Tag Archives: English Teachers

Eric Jenkins named Indiana’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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High school English/Language Arts teacher Eric Jenkins has been named Indiana’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Circle City Broadcasting

I am always excited to share the story of an exemplary teacher who has earned recognition for their work. One of these is Eric Jenkins, a high school teacher English from Franklin, Indiana.

Eric teaches English/Language Arts courses to sophomores at Franklin Community High School. He has taught there for the past 11 years. He also teaches an Advanced College Project composition course at Indiana University. Furthermore, he is a teacher and consultant for the Hoosier Writing Project, a program which helps educators improve their writing skills and, in the process, become better writing teachers.

The honored educator has sage advice for beginning educators. “Teach fearlessly,” he advises. “And the first kind of tenant of ‘teach fearlessly’ is that you need to not be afraid to take care of yourself. We need to be well before we can take care of our students,” he continues. “Beyond that, I think the other piece of advice is, don’t be afraid to reach out to the community for support when things are getting hard,” he says.

An Indiana native, Eric inaugurated his teaching career at the American Christian Academy in Ibadan, Niberia, in 2007. The school was located in a walled compound outside of central Ibadan, Eric remembers. “You know the joke about teachers living at school? Well, we actually did,” he recounts. “There was a house on the school grounds that we lived in, a short walk away from the classroom buildings. Three other American teachers and I shared that house,” he continues. Once he returned to the United States, he taught for three years in Trussville, Alabama. In 2014, he relocated to his home state of Indiana.

Eric earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English/Language Arts Education from Indiana University in 2007. He earned a Master’s degree in Literacy from the State University of New York, Albany. He completed the requirements for his teaching certificate from Ball State University in 2017.

To read more about Eric, click on this link to an article about him published by Indiana University, Bloomington.

Lyndon Baines Johnson: US President and former ESL teacher

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President Lyndon B. Johnson, our nation’s 36th president, was a teacher for English-language learners in Texas before he went to Washington, DC. Photo credit: Humanities Texas

The role of Lyndon B. Johnson as our nation’s 36th president is well-known, but did you know that he used to be a school teacher? Before he launched his career in politics and went to Washington, DC, LBJ taught English language learners at a junior high school in Texas.

In 1928, LBJ needed a way to pay for his education at Southwest Texas State College. To do this, he accepted a position as a teacher at Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas, a town on the US southern border. There he taught English as a second language to Spanish-speaking junior high school students.

Despite the language barrier between himself and his students, the future president proved to be an enthusiastic and inspirational teacher, organizing speech and debate tournaments and other activities to help the youngsters learn English. “I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School,” Johnson once remarked. “I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American,” he said.

When LBJ became president in 1963, he didn’t forget his days as an educator. While in office, he passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965. The legislation granted federal aid to students in elementary grades to achieve his goal of ensuring that every child received a quality education.

To read LBJ’s own words about his teaching experiences, follow this link to “LBJ the Teacher” on Humanities Texas.

TV personality Mary Hart was once a high school English teacher

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Celebrated television host Mary Hart is a former high school English teacher from South Dakota. Photo Credit: South Dakota Hall of Fame

There are many talented individuals in Hollywood who were originally classroom teachers. One of these is Mary Hart, a television personality known best or her role on Entertainment Tonight. She was once a high school English teacher in South Dakota.

Mary Hart was born Mary Johanna Harum in Madison, South Dakota, on Nov. 8, 1951. As a young woman in 1970, she entered a beauty pageant, where she was named Miss South Dakota. She subsequently became one of the top ten contestants for the Miss America Pageant. During the pageant, Mary was interviewed for national television, and that was when she discovered her passion for broadcasting.

Two years later, Mary earned her Bachelor’s degree from  Augustana College in Sioux Falls. Once she earned her degree, she accepted a position teaching English at Washington High School in Sioux Falls. But she never forgot her aspirations for broadcasting. During the years she worked in the classroom, Mary moonlighted as a host on a local cable show.

