Tag Archives: Jewish American teachers

Vampire Weekend musician once taught junior high school

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Alternative rock musician Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend fame formerly taught English to eight graders in New York City. Photo Credit: FamousBirthdays.com

Many individuals who have enjoyed successful careers as entertainers have also experienced success as classroom teachers. One of these is Ezra Koenig, a musician who also taught at a junior high school in New York.

Ezra was born on April 8, 1984, in New York City. As a youth, his family moved to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, where he graduated from Glen Ridge High School. He then returned to New York to enroll at Columbia University.

Right out of college, and looking very young for his 23 years, Ezra taught English courses for eighth graders at Junior High School #258 in Brooklyn, New York. He there as part of the Teach for America program. Although Ezra’s students described him as laid back, Ezra remembers those years as rough. “It was a pretty hectic lifestyle,” he confesses. “I mean, (being a full-time musician) is a hectic lifestyle too, but to teach all day, then go record or try to, you know, play a show, and then wake up and go to work again was pretty difficult.”

In the entertainment industry, Ezra is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Vampire Weekend. But the former teacher is also the creator and host of the Apple Music fortnightly radio show, Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig. He has also earned acclaim as the creator of the American-Japanese animated television series, Neo Yokio.

For his work in the music industry, Ezra has earned many accolades. He has garnered five Grammy Award nominations for his work with Vampire Weekend. He won the award for Best Alternative Music Album in both 2013 and 2019. He was also nominated for Album of the Year 2016 for his work as a producer on Beyonce’s album Lemonade.

To read more about Ezra’s experiences as a teacher, see this link to an article about him published by MTV News.

Award-winning author Jacqueline Jules also works as a school librarian

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Virginia school librarian and teacher Jacqueline Jules has earned acclaim as an author of children’s books. Photo Credit: Jacqueline Jules

There are many excellent educators who have earned success in endeavors outside of the classroom. This is true of Jacqueline Jules, a school librarian and teacher from Virginia who has has earned acclaim as an author of children’s books.

Jacqueline was born in 1956 in Petersburg, Virginia. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree with a major in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2001 she earned her Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland.

Currently, Jacqueline works as a school librarian at Timber Lane Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. She also works as a storyteller and as a guest speaker at schools. She has also taught religious school, led Tot Shabbat services, and has experience as a writing resource teacher. Her career as an educator has spanned a total of 28 years. She credits these experiences with her success as an author. “It actually wasn’t until I became a school librarian that I had enough ideas for writing children’s books,” Jacqueline confesses. “My years as a librarian fueled my writing rather than stalled it. Working in a school taught me what children enjoy and what was missing from library shelves,” she continued. “I could never do the writing I do now without having been a teacher,” she concludes.

Jacqueline’s work has appeared in over 100 publications. She has authored more than 50 children’s books, including The Grey Striped Shirt; Once upon a Shabbos; the Zapato Power series; the Sofia Martinez series; Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation; Duck for Turkey Day; Never Say a Mean Word Again; Feathers for Peacock; The Hardest Wor; and Pluto is Peeved. Also a poet, Jacqueline is the author of Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence.

For her work as a children’s author, Jacqueline has earned many accolades. She garnered the Arlington Arts Moving Words Contest twice, in 1999 and again in 2007. In 2009, she earned the SCBWI Magazine Merit Plaque for Poetry, and 2008, she received the Best Original Poetry Award from the Catholic Press Association. She has also garnered a citation for Notable Books for Young Readers from the Association of Jewish Libraries in 2002, and that same year she was named a National Jewish Book Award finalist.

To learn more about this amazing educator and author, visit www.jacquelinejules.com.

CA Social Studies teacher Lois Volk also a successful politician

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Former Social Studies teacher Lois Wolk also served in the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. Photo credit: State of California.

Many excellent educators also enjoy careers as successful politicians. This is the case with Lois Wolk, a secondary school Social Studies teacher who has also served in both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

Lois was born on May 12, 1946, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Antioch College in 1968 and her Master’s degree from the School of International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1971.

Once she earned her degrees, Lois inaugurated her teaching career. She has taught history, Social Studies, and French in both public and private schools. She taught first at the Edmund Burke School, and, from 1979 to 198,1 she taught in the Davis Joint Unified School District.

