Tag Archives: History Teachers

Linda L. Baker of Maine: Educator and Legislator

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Talented educators often make equally talented politicians. This can certainly be said of Linda L. Baker, a high school English teacher who has also served in the State Senate for her home state of Maine.

Linda was born in 1948.  She graduated from the University of Southern Maine. In 2001, she earned her National Board Teacher Certification, a prestigious credential.

Her career as an educator has spanned more than three decades. Linda taught in public schools in Bath, Maine, from 1980 to 1985, and at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine, from 1985 to 2011. She taught English, creative writing, and history, and for five years she served as the Academic Coordinator at Mt. Ararat. In addition, she spent ten years working for Merrymeeting Adult Education. Today, she teaches an adult education course through the University College at Bath and Brunswick.

Linda got her feet wet in local politics having spent three years as a selectwoman on the Topsham Town Council, and eight years on the Topsham Finance Committee. In 2014, she was elected on the Republican ticket to represent District 23 in the Maine State Senate, a position she held for two years. While there, Linda served as the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services. During her tenure in the state senate, Linda sponsored a bill that would dock the pay of legislators that had a history of absenteeism. She also initiated legislation that would require school administrators to complete fifty hours of direct student instruction to renew their credential. And she was honored by Maine’s League of Conservation Voters for co-sponsoring the Kids Safe Products Act, a bipartisan bill which dealt with toxic chemicals.

In 2002, this chalkboard champion was honored with the World of Children Award given by the Girl Scouts of America. She still lives in Topsham, Main.

American-Israeli Jim Boatwright: Teacher, coach, and pro basketball player

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Many accomplished athletes go on to distinguished careers as educators and coaches. This is certainly true of history teacher and basketball coach Jim Boatwright.

Jim was born in Twin Falls, Minidoka County, Idaho, on December 10, 1951. When he was a youngster, his family moved to Rupert, Idaho, where Jim attended Minico High School. While there, Jim lettered in basketball, track, and golf. In basketball, Jim led his school team to back-to-back state championship games (1969, 1970). In addition, Jim’s high school honors include being named a Sunkist All-American, a Top 10 High School Player in America, and a participant in the prestigious Dapper Dan Classic held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This event is now known as the McDonald’s All-American Team. The talented basketball player graduated in 1970, and was later was inducted into the Idaho Basketball Hall of Fame.

After his high school graduation, Jim played on scholarship at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah, where he was the leading scorer during both his junior and senior seasons. In addition, Jim was selected to play in the Pizza Hut East/West All-Star game in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was named Utah State University Athlete of the Year in 1974. Recently, USU voted Jim one of the Top 25 Athletes of the Century.

Jim graduated from Utah State University in 1974, having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Upon his graduation, Jim joined the European Professional Basketball League and played eight years for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel. During these years, Jim’s team won seven championship titles, six cup titles, and two European championship titles. Jim was instrumental in the Maccabi team’s win the European championship in 1977. He led Maccabi to a second win in 1980. Jim became an Israeli citizen, and in 1980 was named a member of the Israeli Olympic Basketball team for the Olympic Games held in Moscow.

In 1982, Jim retired from professional basketball and returned to the US with his former wife, Chris, and their four young children. In 1988, the former professional athlete began teaching and coaching in Star Valley, Wyoming, leading his team to a state championship. For his efforts, Jim was named Wyoming’s Coach of the Year. Jim later returned to his alma mater, Utah State, where he coached for three years with Head Coach Kohn Smith.

After a few years, Jim relocated to Arizona to teach and coach. There he met his second wife, Jennifer Magrane Boatwright. Jim and Jennifer taught and coached in several Arizona towns and also in California, but he returned to the Gem State ten years ago when he accepted a position as a social science teacher and assistant basketball coach at Wood River High School in Hailey, Blaine County, Idaho. In all, Jim’s career as an educator spanned 23 years.

Jim passed away on February 11, 2013, after suffering for a brief time from an aggressive cancer of the liver. He was 61. To learn more about this chalkboard champion see HJNews.com.

