Tag Archives: Reviews

Marzell recommends sharing “Harriet” with your US History students

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Last weekend I viewed the movie Harriet, a historical fiction version of the life of Harriet Tubman. Harriet was born into slavery, but she was determined to be free. I loved this film! I would highly recommend that US History teachers share it with their students. The film goes a long way towards helping students better understand this remarkable woman’s life. It also leads to increased knowledge of the workings of the Underground Railroad.

The story line follows the heroine who was faced with her impending sale as a slave, separating her from husband and family. To avoid this, she made a daring and harrowing escape North to freedom. She had some help from the Underground Railroad, but traversed the better part of 100 miles to freedom all on her own. Once she tasted freedom, Harriet determined to lead members of her family and other slaves to freedom, too. Despite the danger of capture and return to slavery, not to mention beatings and other reprisals, this intrepid woman ventured back into the South to accomplish her goal. The movie credits her with engineering and executing the escapes of at least 70 slaves, but I have read historical accounts that place the number closer to 300. The effort earned her the epithet “The Moses of her People.” In fact, Harriet Tubman became one of the most important and most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad.

The production was released by Focus Features on November 1, 2019. Cynthia Erivo stars in the title role. Leslie Odom, Jr., Joe Alwyn, and Janelle Monae perform in supporting roles. The film is rated PG-13, and there are no scenes that I would say are unacceptable for classroom viewing. The movie’s length spans 2 hours, 5 minutes, which is a bit long for classroom purposes. However, I would be hard pressed to suggest which scenes could be cut. I think it would be best to show the film in its entirety.

The trailer above serves as a teaser. You can watch the movie yourself and come to your own conclusions. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Journalist Barbara Demick tells the story of Mi-ran, the North Korean Kindergarten Teacher who Defected

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The country of North Korea and its quarrelsome Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un have taken top billing in the news quite a bit recently, and with the upcoming Winter Olympic Games scheduled in Pyeong Chang, South Korea, we’re likely to hear a lot more. You can learn a great deal about the political climate of the two Koreas, as told by the citizens themselves, by reading a fascinating book entitled Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, written by award-winning journalist Barbara Demick.

The volume traces the lives of six ordinary North Korean citizens who were raised to accept without question the totalitarianism of the Kim regime. One by one, each of these citizens experiences a life-altering disillusionment with their Supreme Leader, and each ultimately feels compelled to attempt defection from their inhuman conditions. Eventually, each one escapes into the welcoming arms of South Korea.

One of these individuals was Mi-ran, a neophyte kindergarten teacher assigned to a school near her girlhood home of Chongjin. Mi-ran dearly loved her little students, but although she faced her class each day with the most cheerful attitude she could muster, she soon became embittered by her government’s expectation that she systematically brainwash her kids into believing they had “nothing to envy” while she watched them die a slow, agonizing death from starvation. The riveting story of Mi-ran’s defection, and the sweetheart she left behind, make fascinating reading. Equally engrossing are the stories of the other five defectors included in the book, one of whom is Mi-ran’s lost love.

Up to now, when Americans think of North Korea, we see only the menacing visage of Kim Jong-Un. The stories of these six ordinary citizens who have survived in, and escaped from, one of the most repressive governments in the world bring a humanizing perspective to that nation.

The book, first published in 2009, was named a National Book Award finalist and was similarly recognized by the National Book Critics Circle. You can find Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick on amazon.com.

Meaningful Learning with Technology

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51HSVz3SS2L._AA160_The text Meaningful Learning with Technology by Jane L. Howland, David Jonassen, and Rose M. Marra, Fourth Edition (Boston: Pearson, 2012) was an engrossing read. The target audience for this book is elementary or secondary school teachers who have an interest or intention of incorporating technology into their instructional programs. Written from a constructivist viewpoint, the book was probably aimed at both beginning and intermediate technology users; teachers well-versed in classroom technology would probably find most of the material a review of what they already know.

The stated goal of the book is to describe and demonstrate a variety of ways that technology could be used to engage and support meaningful learning for. This goal is described in depth in the initial chapter, which defines the characteristics of meaningful learning, describes the components of pedagogy related to technology, and contrasts learning from technology to learning with technology. A lengthy discussion of instructional technology standards and how technology can be used to foster 21st century skills is also incorporated.

The volume is slender, but it includes chapters on all aspects of an instructional program. These aspects are grouped into nine broad categories which the authors have labeled inquiring, experimenting, designing, communicating, community building, writing, modeling, visualizing, and assessing. Each chapter provides topical objectives, relevant introductory information, recommendations for how technology can be used for that particular aspect, and descriptions of several software programs that relate to the topic of the chapter. In some cases, the authors present case studies showing how actual teachers have used a specific technological program in their classroom. Photographs, diagrams, charts, and tables further illustrate the material. Each chapter concludes with a short summary, a listing of the NET Standards and the 21st Century Skills that are addressed in that chapter, discussion topics, and a list of references. The book concludes with an epilogue containing a handy list of common sense criteria for deciding when and what types of technology to consider for specific learning tasks. Finally, the authors provide an appendix offering sample rubrics for assessing characteristics of technology to ensure their utilization will result in meaningful learning.

The authors do not provide step-by-step instructions for how to use each of the software programs described, nor do they purport to. Rather, they discuss the learning theory supporting the inclusion of technology and the benefit of technology on the overall learning process.

