Tag Archives: Foreign Language Teachers

Dr. Ruth Flowers: Chalkboard Champion of Colorado

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Award-winning educator Dr. Ruth Flowers of Boulder, Colorado. (Fair Use Photo)

American history is rich with the stories of amazing Black Chalkboard Champions. One of these was Ruth Flowers, an award-winning educator from Boulder, Colorado.

Ruth was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on March 10, 1903. Her father was a bricklayer, and her mother was a dressmaker. Ruth’s father abandoned the family before Ruth was born, and her mother passed away when Ruth was only 11. The young child was raised by her grandmother. In 1917, Ruth moved with her grandmother to Boulder, Colorado. There she attended Boulder High School. During her high school years, Ruth worked at jobs in a laundry and in a restaurant to help support her family.

After she completed her high school courses in 1920, Ruth enrolled at the University of Colorado, where she majored in foreign language. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1924. For the next four years, Ruth taught language at Claflin College in South Carolina. During these years, she returned to Boulder every summer to continue her education and to take care of her aging grandmother. In 1930 she completed the coursework for her Master’s degree in French and Education.

Once she earned her Master’s degree, Ruth relocated to Washington, DC, where she accepted a position at Dunbar High School. She taught there from 1931 to 1945. Ruth was always looking for additional opportunities to gain more education. She enrolled in night courses at Robert F. Terrell Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1945. In 1937, she married her law school classmate, Harold Flowers. In 1945, Ruth left the classroom and practiced law with her husband.

Ruth returned to school in 1951 to work on a PhD in Foreign Languages and Literature. For this degree she enrolled at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. This done, Ruth taught as an Associate Professor of Spanish at North Carolina College in Durham, North Carolina. The school is now known as North Carolina Central University. In 1958, she spent a year in Spain.

In 1959, Ruth returned to Boulder, where she accepted a position as the Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Fairview High School. She taught courses in Spanish and Latin there. She was the first African American teacher to work in the Boulder Valley School District. She taught there until her retirement in 1967.

During the 1970-1971 school year, Ruth came out of retirement to teach a course in African American literature as part of the Black Studies program at the University of Colorado.

For her superior work in the classroom, Ruth garnered a Teacher of the Year award from Harvard University in 1969. She was also named Bicentennial Mother of Achievement by the state of Colorado in 1975.

Ruth Flowers passed away on November 20, 1980, in Boulder. She was 77 years old. To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this link to BlackPast.

Ezekiel Cheever: “Chief representative of colonial schoolmaster”

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Ezekiel Cheever, who has been called “the chief representative of the colonial schoolmaster.”

There are many notable educators that go way back in American history. One of these was Ezekiel Cheever, an educator and author who dates back all the way to the 1600’s.

Ezekiel was born in January 25, 1615, in London, England. Ezekiel earned his education at Christ’s Hospital & Emmanuel College in  Cambridge, England, where he graduated in 1635. He then migrated to Boston, Massachusetts. That was in June of 1637. Later, he moved to  Quinnipiac, the Indian settlement that became the New Haven Colony later known as Connecticut). There he taught school, and after some time there he returned to Massachusetts.

Back in Boston, he accepted a job offer to become the Headmaster of the Boston Latin School. During a career that spanned 70 years, Ezekiel spent a whopping 38 of them at the Boston Latin School. His poorly-lit classroom featured a smoky fireplace and a bundle of birch rods beside his desk. One of his students was the famous historical figure Cotton Mather.

During the course of his career as an educator, Ezekiel wrote what is believed to be the earliest American school book. The book was a foreign language grammar book entitled Accidence: A Short Introduction to the Latin Tongue. This book was published in many editions for nearly 200 years after its original publication, longer than any Latin textbook published in this country.

For his outstanding work in the classroom, Ezekiel has been called “the chief representative of the colonial schoolmaster.” When this exemplary teacher passed away on August 21, 1708, it was said that “New England (had) never known a better teacher.” Cotton Mather delivered a sermon at his funeral.

To learn more about this American historical figure, read this journal article by Franklin Parker entitled Ezekiel Cheever: New England Colonial Teacher.

French teacher and state legislator Judy Paradis of Maine

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French teacher and state legislator Judy Paradis of Maine.

There are many fine educators who have also achieved success in the world of politics. One of these is Judy Paradis, a French teacher in Maine who also served in both her state’s House of Representatives and the Senate.

Judy was born on January 17, 1944, in St. Agatha, Aroostook County,  Maine. Her parents were French Canadians. As a young girl, Judy learned to speak both English and Acadian French fluently.

After completing her secondary education in the Catholic-sponsored Saint Agathe Schools with the Daughters of Wisdom, Judy earned her degree in French at the University of Maine, Fort Kent, in 1969. The school honored her with an Outstanding Alumni Award in 1995.

Judy inaugurated her 14-year career as a politician in 1986. It was then that she was elected on the Democratic ticked to represent Madawaska in the Maine House of Representatives. She served there from 1986 to 1992. She represented her home town in the Maine State Senate from 1992 to 1994. For her work in the legislature, Judy garnered a Toll Fellowship from the National Council of State Legislatures. In addition, she earned the Maine Education Association Medal of Honor for her successful battle to secure tenure rights for all teachers in the state.

