Tag Archives: History Teachers

Prescott Cogswell: Drivers’ Ed teacher and US veteran

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Longtime Drivers’ Education teachers and veteran Prescott Cogswell Photo credit: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

This is probably a first for me: to write a story about a public school Drivers’ Education teacher. Yet here it is, a blog post about Prescott Cogswell, who was exactly such a teacher in Southern California.

Prescott was born on October 19, 1927, on a family farm in El Monte, a suburb of Los Angeles, during a time when that small town was still farmland. As a young man, he served a stint in the United States Navy during World War II. He was stationed in Newport, Rhode Island, where he served as an archivist. When the war was ended, Prescott returned to Southern California, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Pomona College in 1951. He then earned his Master’s degree in Education from California State University, Los Angeles.

Once he earned his degrees, Prescott taught briefly in Calexico, a city in Imperial County, situated on the border with Mexicali, Mexico. Later he relocated to the Riverside area, where he accepted a position at Riverside Polytechnic High School. There he taught Drivers’ Education, and reportedly taught many teenagers in Riverside to drive. In fact, one of his students was renowned professional baseball player Bobby Bonds. Next, Prescott spent several years working in the district’s Audio-Visual Department before deciding to return to the classroom, where he taught History at Central Middle School. He also taught for some years at Lincoln High School. Prescott retired from the teaching profession in 1985, but continued to conduct classes part-time for an additional five years as a member of the emeritus program.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Prescott served many years as an Assistant Scoutmaster, helping youngsters learn an appreciation for the outdoors by leading their monthly camping weekends.

Sadly, this accomplished educator and US veteran passed away April 19, 2025. He was 98 years old. He was interred at Riverside National Cemetery for veterans in Riverside, California.

 

History teacher Pat Conroy has become an acclaimed author

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Former history teacher Pat Conroy has become a leading figure of Southern literature. Photo credit: Pat Conroy

Sometimes in history a talented educator earns fame, fortune, and acclaim in the literary world. One teacher like this is Pat Conroy, considered by many the leading figure of Southern literature of the late 20th century. Pat Conroy is the author of two acclaimed novels: The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini. Both these novels have garnered Academy Awards as films. He also penned the successful novel The Lords of Discipline.

Donald Patrick Conroy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 26, 1945. His father was a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and for this reason his family moved frequently. Pat once said he attended eleven different schools before his sophomore year. Also, he has often described his father as abusive and his childhood as traumatic.

As a college student, Pat attended The Citadel, an all-male military college in South Carolina. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1967. After earning his degree, Pat accepted a position as an English teacher at Beaufort High School in Beaufort, South Carolina. While there, he wrote his first novel, The Boo, which he self-published using money he borrowed from the bank.

After two years, Pat spent a year teaching at a two-room school on Daufuskie Island off the coast of South Carolina. There he worked to expand the horizons of his African American students, poorly-educated kids who spoke the Gullah dialect and had very little knowledge of the world beyond their island. Pat’s unorthodox instructional methods caused the superintendent of schools to fire him after just one year. Nevertheless, Pat relished his job as an educator. “There’s no word in the language I revere more than ‘teacher,’” Pat said in 1986. “My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I’ve honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher.”

This dedicated educator and outstanding author passed away from pancreatic cancer on March 4, 2016. He was 70 years old. He is interred at St. Helena Memorial Garden on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. To read the 2009 interview with Pat Conroy published by Low Country Weekly, click on The Power of Circles.

NJ elementary teacher Maureen Moran honored by VFW

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Elementary school teacher Maureen Moran has been named a 2025 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo credit: Cedar Hill Elementary School

Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in the state of New Jersey honors three outstanding educators with their Teacher of the Year award. This honor recognizes three exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment to teaching citizenship and patriotism to their students.

Each year, one teacher at the elementary, one at the junior high, and one at the high school level are selected. In making those selections, the organizations choose teachers whose classroom curriculum focuses on citizenship topics, including civic responsibility, patriotism, flag etiquette, and for providing their students with opportunities to honor veterans.

