Tag Archives: Pioneer Teachers

John Dewey: Teacher and influential educational reformer

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John Dewey

Teacher John Dewey was an influential educational reformer. Photo credit: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

One of the most influential educators of all time was John Dewey, a visionary, social reformer, psychologist, and philosopher. This chalkboard champion was one of the most influential voices for change in the classroom during the Progressive Movement of the early 19th century. The Progressive Movement emphasizes the importance of student participation, experiential learning, and meaningful activity in the classroom. This approach was in stark contrast to the practices of rote memorization and discipline that were so prevalent in his day.

John Dewey was born to parents of humble means on October 20, 1959, in Burlington, Vermont. As a young man, he attended the University of Vermont. After his college graduation, John inaugurated his career in education as a high school classroom teacher in Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he taught for two years. After earning his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, John became a university professor at the University of Michigan, where he taught for ten years. In 1894 he transferred to the University of Chicago, where he founded the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. During this time, he wrote his landmark book School and Society, where he argued the importance of collaborative experimentation in the classroom. He also emphasized practical skills and learning by doing.

Later, John relocated to New York City, where he joined the faculty of Columbia University. There he founded the New School for Social Research, a group that advocated for democracy as the foundation of a free and enlightened society.

Over the course of his long and distinguished career, this extremely influential educator published 40 books and 700 articles covering a wide variety of topics. He influenced classrooms throughout America with his meaning-oriented, democratic approach to teaching and learning. John Dewey died from complications of pneumonia on June 1, 1952. He was 92 years old.

Prudence Crandall: The intrepid teacher named Connecticut Female State Hero

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Prudence Crandall

Teacher Prudence Crandall: The Chalkboard Hero who taught African American students. Photo credit: Public Domain

There are many courageous teachers who have made great sacrifices for the sake of their students. One of these was Quaker Prudence Crandall, a Connecticut teacher who lost everything she owned in order to educate African American girls in a time when doing so was unheard of.

In 1831, Prudence opened a boarding school for young ladies in Canterbury, Connecticut. By the end of the first year, she had earned the praise of parents, community members, and students throughout New England.

Then one day an African American student named Sarah Harris asked to be admitted to the academy. Sarah said she wanted to learn how to be a teacher so she could open her own school for Black students. Prudence knew admitting an African American student would generate some resistance from her neighbors, but after some soul-searching, she decided her conscience and her religious convictions would not allow her to refuse the request. Unfortunately, Prudence had severely under-estimated the resistance she would encounter for this decision.

Figuring the complaint from her detractors was that she was operating an integrated school, the intrepid teacher closed her academy for white girls and re-opened as an academy for “misses of color.” That just made the situation worse. Her action caused ripples all the way up to the US Supreme Court and resulted in Prudence’s brief incarceration in the local jail. After lawless community members set fire to her school, Prudence was forced to close the academy and leave town.

Years later, however, the courageous stance taken by Prudence Crandall resulted in the intrepid teacher being named the Female State Hero for Connecticut. You can read more of the gripping account of what happened in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes, now available on amazon.com.

Lucy Craft Laney founded first school for Black children in Augusta, GA

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Lucy Craft Laney founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia. Photo credit: Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate remarkable American schoolteachers who have made significant contributions to public schools. Today, we celebrate Lucy Craft Laney, an African American teacher who founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia.

Lucy was born on April 13, 1854, in Macon, Georgia. Even though her parents had previously been enslaved people, her father had been able to save enough money to buy freedom for himself and his wife. Therefore, all  ten children born to the couple, including Lucy, were born into freedom. Lucy learned to read at the age of four, tutored by the sister of her parents’ former slaveowner. She continued to study and attended Lewis (later Ballard) High School in Macon, Georgia. The school was run by the American Missionary Association. In 1869 she entered the first class of Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta University, where she studied to become a teacher. She earned her diploma from the school’s teacher training program in 1873.

Lucy spent the first ten years of her career as an educator in schools in Macon, Milledgeville, and Savannah, Georgia. She then relocated to Augusta, Georgia, where she founded the city’s first school for African American children in 1883. Her first class had an enrollment of only six students, but by the end of the following year, 234 students had enrolled. She was able to accommodate the increased enrollment through a generous donation from Francine Haines. To honor her benefactor, the grateful teacher changed the name of her school to the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute. For the next 50 years, Lucy served as the Principal of the Haines Institute.

Always dedicated to her community, Lucy became active in the NAACP, the National Association for Colored Women, and the Inter-Racial Commission. She also donated in efforts to integrate the community through the YMCA and the YWCA.