Once she left the legislature, Judy accepted a position as a French teacher at Wisdom Middle and High School. Wisdom Middle and High School opened in the Fall, 1965. The school was named in honor of the Daughters of Wisdom, who opened the first public schools and were the first teachers to be hired by the town of St. Agathe in 1905. The sisters taught in the St. Agatha schools until 1973 when the last nun left. Judy also taught French courses at Madawaska High School. Madawaska is a public secondary school that serves students from the towns of Madawaska, Saint David, and Grand Isle. Adult education programs are also taught there.

For her tireless work as an educator and as a legislator, Judy was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005. To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to the article published about her on the website for the University of Maine, Augusta.

Caroline Boa Henderson: Teacher and Dust Bowl chronicler

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High school English and Latin teacher Caroline Boa Henderson, left, chronicled her experiences in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl.

I love to share intriguing stories of dedicated educators who exhibit talents in arenas outside of the classroom. This one is about Caroline Boa Henderson, a high school English and Latin teacher who is also celebrated as an author of her personal Dust Bowl survival story.

Caroline Boa was born on April 7, 1877, in Wisconsin, the eldest daughter of affluent farmers. Even as a young girl, Caroline dreamed of someday owning a piece of land she could call her own.

After her high school graduation, Caroline attended Mt. Holyoke College, where she earned her degree in languages and literature in 1901. The new graduate accepted her first teaching position in Red Oak, Iowa, where she taught high school English and Latin from 1901 to 1903. She then taught in Des Moines, Iowa, until 1907. Then, in pursuit of her childhood dream, Caroline relocated to Texas County, Oklahoma, where she staked out a homestead claim on a quarter section of land and moved into a one-room shack which she christened her castle. There she accepted a teaching position in the local school.

In 1908, Caroline married named Bill Henderson, a Texas County farmer. The couple established a farm in nearby Eva, Oklahoma. The following year, Caroline gave birth to a daughter they named Eleanor. When Eleanor came of age, the youngster enrolled at the University of Kansas, where she eventually completed her bachelor’s degree. In order to help pay for Eleanor’s education, Caroline relocated to Lawrence, Kansas, where the two women shared an apartment while Caroline taught school part-time. During this period, Caroline also enrolled in graduate courses in English at the University of Kansas. In 1935, she completed the requirements for her master’s degree.

During the years from 1931-1937, at the height of the Dust Bowl, Caroline published a series of letters and articles in the prestigious magazine Atlantic Monthly. These letters and articles chronicled the grueling conditions faced by farmers who elected to remain on their farms during the severe conditions presented by the Dust Bowl drought, as harsh a natural disaster as any our nation has seen, even in recent years. She also included descriptions of daily life on her own farm, including her experiences with housekeeping, canning, cooking, tending her vegetable and flower gardens, ironing, and caring for her chickens. Her letters and articles earned her a national following, and were included in a PBS special on the Dust Bowl created by Ken Burns in 2012. To read some excerpts from these published pieces, click on the link Letters from the Dust Bowl.

This very amazing teacher and talented author passed away on August 4, 1966, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Foreign language teacher Elisabeth Kahn named Vermont’s 2020 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school foreign language teacher Elisabeth Kahn has been named Vermont’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

I enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have earned applause for their hard work in the classroom. One of these is Elisabeth Kahn, a middle school foreign language teacher from Montpelier, Vermont, who has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

“This is an incredible honor,” expressed Elisabeth. “But no teacher works in isolation. We always look to our students and our colleagues for inspiration, fresh perspectives, and to challenge our thinking, and I’m so lucky to work with some of the best around,” she continued.

Elisabeth was born in Berlin, Washington County, Vermont. She was raised in Montpelier and attended elementary and middle schools in the city before graduating from The Taft School in Waterford, Connecticut. The honored educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in French and Spanish and her Master’s degree in French, both from Middlebury College. She is also a 2020 candidate for National Board certification in French. Her career as an educator has spanned 12 years.

Currently Elisabeth teaches fifth, seventh, and eighth grade French and Spanish at Main Street Middle School (MSMS) in Montpelier. She has taught there five years. The chalkboard champion has also taught at the Hamlin School in San Francisco, California, and at St. Paul’s School for Boys in Brooklandville, Maryland. In addition, for five years she worked at Putney Student Travel developing and leading student travel programs in Europe and Africa.

Elisabeth credits her success as an educator to her hard work towards getting to know her students. She says she is aware of the power of relationships in reaching all learners. In recognition of these efforts, students at her school recognized her with the Adult Citizenship Award in 2017. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Elisabeth is a member of the MSMS Leadership Team and the Technology Committee, where she leads professional development and implements district-wide priorities. When she worked at Hamlin, she served as the chair of the Eco-Council that sought to promote sustainable practices and curriculum.

In her classroom, Elisabeth promotes the value of traveling abroad to promote cultural competence in her students. Every year she takes her eighth graders on a trip to Quebec, Canada, so they can use their skills in a real-world setting.

For her work in the classroom, Elisabeth has earned many accolades. In 2011 she was recognized with the Irene C. Abbe Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2018 she earned the UVM Outstanding Teacher Award.

To read more about this amazing educator, see the article about her at CCSSO.