Tag Archives: Secondary Teachers

Mathematics teacher Louis Leithold revolutionized the teaching of calculus

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Louis Leithold

Mathematics teacher Louis Leithold revolutionized the teaching of calculus.

Every once in a while an educator comes along who completely revolutionizes the way his or her subject is taught. This is true of mathematics teacher Louis Leithold of California, who completely revolutionized the instruction of calculus in American high schools and universities.

Louis was born on November 16, 1924, in San Francisco, California. As a boy, he was academically gifted. He attended Lowell High School, an elite public school that accepted only the brightest students in the city. He later worked his way through the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Mathematics.

In 1968, Louis published The Calculus, a volume which soon revolutionized the teaching of calculus. The book was instantly a blockbusting best-seller, and became the launching pad for Louis’s instructional workshops where he taught his innovative methods to other calculus teachers. One of the people Louis greatly influenced was Jaime Escalante, a legendary educator at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Escalante’s experience as a calculus teacher of inner-city minority students is portrayed in the highly-acclaimed movie Stand and Deliver (1988).

During his long and distinguished career as an educator, Louis taught at numerous institutions, including California State University, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; Pepperdine University; Phoenix College in Arizona; and the Open University in Britain.

When Louis was 72 years old and had already retired from teaching at the university level, Louis inaugurated a calculus program at Malibu High School in Malibu, California. He taught there for eight years. Each year, before the AP test, Louis assigned two to three hours of homework every night. He also held marathon training sessions at his home on Saturdays and Sundays. His teaching methods were praised for their liveliness, and his love for his subject was well known. And the success of his efforts could be statistically documented. While the national average score on the AP exam is 3.01 on a 5-point scale, Louis’s students averaged an impressive 4.5.

Sadly, this talented educator passed away on April 29, 2005, from natural causes. He was 80 years old. You can read more about Louis Leithold in his obituary in the Los Angeles Times at this link: Leithold LA Times.

Give an Inspirational Book to Dad on Father’s Day

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Give an inspirational book to Dad on Father’s Day! If he is an educator. a history buff, or an avid reader, I can recommend two great choices: Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes.

Chalkboard Champions presents stories of 12 gifted and dedicated teachers who worked with some of America’s most disenfranchised and disadvantaged students.  Among the captivating stories included is that of Charlotte Forten Grimke, an African American born into freedom in the North, who during the Civil War volunteered to teach emancipated slaves in a South Carolina school established just behind the battle lines. There’s the gripping eyewitness account of the Wounded Knee Massacre by teacher Elaine Goodale Eastman, the talented New England child poet who founded a school for Sioux Indians on a south Dakota reservation. There’s the story of Leonard Covello, the Italian immigrant turned school teacher who enlisted in the US Army during World War I to fight alongside his students, and educator Mary Tsukamoto, imprisoned in a World War II Japanese internment camp.

Then there’s Mississippi Freedom Summer teacher Sandra Adickes who, together with her students, defied the Jim Crow laws of the South and integrated the Hattiesburg Public Library. And Clara Comstock, who found homes for thousands of Orphan Train riders. And what collection about remarkable teachers would be complete without a discussion of Anne Sullivan Macy, the teacher of Helen Keller, and the dedication of Jaime Escalante, the East LA educator who proved to a skeptical establishment that inner city Latino youths could successfully meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum.

Chalkboard Heroes shines a spotlight on courageous teachers in American history who were both exemplars of teaching and role models of society. There are the veterans, such as Henry Alvin Cameron, who fought in World War I, and Francis Wayland Parker, a Civil War veteran. There are the social reformers who put themselves at risk to fight for improved conditions and better lives for disenfranchised citizens, such as Dolores Huerta, the champion of migrant farm workers; Robert Parris Moses, the Civil Rights activist; Prudence Crandall, who defied prevailing 19th-century convention to open a school for African American girls; Carrie Chapman Catt, the suffragist; and Zitkala-Sa, who campaigned for the constitutional rights of Native Americans.

Readers also learn about the brave pioneers who took great risks to blaze a trail for others to follow, such as Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space; Willa Brown Chappell, the aviatrix who taught Tuskegee airmen to fly; Etta Schureman Jones, who was interned for four years in a POW camp in Japan during World War II; and Olive Mann Isbell, who established the first English school in California while the Mexican American War raged around her. And then there are the savior teachers like Dave Sanders of Columbine High School, who put their own life at risk to protect the students whose safety was entrusted to their care.