Before long, Mary relocated from South Dakota to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to accept a position as a broadcaster there. In Iowa her repertoire expanded, encompassing both television and radio shows. By 1976, Mary was a household name in Iowa, where she co-hosted a talk show called Dannysday. In 1979, Mary moved to Los Angeles, where she a secured position hosting PM Magazine and worked with Regis Philbin on The Regis Philbin Show. But it was her appearances on Entertainment Tonight (ET) that made her a household name nationwide. She worked on the television show for 29 years, and by the time she retired from the show in 2011, she had set a Guinness World Record for the longest-serving entertainment news host.

In addition to her work as a television host, Mary hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade from 1984 to 1989, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1987. She received Emmy nominations for both. In 1989, the former English teacher was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has also been inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

In addition to her work in broadcasting, Mary is committed to numerous charitable projects. For example, she is an advocate for women’s issues, personal achievement, and improving children’s lives. In fact, she has worked tirelessly for the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.

Mary Hart: A true Chalkboard Champion.

 

Former English teacher Mark Takano serves in US House of Reps

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Former English teacher and member of the US House of Representatives Mark Takano works to improve educational opportunities for learners of all ages. Photo Credit: The Press Enterprise.

Many fine classroom teachers go on to successful careers in politics. One of these educators in Mark Takano, a former teacher who now serves in the US House of Representatives.

Mark was born on December 10, 1960, in Riverside, California. He spent his entire childhood there. As a Japanese American, he grew up listening to stories told by his parents and grandparents about their internment in an American camp during WWII. As a young boy, Mark attended La Sierra High School. When he graduated in 1979, he was named the school’s valedictorian. After his high school graduation, Mark attended Harvard, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Government in 1983. He earned a second Master’s in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Creative Writing for the Performing Arts, from the University of California, Riverside, in 2010.

Once he earned his degree, Mark worked as a substitute teacher for various public school systems in the Boston area. Later he returned to Riverside, and, in 1988, he inaugurated his teaching career in the Rialto Unified School District. He taught British Literature at Rialto High School. Only two years later, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Riverside Community College District. There he worked diligently to increase job training opportunities for adult learners. In 1991, Mark was elected Board President. In all, Mark taught for 23 years in public schools.

In 2012, Mark was elected elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the 41st District in the US House of Representatives. His District includes Riverside, Moreno Valley, Jurupa Valley, and Perris. As a Congressman, he serves on a variety of committees, including the Education and Labor Committee; the Science, Space and Technology Committee; and as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

To learn more about Mark Takano, see his Congressional website.

Wisconsin educator Shelly Krajacic inducted into the 2024 National Teachers Hall of Fame

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English teacher Shelly Moore Krajacic of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been inducted into the 2024 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF). Photo Credit: Wisconsin Education Association Council

I am always excited when the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) announces the names of exceptional educators who have been inducted into their hallowed halls. This year, the organization has selected Shelly Moore Krajacic, an educator at South Milwaukee High School, as one of the five teachers nationwide who has been so honored.

Shelley earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Education from University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, in 199y7. She earned her Masters degree in English/Language Arts from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, in 2006. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Urban Education from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 2024. She became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2017.

 

Shelly began her career in the classroom in 1998 at Ellsworth Community High School, where she taught English and Theatre until 2018. She then taught English Education courses at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee before transferring to South Milwaukee High School in 2021. There she teaches in the English Department and serves the school as their Student Leadership Advisor. In all, her career as an educator spans 23 years.

“It is my obligation to see my students in ways they have never seen themselves,” Shelly asserts. “I need to see possibilities in them that they never knew existed and to help them believe in themselves enough to discover pathways to those possibilities,” she continues. This is a mission she does not take lightly. “Teaching is the single greatest profession there is,” Shelly declares.

The NTHF honors teachers through an annual recognition program, inducting five outstanding educators nationally every year. The organization, located on the campus of Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, was founded in 1989. The recognition program annually honors five of the nation’s most outstanding PreK-12 educators who have at least 20 years of teaching experience. To visit their website, click on NTHF.