Tag Archives: Jewish American teachers

Former science teacher Lisa Niver to release her book, Brave-ish

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Lisa Niver, a former junior high school science teacher from Los Angeles, California, is a podcaster, sought-after motivational speaker, travel agent, and travel writer. In fact, she has been recognized as one of the top five female travel bloggers. And now, the former teacher is a published author. Her new book, entitled Brave-ish: One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless after Fifty, is due to be released on Sept 19, 2023, and is currently on pre-order. To view a five-minute video with Lisa where she discusses her book, click on this link: https://fox5dc.com/video/1265427

Brave-ish chronicles Lisa’s expeditions to far-flung corners of the world, including Vanuatu, Nepal, Myanmar, Cuba, Morocco, Kenya, and Mongolia. But her book is more than a travelogue. Her story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of perseverance. Brave-ish inspires readers to nourish big dreams, take risks, and embrace the unknown in order to create an exciting and wonder-filled life, even when courage seems elusive.

Lisa has published many articles in online and in print magazines, including National Geographic, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and The Jewish Journal. She was a 2012 nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. In 2018, she was nominated in three categories of the Southern California Journalism Awards: Science/Technology Reporting; Travel Reporting; and Personality Profile. To learn more about unique travel experiences, check out Lisa’s website at We Said Go Travel.

As for Lisa’s former career as an educator, she is well-known in science teacher circles for her instructional strategies that emphasize the use of technology in the classroom. She’s also noted for using students’ real world connections to explore their passions, and for teaching them to work towards solving today’s most complex issues. In 2009, Lisa founded the Los Angeles Science Teachers Network (LASTN),  a professional development network that by May, 2012, involved over 70 teachers and 40 schools. The effort was praised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

Detroit teacher Regina Weiss elected to Michigan State House of Reps

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Former secondary level Social Studies and English teacher Regina Weiss of Detroit now serves in her state’s House of Representatives. Photo Credit: Michigan State House of Representatives

Many fine educators have also served their community in public office. One of these is Regina Weiss, a secondary level school teacher from Detroit, Michigan.

Regina was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 2009 she earned her Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education from Valparaiso University, a private institution of higher learning located in Valparaiso, Indiana. She relocated to Detroit, where she accepted a position teaching Social Studies and English. She taught there for five years. She taught two and a half years at Pershing High School, and two and a half years she taught at Carstens Elementary-Middle School at Remus Robinson.

Reina inaugurated her career in public service when she was elected to be a member of the Oak Park City Council in 2017. In November, 2020, she was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Michigan State House of Representatives, where she has represented the 27th House District since Jan. 1, 2021. In November, 2022, following redistricting, Regina was re-elected to the House, this time representing the 6th District. There she serves as a member of the Jewish Democratic Caucus, and as the Chairperson of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Education. As Chairperson, Regina has declared that her committee will prioritize developing a system to fund school infrastructure improvements. “As a former educator, I’ve seen first-hand the impact decades of inadequate funding has had on our classrooms,” Regina says. “And that was even before the COVID-19 placed challenge after challenge before our students and teachers,” she continued.

To read more about Regina Weiss, click on this link to her Michigan State House webpage.

Former NYC English teacher Arlene Stringer was a trailblazer

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Former New York City English teacher Arlene Stringer was a trailblazer. She is pictured here reading 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 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.

Cherie Bonder Goldman garners 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year honors, yet education is her second career

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Elementary teacher Cherie Bonder Goldman of Savannah, Georgia, has been named her state’s 2022  Teacher of the Year. Yet teaching is a second career for the honored educator. Photo Credit: The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Many excellent educators come to the classroom years after establishing successful careers in the private sector. One of these is Cherie Bonder Goldman, an elementary school teacher in Georgia who originally worked in the advertising industry. Teaching may be Cherie’s second career, but clearly education is her calling. She is so good at the job that she has garnered the title of 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year!

Cherie was born to a Jewish family in New York and was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Japanese from Georgetown University in 1993, and her Master’s degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University in 1995. Originally her goal was to become a Japanese language teacher. Unfortunately, jobs in that field were scarce, and so she accepted a position in advertising, first working on the Toyota account at Saatchi & Saatchi, and then working on the Clorox account at DDB Worldwide Communications Group.

Despite her success in the corporate world, deep down inside Cherie knew she belonged in the classroom. After she moved to Savannah, Georgia, she enrolled at Armstrong Atlantic State University, where she earned her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. She also completed coursework to become an Education Specialist in Teacher Leadership from Mercer University in 2019.

Cherie launched her career as an educator when she accepted a position with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, first at White Bluff Elementary, and then at Hesse K-8 School, where she has taught for the last 12 years. She currently teaches English to Speakers of Other Languages.

“I always strive to make content personally relevant so students never ask, ‘What’s the point?'” declares Cherie. for example, “In math, we design dream homes, calculating area for carpet and perimeter for fencing. In writing, we pen letters to the principal supporting or disagreeing with school uniforms so students understand the exponential power of well-articulated opinions,” she says. “When students connect content to their world, education transcends the classroom,” Cherie concludes.

At Hesse, in addition to her work int he classroom, Cherie serves on the Leadership Team and chairs the Schoolwide Writing Team. She has also served as a grade level-lead, the Site-based Induction Specialist, the Professional Learning Liaison, and a School Council member.

For her exemplary work in the classroom, Cherie has garnered honors as the 2022 Georgia State Teacher of the Year. In this role, she has chaired a task force established to investigate the root causes of teacher burnout and to make actionable suggestions for improvement to state and local policy makers.

NY teacher Herbert Parmat: A major historian of American politics

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High school social studies teacher and college professor Herbert Parmat earned acclaim as the author of many well-received biographies of American presidents. Photo Credit: The Portal to Texas History

Many talented educators have earned acclaim as accomplished authors. One of these is Herbert Parmat, a high school social studies teacher and historian who wrote many well-received biographies of American presidents. In fact, he has been described as a major historian of the American presidency and politics.

Herbert was born on Aug. 28, 1929, in New York City, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. As a youngster, he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in New York, graduating in 1948. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at State University of New York, Oswego, in 1951, and his Master’s degree from Queens College in 1957. During these years, Herbert also completed a stint in the US Army, where he served from 1952 to 1954, achieving the rank of Corporal.

In the 1960s, Herbert taught social studies at North Babylon High School in Long Island, and then at Mineola High School in Mineola in Long Island. At Mineola, he served as the school’s Social Studies Department. He also taught history courses at the Graduate Center of City University of New York and at Queensborough Community College. By all accounts, Herbert was an outstanding classroom teacher, dynamic and charismatic. When he retired in 1995, the former high school teacher was named a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

While teaching at Mineola, Herbert decided to tackle a writing project with colleague Marie B. Hecht. The pair authored their first biography, Aaron Burr: Portrait of an Ambitious·Man (1967). Together, they also wrote Never Again: A President Runsfor a Third Term: Roosevelt versus Wi/lkie, 1940 (1968). This was followed by a pioneering biography, Eisenhower and the American Crusades (1972). Next, Herbert wrote The Democrats: The Years After FDR (1976). In a return to the biography genre, he authored Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy (1980) and JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1983). Next, he penned the biographies Richard Nixon and His America (1990) and George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee (1997). His later works were Presidential Power from the New Deal to the New Right (2002) and a return to an earlier biographical subject in Richard M. Nixon: An American Enigma (2008).

This outstanding educator passed away on Jan. 25, 2017, in Newton, Massachusetts. He was 87 years old. To read more about Herbert Parmat, click on this link to History News Network.