This year, elementary school teacher Maureen Moran has been chosen as the Elementary VFW Teacher of the Year. Maureen teaches second grade at Cedar Hill Elementary School, one of five elementary schools in Montville Township, New Jersey

In addition to her classroom work, Maureen is part of her school’s Character Education Program, which collects and assembles personal care donations from each class at the school. This year the committee assembled 57 complete Care Kits, which include shave, dental and shower items, and an additional 84 partial Care Kits, as well as collecting family size donations and extra supplies. The items are them distributed to needy individuals

In addition, Maureen is one of the organizers of her campus Veterans Day event. “Maureen Moran instills in her students, and students throughout the school, a sense of national pride and civic responsibility, combined with her unwavering commitment to character education,” asserts Ken Hanzi, Commander of VFW Post 5481. “Maureen has the exceptional ability to connect the values of citizenship and patriotism to her everyday teaching.”

To learn more about the VFW, click on this link.

 

Carter Godwin Woodson: The teacher who established Black History Month

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Carter Godwin Woodson was an American school teacher who created Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. Photo credit: Public Domain

This February, socially conscious teachers all over the United States are launching their classes into Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. But did you know that Black History Month, itself, was the brainchild of a brilliant American teacher?

Educator Carter Godwin Woodson is credited with organizing and advocating annual Black History Month celebrations in American schools. He is also recognized as the first African American born of enslaved parents to earn a PhD in History. Admittedly, these are noteworthy accomplishments. But there is so much more to this brilliant man’s life story than is usually publicized.

Did you know that, as a youngster, Carter was forced to work on the family farm rather than attend school? Nevertheless, he taught himself to read using the Bible and local newspapers. He didn’t finish high school until he was 20 years old. Did you know that Carter once worked as a coal miner in Fayette County, West Virginia, and then later went back there to teach school to the children of Black coal miners, serving as a model for using education to get out of the mines? Did you know that Carter taught school in the Philippines, and then became the supervisor of schools, which included duties as a trainer of teachers, there? And did you know that he was one of the first to study African American history, to collect data, oral histories, and documents, and to publish his findings in a scholarly magazine he published, The Journal of Negro History? 

To read more about this fascinating historical figure, check out my book, Chalkboard Champions.

Janet Damon named Colorado state’s 2025 Teacher of the Year

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High school history teacher and Teacher Librarian Janet Damon has been named Colorado’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.  Photo credit: Colorado League of Charter Schools

I am always excited to share the story of a superlative teacher who has received recognition for their work with young people. Today I share the story of Janet Damon, a high school Social Studies teacher and Teacher Librarian who has been named the 2025 Teacher of the Year for her home state of Colorado.

Janet has worked as a teacher, literacy interventionist, and teacher librarian in the Denver Public School District. She has taught in the district for more than 25 years. Currently, she teaches history at DELTA High School. 
 
Her lessons focus on inquiry, research, and digital storytelling. In her courses, students create solutions to problems faced by their communities. For example, they create podcasts to advocate for issues such as homelessness, gun violence, incarceration, inflation, immigration, racism, health care, and drug addiction. 
 
In addition to her work in the classroom, Janet founded a nonprofit she calls Afros and Books. The organization supports access to books for marginalized individuals in her community. Through this program, young people participate in family reading adventures in the Colorado outdoors. In these adventures, young people engage in hiking, kayaking, archery, yoga, fly–fishing, and birding while receiving new books for summer reading. Janet founded the organization in 2015.

In addition to all this, Janet writes a blog for multicultural mothers which she hopes helps promote cross-cultural experiences and support friendships and community among women in diverse communities. She calls this blog MixMomma. Read more about this at Voyage Denver.

Janet’s selection as her state’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition she has earned. She received the CorePower Yoga Teacher Scholarship and the Extraordinary Teacher Award from Suntec Concrete in 2024; the African Americans Who Are Making a Difference Award in 2023; the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award in 2022 and the inaugural Making Our Futures Brighter Award in 2022; and the Library Journal Mover and Shaker Award 2020. She has also earned the Facing History fellowship and Fund for Teachers fellowship.

Janet earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from Metropolitan State University in 2000. She earned her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver in 2005. She also completed the requirements for her Educational Specialist’s degree in Leadership for Educational Organizations from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2010.