What did I gain from the book? A review of some learning theories and concepts I have already studied. A reinforcement of some educational philosophies I have already embraced. An in-depth exploration of NET Standards and the list of 21st Century Skills. An articulated rationale and a set of guidelines for incorporating educational technology in my classroom lesson plans. An expansion of my knowledge about educational technology tools for content areas other than Language Arts. A revisit of some software programs I have experimented with previously. An exploration of some software programs I have never heard of before. That’s quite a bit, actually.

Dr. Jessie Voigts publishes review of Chalkboard Heroes

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I’m excited to announce that today Dr. Jessie Voigts of Newago, Michigan, published a review of Chalkboard Heroes on her website, www.WanderingEducators.com. Dr. Voigts, who holds a PhD in International Education, is the director of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program, the co-founder of Writing Walking Women, and she has published six books of her own. Here is an excerpt of her review:

Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor

You know what I love? Stories of awesome people. They inspire, teach, and lead by example. Such is the case with Chalkboard Heroes, a marvelous new book by Terry Lee Marzell.

I think that to write about incredible people, you must be an incredible person, yourself. And so it is. Terry has been an educator in Corona, California, for the past thirty-three years, working at both the high school and the junior high school levels. She has taught English, developmental reading, drama, journalism, library science, geography, and interior design. She has also served as her school’s cheerleading advisor for four years, the drama coach for two years, and the school’s newspaper advisor for five years. Throughout her long career as an educator, she has worked with English-language learners and students in honors courses, and she has been a mentor for both International Baccalaureate candidates and special education students. Terry has seven years of experience as a home-stay coordinator and tour escort for students from abroad. In addition, she has mentored several collegiate student teachers. She is currently serving her school as a district librarian.

picture-4Let’s talk about her new book, Chalkboard Heroes. This is a remarkable, inspiring book of – yes, you guessed it – remarkable, inspiring teachers. What springs to mind when I read this? That ordinary people can do extraordinary things. That beliefs COUNT. That teachers are pretty special, indeed.

What I love most about this book is the care taken in writing these lives. You can tell that Terry loves teachers, writing, researching, and the selflessness and caring that teachers bring to their students.

This book? It’s a gift to the world, an act of love that shows how important teachers are, throughout history. We know the stories of some – Christa McAuliffe, Robert Moses, Dave Sanders. The stories of others I didn’t know both educate and warm my heart, from coping with racism to the frontier, from gender to social change. This is a history book, an ode to the teaching profession, and a deep look into the lives of teachers. But most of all, it’s a compilation of incredible lives, spent in the pursuit of something they cherished. That is, indeed, remarkable.

You can read the entire review at: www.Wandering Educators.com

Author Mary Breu reviews Chalkboard Heroes

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Below you will find a review of my recently released book, Chalkboard Heroes, written by Mary Breu, author of Last Letters from Attu, the enthralling story of Etta Jones, an intrepid teacher and nurse from New Jersey who traveled to the Alaskan Territory as a pioneer. Etta Jones was incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II.

Chalkboard Heroes: Review

by Mary Breu

authorTerry Lee Marzell, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor. Tucson, Arizona: Wheatmark, 2015. vii + 243 pp. Preface, photographs, glossary, bibliography, index.

Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor is the author’s second book, a non-fiction compilation of innovative teachers who have impacted their students and our society; some names are familiar, others are not. Each profile has been thoroughly researched and includes vivid descriptions that exemplify qualities that make an excellent teacher. The reader can peek through a window and see the teachers’ early lives, watch him or her develop and see what inspired their passion for teaching. The teachers’ voices allow the reader to get a feel for the personalities and qualities of people who encouraged them to become teachers. The teachers in this book demonstrate the essence of what a teacher does; they find ways, sometimes against incredible odds, to reach his or her students and make learning more real as opposed to standing in front of the class and lecturing. Valuable backgrounds and historical events are included. The author’s writing style pulls the reader in by telling something striking about the teacher and that makes the reader eager to find out more.

Horace Mann’s niece, Olive Mann Isbell, was born in Ohio in 1824. Twenty-two years later, she and her husband found themselves at a Mission in California. The Mexican -American War was raging all around them, but Olive continued to teach her twenty students, using “a long pointed stick to draw diagrams on the dirt floor” and “charcoal from an extinguished fire to write the letters of the alphabet on the palms of the children’s hands. And she kept a long rifle by her side, just in case” (Page 2.) One hundred forty years later, another teacher “discovered that much information about the social history of the United States has been found in diaries, travel accounts and personal letters. Just as the pioneer travelers of the Conestoga wagon days kept personal journals, I, as a pioneer space traveler, would do the same.” (Page 187.) The teacher’s name was Christa McAuliffe. The author wrote, “Christa believed that such a journal, which would record space flight from the perspective from a non-astronaut, would demonstrate to students that even an ordinary person could contribute to history in very important ways” (Page 187).

Today, when teachers are in the throes of bureaucratic paperwork, subjected to administrators who make unrealistic demands, respond to parents who question a teacher’s seemingly unreasonable assignments and deal with students who, the teacher knows, come from incredibly difficult home environments, reading about these teachers’ lives will be an inspiration because, in the end, all a teacher wants to do is teach. The common thread woven into the fabric of this book is a quote from Lee Iacocca: “In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and highest responsibility anyone could have” (Page 1.) Christa McAuliffe understood that message when she proclaimed, “I touch the future…I teach!” (Page 177.)

I recommend this book to teachers of all grade levels. Middle and high school students would also benefit from the author’s clear, concise and correct telling of historical events and people.

 

Read More by Mary Breu

To view Mary Breu’s web page, simply click on Mary Breu.

To  find Mary Breu’s book on amazon.com, click on Last Letters from Attu.