Meet Memphis Teacher Michael Scruggs: “You have everything it takes to be #1”

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Meet high school social studies teacher Michael Scruggs from Memphis, Tennessee. He is such an inspiration to his students! Every day he begins his classes with a motivational mantra such as, “You have everything it takes to be #1.”

This passionate chalkboard champion was featured last June in an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. View the video below to see him in action, and to meet one of his former students.

 

 

Kentucky’s Lyman T. Johnson: Educator and Civil Rights Activist

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I am always eager to share stories about passionate teachers who have dedicated their talent and influence to compelling social causes. One of these is Lyman Tefft Johnson, a high school teacher who worked towards racial justice during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.

Lyman was born on June 12, 1906, in Columbia, Tennessee, the eighth of nine children born to Robert and Mary (Dew) Johnson. He was the grandson of former slaves.

In 1926, at the age of 20, Lyman earned  his high diploma from the preparatory division of Knoxville College, a historically black institution in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1930, Lyman earned his bachelor’s degree in Greek from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, and the following year he completed the requirements for his master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan in Detroit, Michigan.

Once he completed his education, Lyman accepted a position as a teacher of history, economy, and mathematics at Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Lyman had already been teaching for 16 years when he won a legal case to integrate the University of Kentucky in 1949, a full five years before the US Supreme Court made its famous 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that outlawed segregation in public schools.

Lyman taught at Central High until 1966, then spent seven years working in the Jefferson County Public Schools as an assistant principal. During these years, he continued his civil rights work, leading efforts to integrate local neighborhoods, swimming pools, schools, and restaurants. He was also a major force behind a fight for equal pay for his both black and white teachers in his district. In addition, Lyman headed the Louisville Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for six years.

In all, Lyman devoted 34 years of his life as an educator. For his work as a teacher and civil rights activist, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Kentucky (1979), the Governor’s Distinguished Service Medallion for Volunteerism (1995), and the City of Louisville’s first Freedom Award (1988). Also, a Louisville school was renamed in his honor. In 1980, Parkland Junior High School was designated Lyman T. Johnson Middle School. This amazing chalkboard champion passed away on October 3, 1997. He was 91 years old.

To learn more about this amazing teacher and civil rights activist, click on Lyman T. Johnson Obituary. You might also want to read a biography of him written by Professor Emeritus Wade Hall of Bellarmine University entitled The Rest of the Dream: The Black Odyssey of Lyman T. Johnson.

Chicago’s Colby Burnett, winner of Jeopardy Teachers’ Tournament (2012)

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There are many brilliant teachers working in many American schools, and each year the nation gets to meet several of them on the annual competition known as the “Teachers’ Tournament” featured on the game show Jeopardy. One such educator is Colby Burnett, who garnered first place in both the Jeopardy Teachers Tournament in 2012 and the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions in 2013.

Colby grew up in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. As a teen, he attended Fenwick High School, a prestigious private college preparatory school located in Oak Park, Illinois. Illustrious alumni of Fenwick include Illinois state senators Daniel Cronin and Chris Nybo, NASA astronaut Joseph Kerwin, author Philip Caputo, Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Twomey, Chicago Bears player Mike Rabold, Chicago White Sox player Mike Heathcott, and Olympic gold medalist Ken Sitzberger.

After his graduation from Fenwick, Colby enrolled in Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in both history and political science. Following his college graduation, Colby accepted a position as an Advanced Placement History teacher at his alma mater, Fenwick High School.

After Colby’s success on Jeopardy, he was honored by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who designated December 18 as “Colby Burnett Day.” In his declaration, Governor Quinn described the talented teacher as, “a dedicated Illinois educator who demonstrated a passion for lifelong learning,” and said that Colby “has represented the State of Illinois admirably, and established himself as a role model to his students.”

Way to go, Colby!

You can read more about Colby’s Jeopardy win at this Huffington Post article, Colby Burnett Wins Jeopardy. You can also read the transcript of a Jeopardy interview of Colby at this link: J! Archive.com.