Tag Archives: Jewish American teachers

Michigan’s Maxine Berman: English teacher, politician, and women’s health care advocate

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English teacher Maxine Berman of Michigan also served in her state’s House of Representatives. Photo credit: Jewish Historical Society of Michigan

Many talented educators leave the classroom to go on to successful careers in politics. One of these is Maxine Berman, a high school English teacher who was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives.

Maxine was born on April 17, 1946. She grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, and attended Oak Park High School. After her high school graduation, she enrolled at the University of Michigan. Once she earned her degree, Maxine returned to her alma mater, Oak Park High School, to teach English.

After several years, Maxine left the teaching profession to run for political office. She won election to the Michigan State House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. She served there from 1983 to 1996. During her 14-year political career, the former teacher worked tirelessly as an advocate for women’s rights and other social justice issues. Representative Berman successfully pushed for mammography facilities in Michigan to be accredited, and then lobbied the federal government to require accreditation nationwide. She was a member of the House Bi-Partisan Team, which developed a new strategy for funding pubic schools. She also served on the House Elections Committee, where she created an expedited system for voter registration. Maxine also accepted the post of Chairperson for the Michigan Women’s Campaign Fund, a bi-partisan organization that raises money to assist women who run for political office.

Once Maxine completed her terms in office, she established an advocacy and consulting firm she named Capitol Strategies, Inc. She also became the leader of the Women’s Health Network of Michigan. In 2008, Maxine returned to her roots as a professional educator when she accepted a  position as the Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government at Central Michigan University. She was the first woman to ever be named to the position.

Maxine retired in 2013. Two years later she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. More about this at www.michiganwomen.org.

Sadly, Maxine Berman succumbed to lung cancer on March 2, 2018. She was 71 when she passed away. She is interred in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Trailblazer and NYC English teacher Arlene Stringer

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Former English teacher Arlene Stringer reads to her grandson, Max. Photo credit: New York Post

Many excellent classroom teachers have also served their communities as capable politicians. One of these was Arlene Stringer-Cuevas, a Jewish schoolteacher who also served on the New York City Council.

Arlene was born Sept. 25, 1933. Her first husband was Ronald Stringer, an assistant to New York City Mayor Abraham Beame. When that marriage ended, Arlene raised her two boys in Washington Heights as a single mother. Once she earned her degrees, Arlene taught at a public school in the Bronx. She also instructed courses in English as a Second Language at the local Y.

Like many members of her family, Arlene expressed an interest in politics. She ran for and was elected as the District Leader for her Democratic Party, a trailblazing role she served in from 1969 to 1976. She was elected to the New York City Council, where she served from 1976 to 1977. In fact, she was the first woman to represent Washington Heights. “I used to follow her around to all her meetings,” remembers her son, Scott Stringer. “More than once, she was asked by some man in the room why she wasn’t home with her husband. In signature fashion, she’d respond, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” he continued. “And then she’d outsmart, out-humor, and simply outdo all of them—no matter what they were doing,” he concluded.  Later, Arlene worked for their New York City Human Resources Administration for 16 years, until her retirement in 1994.

In her final years, she was married to the former City Clerk and Deputy Bronx Borough President Carlos Cuevas. The two divided their time between New York City and Puerto Rico. Sadly, Arlene succumbed to Covid-19 on April 3, 2020. She was 86 years old. At the time of her passing, her son Scott Stringer was serving as New York City’s Comptroller.

Teacher Miriam Del Banco earned acclaim as an author and poet

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Teacher and principal Miriam Del Banco was also an acclaimed author and poet. She is pictured here in 1931. Photo credit: Public Domain

I am always excited to share the story of a talented educator who has earned accolades for their work as writers. One of these is Miriam Del Banco, a teacher and principal who earned acclaim as an author and poet.

Miriam Del Banco was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 27, 1858. Her father was a respected rabbi and her mother was a homemaker. Sadly, Miriam’s father passed away when she was just an infant, and and Miriam went to live with an uncle in St. Louis, Missouri. She enrolled in school there, and even as a child, she displayed remarkable talent as a poet.

When she grew up, Miriam attended Missouri State Normal School (now known as Missouri State University) in Springfield. She earned her PhD from DePaul University in 1921.

Once she completed her initial degrees, Miriam relocated to Chicago, where her mother was already living. In 1885, she accepted a position as a public school teacher in Chicago schools. Four years later she became an assistant principal at Von Humboldt School, and in 1904 she was named the principal of McClellan Elementary School. In 1908 she became the principal of Motley Public School.

