengths-based approach to children’s education. In 2008, her book Your Child’s Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them was published by Viking Press. In 2007, Jenifer traveled all over the United States on a bus tour with Marcus Buckingham, a promoter of what is known as the Strengths Movement. Buckingham wrote the foreword to Jennifer’s book, where he specifically praised her revolutionary vision for education. To learn more about the Strengths Movement, click on this link: Strengths Movement.
Jenifer is also known as the founder of a high school curriculum called the Affinities Program. The name of this program was changed to Strong Planet in 2009. Jenifer also authored The Differentiated Instruction Book of Lists published in 2011 by Jossey-Bass.
Jenifer has delivered keynote speeches on 21st century education, business and school innovation, and developing children’s strengths to over 200 organizations. Additionally, she has made numerous television and radio appearance speaking about schools, students, and leadership.
Jenifer Fox: a true chalkboard champion.
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Hawaii’s Chalkboard Champion Takashi Ohno: Teacher and legislator
Often talented educators go on to serve their communities in the political arena. This is the case with Takashi Ohno, a third grade teacher from Kalihi, Hawaii, who is currently serving in the Hawaii House of Representatives.
Takashi was born on Kodiak Island, Alaska. His father was originally from Japan, and was employed in Alaska’s fishing industry. After graduation from high school, Takashi attended Linfield College, a small liberal arts institution located in McMinnville, Oregon, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in education. He earned his master’s degree from Chaminade University, a private university in Honolulu, Hawaii.
After completing his education Takashi accepted a position as a third grade teacher at Mayor Joseph J. Fern Elementary in Kalihi, Hawaii. As an educator connected with Teach for America, Takashi is a firm believer in education. “Education is life’s equalizer,” he once said, “and we need to compensate and retain master teachers that excel in their profession.”
In 2012, Takashi was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives representing District 27. He is currently serving his second term there. He is a part of several legislative committees, including Agriculture; Economic Development and Business; Tourism; Veterans, Military, and International Affairs; and Culture and the Arts; Education; and Higher Education. “I work so that all children one day will receive an excellent education,” Takashi once expounded.
Takashi Ohono: a true chalkboard champion.
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Minnesota teacher, pioneer, and photographer Sarah Louise Judd
Throughout American history there are many examples of frontier pioneers and innovators who became schoolteachers. One such young woman was Sarah Louise Judd.
Sarah Judd was born June 16, 1802, in Farmington, Connecticut. During her childhood there, she completed her education. In 1832, Sarah’s family moved to Marine Mills, Illinois, where her father established a tavern and her brothers became stockholders in the Marine Lumber Company.
Later, the Judd family became frontier pioneers and headed for the new territory of Minnesota. In 1846, Sarah founded the first school in Point Douglas, Minnesota, and later she founded the first school in Stillwater. The Stillwater school was established in a small vacant log cabin.
In January, 1849, the veteran schoolteacher married Ariel Eldridge. The couple had no children.
In her day, a French citizen named Louis Daguerre invented the ability to take photographs called “dagueereotypes.” The enterprising Sarah established a photography studio in her home town in Spring, 1848. In so doing, she became the first professional photographer in Minnesota.
Following a long illness, Sarah passed away in Stillwater on October 12, 1886, at the age of 84. She was buried in Fairwater Cemetery in Stillwater’s Washington County.
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Creative writing teacher Robert Boone: 2009 Chicagoan of the Year
There are many examples of talented teachers who win national acclaim for their work. One of these teachers is Robert (Bob) Boone, a creative writing teacher from Chicago, Illinois.
Robert was born and raised in Winnetka, Illinois, although he spent some of his childhood in Germany. He earned his master’s degree from Columbia University and his Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 1975.
Robert’s career as an educator began in 1964. In the early years of his teaching career, Robert taught fifth grade at Staten Island Academy in Staten Island, New York. He later relocated to Highland Park High School in Chicago. About thirty-five years ago he began working at the Glencoe Study Center, which he opened in 1979 to tutor high school dropouts who were seeking their GED. Robert founded outreach programs that emphasized developing the writing skills of inner-city students, particularly those who have not been successful in traditional educational settings.
In 1991, Robert founded a scholarship organization called the Young Chicago Authors, with the mission of encouraging teenagers to write. The program currently serves more than 5,000 teen authors each year. For this work, Robert was named “Chicagoan of the Year” by Chicago Magazine. In 2009, he was honored with an award from the Coming Up Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference at a White House event hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Robert is the author of several books and textbooks, including Hack: The Meteoric Life of One of Baseball’s First Superstars: Hack Wilson (1978), Moe’s Cafe (2007), Forest High (2011), Back to Forest High (2015), and the acclaimed Inside Job: A Life of Teaching (2003).
Robert currently lives in Glencoe, Illinois, and has been married to his wife, Sue, for forty-six years. The marriage has produced three children and five grandchildren.
To check out Robert’s web site, simply click on this link: Writing Teacher Hangout.