Lois launched her career in politics when she was elected a member of the Davis City Council. Her tenure there spanned the years 1990 to 1998. Twice she was elected Mayor of Davis: 1992 to 1994 and 1996 to 1998. Next, she served as a member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. In 2002, Lois was elected on the Democratic ticket to the California State Assembly. She served there representing the 8th Assembly District from 2002 to 2008. While there, she was a member of the Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications. Next, she was elected to the California State Senate, where she represented the 5th Senate District from 2008 to 2012 and then the 3rd Senate District from 2008 to 2016. While there she served on the Committee for Aging and Long-Term Care; Budget and Fiscal Review; and Agriculture. Also, as a Jewish woman, she was a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.

In addition to her work as a legislator, Lois belongs to a number of important organizations, including the California County Boards of Education (2013); the Child Abuse Prevention Council (2013); the Rotary Club; and Soroptimist International.

Lois has also earned a number of prestigious awards, including the John Muir Heritage Award (2015); the Legislator of the Year Award from the California County Boards of Education (2013); the Legislator of the Year Award from the Child Abuse Prevention Council (2013); and the Robin Jenkins Memorial Award from Solano Partnership Against Violence (2011).

At age 75, Lois continues to live in Davis, California, with her husband, Bruce Wolk. The couple has two sons.

NY teacher Julia Richman worked tirelessly for immigrant children

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Julia Richman

Teacher, principal, and social reformer Julia Richman worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrant children in New York City. Photo credit: Public Domain

Just about everyone agrees that a teacher can profoundly influence the lives of the students in his or her classroom. But Julia Richman, an educator, philanthropist, author, and social reformer from New York City, influenced the lives of students in an entire city.

Julia was born October 12, 1855, in New York City, the daughter of German-speaking Jewish immigrants from the Czech Republic. At a young age, Julia made some important decisions about her own future. “I am not pretty…and I am not going to marry,” she once declared, “but before I die, all New York will know my name.”

Julia was determined to become a teacher, a decision her very traditional father vehemently opposed. In the late 1800’s, an eighth grade education was considered sufficient for girls. However, after a protracted battle royal, Julia convinced her father to allow her to pursue her goal of becoming a professional educator. In 1872, Julia realized her dream when she graduated from Hunter College.

Over the next four decades, Julia worked tirelessly as a classroom teacher, principal, school superintendent, and social reformer. Inside the classroom and within her community, she improved the lives of countless newly arrived immigrants, special needs students, and delinquents: the children 19th-century society typically considered “throwaway kids.” This innovative educator tossed away the conventional methods of instruction of her day, and designed model programs that educators from all over the world came to observe. She instituted numerous progressive practices that are still used in public schools today.

When Julia passed away in 1912, the New York City Board of Education ordered the flags of all NYC public schools be flown at half mast in her honor. It appeared that Julia’s prediction as an eleven-year-old had come true: all New York City knew her name.

Want to learn more about Julia Richman? I’ve written an entire chapter about this amazing educator in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon or bn.com. Available in print or ebook versions.

Science educator Lisa Niver at the Enkereri School in Kenya

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Science educator Lisa Niver with students from the Enkereri Primary School on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Photo by Matt Payne. See more about Payne at https://instagram.com/mattpaynetravelphotography

Though many teachers dream of visiting schools on other continents, science educator Lisa Niver has managed to accomplish quite a bit of this. Lisa is pictured above visiting a school located on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. “I was showing the children photos of animals we had seen on our safari as well as photos I took of them in their classroom,” explained Lisa. “I hope to visit Enkereri Primary School again someday!” she said.

The Enkereri Primary School is one of nine schools in the Maasai Mara. This unique school provides a digital literacy program for the students which features e-readers loaded with textbooks and literature. To learn more about the school at Maasai Mara, visit this website at Sanctuary Retreats.

Lisa is a former junior high school science educator from Los Angeles, California. 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 to work towards solving today’s most complex issues. Lisa developed a successful summer science camp for students and created a science-based website entitled Science Isn’t Scary. 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.

In addition to her career as a professional educator, Lisa is also a sought-after motivational speaker, travel agent, and travel writer. Lisa has traveled to over 99 countries, and has been recognized as one of the top five female travel bloggers. In addition, she is the Adventure Correspondent for The Jet Set, the first travel-based TV Talk show. To learn more about unique travel experiences, check out Lisa’s fabulous website at We Said Go Travel.

Lisa has published many articles in online and offline 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. Impressively, this month she was nominated for the award once again in five categories, including Online Journalist of the Year.

Way to go, Lisa!