Sadly, Lucy Craft Laney passed away on October 23, 1933. To honor her, Jimmy Carter, then Governor of Georgia, arranged to hang her portrait and those of other influential African Americans in the Georgia State Capitol. That was in 1974. In 1992, Lucy was inducted into the halls of Georgia Women of Achievement. In 2005, the Georgia Historical Society recognized her with a historical marker at the Lucy Craft Lainey Museum of Black History in August, Georgia.

 

During Women’s History Month, we recognize Utah educator Eurithe LaBarthe

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High school teacher and principal Eurithe LaBarthe served in the Utah State House of Representatives. Photo credit: Better Days 2020

Many hardworking educators are also accomplished politicians. One of these was Eurithe LaBarthe, a high school teacher and principal who also served as a state legislator in her state. She was a proponent of gender equality, a prominent clubwoman, a literary leader, and one of Utah’s first women legislators.

Eurithe was born in 1845 in Peoria, Illinois. As a young woman, she worked as a high school teacher and principal in Colorado Springs, Colorado. After her marriage to Jules LaBarthe on July 10, 1873, the couple moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. That was in 1892. Although she was not a Mormon in a predominantly Mormon community, the newcomer quickly established herself as an influential clubwoman.

In 1896, Eurithe she elected President of the Ladies’ Literary Club and managed the official club building for that organization. The Literary Club provided higher education at a time when it was not readily available to women. Initially, the organization focused primarily on history, but eventually they branched out into other topics such as poetry, art, and politics. The society was heavily involved in charity work and later helped pass a bill for the first free library in Utah. The club also purchased 2,000 books in order to help start the library.

The same year, Eurithe was elected on the Democratic ticket to Utah State House of Representatives. That year was the first election in which women could run for office in the newly-formed state. She was one of two women elected to the inaugural state legislature on Nov. 3, 1896. Her term began in Jan., 1897, and continued to Jan., 1899. While serving there, Eurithe was named the Chair of the Education Committee. Additionally, she drafted a letter to Congress requesting that the Federal Industrial Home, which was originally built as a refuge from polygamy but had stood empty for several years, be granted to the state for educational or charitable purposes. The former teacher advanced the cause of gender equality by actively engaging in the political processes of her state and by paving the way for future women lawmakers.

In addition to her work as a politician, Eurithe worked to establish the Utah State Historical society. Later she moved to Denver, where she became involved in women’s club work, serving as Treasurer and as Chair of the Finance Committee for the Woman’s Club, an organization of over 1000 members.

Sadly, while visiting her son in Salt Lake City, Eurithe contracted pneumonia and succumbed to the disease on Nov. 22, 1910. She was buried in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Pioneer teacher Laura Alming became the first woman Superintendent of Public Instruction for North Dakota

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Teacher Laura Eisenhuth Alming became the  first woman Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of North Dakota. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many talented classroom teachers also find success as politicians. One of these is Laura Eisenhuth Alming, a 19th century educator who was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of North Dakota.

Laura was born on May 29, 1859, in Blenheim, Ontario, Canada. She was just a toddler when her family moved to DeWitt, Iowa. As a young woman, she completed college courses and then accepted a teaching position at DeWitt High School.

The young educator first traveled to Dakota Territory in the summer of 1885. There she staked a claim on 160 acres of land near the town of New Rockford. She continued to live and teach in Iowa for the next two years, returning to her Dakota homestead for the summers. In 1882, the pioneer teacher married Willis Eisenhuth, a fellow teacher who had moved from Pennsylvania to Carrington, North Dakota. In Dakota he established and operated a drugstore.

After her marriage, Laura, already a veteran educator with 11 years of experience under her belt, accepted a position as a temporary teacher in Carrington. There she taught 80 students in a one-room schoolhouse. The next year she was re-hired, but fortunately the townspeople acquired an assistant to help with instructional activities.

Carrington’s citizens were so impressed with Laura’s work in the classroom that they elected her Superintendent of Schools for North Dakota’s Foster County in 1889. During the years she held this office, the innovative educator organized and oversaw a series of teacher-training institutes to improve public school instruction.

In 1892, Laura was elected her state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this period of history, women in the United States enjoyed very few voting privileges. In North Dakota, women could vote only on school issues. In her position as Superintendent, Laura continued to emphasize professional development. She also championed improved hygiene in schools and supported the introduction of fencing into the curriculum.

When Laura’s husband became very ill, Laura resigned from her office to focus on helping him recuperate. She found employment as a teacher and an Assistant Principal of Carrington High School. Her husband passed away in 1902. Five years later, Laura married Ludwig Alming, and the newlyweds moved to Jacksonville, Oregon. Laura lived the rest of her life there.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on September 30, 1937, in Medford, Oregon. She is interred in Siskiyou Memorial Park.

To read more about Laura Eisenhuth Alming, see this article printed in the Bismarck Tribune.