In addition to her work as an educator, Miriam was also a prolific writer and translator. She translated Kayserling’s “Die Jüdischen Frauen,” which appeared serially in the columns of the Jewish Advance and was published in Chicago in 1881 and Alberti’s “Ludwig Börne,” which appeared in the Menorah, published in 1888-1889. Miriam also published articles in educational journals and she wrote many poems, both Jewish and secular in content, that were published to high acclaim. A collection of her work entitled Poetry and Prose was published posthumously.

During her lifetime, Miriam was a member of the Principal’s Club; the Ella Flagg Young Club; the National Education Association; and the Wild Flower Preservation Society.

Miriam passed away on November 6, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois. She was 61 years old.

Henrietta Szold: Teacher, activist, founder of Hadassah

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Teacher and activist Henrietta Szold at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, circa 1920. Photo Credit: Jewish Museum of Maryland

I love to tell stories about exceptional educators who have made significant contributions to the world community. One of these is Henrietta Szold, a Baltimore teacher and activist who worked tirelessly with an organization that helped save thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis.

Henrietta was born on December 21, 1860, in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of eight daughters. Her mother was Sophie (Scharr) Szold, and her father was Benjamin Szold, a local respected rabbi. As a young girl, Henrietta attended Western Female High School, where she graduated in 1877.

After her high school graduation, Henrietta taught courses in French, German, botany, and mathematics at both Miss Adam’s School and Mrs. McCulloch’s School at Glencoe. She taught in these schools for 15 years. When Henrietta saw a need to educate newly-arrived immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, she urged the Hebrew Literary Society to sponsor a program to teach them English. As a result, the first evening adult classes in Baltimore were established. This was the beginning of adult education in the city, and the program became a model for adult education in other American cities. Henrietta also taught courses in history and Bible studies for adults at Oheb Shalom Religious School.

In addition to her classroom duties, Henrietta served as her father’s literary secretary for many years. She became the secretary of the editorial board of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), a position she held until 1916. She translated works, wrote articles, edited manuscripts, and oversaw the publication schedule. In 1899 she was instrumental in producing the first American Jewish Year Book, of which she was sole editor from 1904 to 1908. She also collaborated on the compilation of the Jewish Encyclopedia.

Henrietta is probably best known, however, for founding the international volunteer organization known as Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. With the Nazis rise to power in Germany, Henrietta recognized the extreme danger the party presented to European Jews. In 1932, a plan called Youth Aliyah was developed to send German Jewish Adolescents to Palestine to complete their education. Youth Aliyah was able to save between 22,000 and 30,000 Jewish youths from World War II death camps.

Sadly, Henrietta passed away from complications from pneumonia on February 13, 1945, in Jerusalem, Israel, at the age of 84. She is buried in the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Following her death, Israel issued a coin and a stamp in her memory, the first American woman to be featured on Israeli currency. Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007, Henrietta Szold is truly a Chalkboard Champion.

You can read more about this remarkable teacher in the Jewish Virtual Library.org.

Former elem teacher Susie Fishbein becomes famous author of Jewish kosher cookbooks

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Susie Fishbein

Susie Fishbein: Former elementary school teacher and celebrated author of Jewish kosher cookbooks. Photo Credit: Grow and Behold Kitchen

Many gifted classroom teachers also make a name for themselves in professions outside of the classroom. This is true of Susie Fishbein, an elementary school teacher who is also a famous author of Jewish kosher cookbooks.

Susie was born Susan Beth Fishbein in Oceanside, New Jersey, in 1968. She was raised in a strictly kosher household. After her graduation from high school, she earned her Bachelor’s degree and then her Master’s degree in Science Education. Following her college graduation, Susie taught fourth-grade science in a public school in Oceanside for four years.

In 2000, when her first child was a student at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, Susie co-edited The Kosher Palette: Easy and Elegant Modern Kosher Cooking, a community cookbook produced as a fundraiser. Within two years, the book had gone through four printings and sold 36,000 copies.

After the success of this project, Susie decided to improve her knowledge of cooking. She took lessons and collected recipes from a number of professional chefs. She then produced a series of kosher cookbooks of her own she named the Kosher By Design series. Between 2003 and 2016, Susie wrote nine cookbooks in the series. The recipes appeal to an audience of American Jewish women who want to produce contemporary kosher meals.

While she was writing her cookbook series, Susie also established herself as a celebrity chef, appearing at cooking demonstrations at Jewish events, bake sales, food festivals, and kosher cruises. In addition to her cooking demonstrations, Susie has led “culinary tours” to Israel, France, Italy, and other international destinations. This summer, she launched a culinary institute for kids for the New Jersey Y Camps.

Susie’s efforts have garnered media attention and honors. She has been a featured guest on many TV and radio shows, and she was named to the Forward 50 as one of the most influential Jews in America. She has been featured at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at Disneyworld. In addition, she was an honored guest at the White House in recognition of National Jewish Heritage Month.