Share these stories with your Dad this Father’s Day. He’ll be pleased.

New York’s William R. Everdell: Talented classroom teacher and successful author

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William R. Everdell

New York’s William R. Everdell: Talented classroom teacher and successful author.

Some of America’s most talented classroom teachers are also highly successful authors. This is true of William R. Everdell, a high school history teacher from Brooklyn who has published several acclaimed books about history and intellectual history.

William Romeyn Everdell was born in 1941.  As a youngster, he attended St. Paul’s, a private Episcopalian school located in Concord, New Hampshire. Following his high school graduation, young William enrolled in prestigious Princeton University in New Jersey. While a student in college, William was named a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and designated a Fulbright Scholar. Later William earned his Master’s degree from Harvard University and his doctorate in Modern Intellectual History from New York University.

This chalkboard champion is also a veteran. During the Viet Nam War, William served in the United States Marines. However, following his discharge in 1968, he became an outspoken critic of the war and even participated in anti-war marches.

In 1970, William accepted a teaching position at St. Anne’s School in Brooklyn, an arts-oriented private school located in the Brooklyn Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. There he taught world history until his retirement in 2016.

For many years William has been a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review. In addition, he has authored several books and articles on intellectual history and the history of ideas. His books are: Christian Apologetics in France published in 1989; The End of Kings, first published in 1983; and The First Moderns, 1872-1913, first published in 1998.

He has also written about the pedagogy of teaching history, and he has served on the committee to develop tests for the Advanced Placement World History Exams. The former educator has served as the president of the Organization of History Teachers and the East Central American Society for 18-Century Studies. In addition, he is a member of the American Historical Association.

Now 77 years old, William lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Barbara.The couple has two grown sons.

 

Melody Herzfeld, Theater Arts teacher at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, honored at Tony Awards ceremony

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Melody Herzfeld

Melody Herzfeld, Theater Arts teacher at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, was honored at last night’s Tony Awards ceremony.

Theater Arts teacher Melody Herzfeld was recognized last night with the Excellence in Theatre Education Award at the 72nd Annual Tony Awards ceremony at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Melody is credited with saving 65 student lives at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School last Valentines Day when the chalkboard hero barricaded them in her classroom’s office as a disturbed student opened fire merely 50 yards away. In the shooting, the gunman killed 14 of his fellow students and 3 staff members. Following the massacre, Melody supported and guided her students in their nationwide movement for tighter gun control.

Melody has taught courses in acting, theater production, and technical theater at Stoneman Douglas since 2003. During that time, she has directed more than 50 productions. Her drama program has earned state and Critic’s Choice recognition at various Thespian competitions, and has won awards from the South Florida Cappies and the Cappies Critics. Cappies is an international program that recognizes, celebrates, and provides learning experiences for high school drama students and teenage playwrights. Melody has also produced her community’s Children’s Theatre Project since 2003.

The Excellence in Theatre Education Award is given by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University to a K-12 theater educator who has demonstrated a monumental impact on the lives of students. It comes with a $10,000 prize for the winning teacher’s theater program. Melody is only the fourth recipient of the honor. In addition to her Tony award, this talented performing arts instructor also received the Educational Theatre Association’s 2018 Thespis Award earlier this year.

During her Tony Award acceptance speech, Melody asserted that performing arts educators teach students to speak their own truths, to develop a work ethic, to know that loyalty and collaboration is key, to be good to each other, to accept everyone, and to make a difference. “We teach this every day in every arts class,” she said. “Imagine if arts were classes that were considered core—a core class in education—imagine. And ours is only one small part, yet it’s the most important part, of a child’s education.”

You can view Melody’s entire Tony Award acceptance speech below:

Margaret Clark Formby: Texas Teacher and Genuine Cowgirl

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Margaret Clark formby

Margaret Clark Formby: Texas teacher and genuine cowgirl.

Not many teachers can describe themselves as genuine cowgirls, but one who can is a Texas English teacher named Margaret Clark Formby. This remarkable educator is best-known for founding the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in her home state of Texas.

Margaret was born in 1929 in Van Horn in Culberson County, Texas, a small town east of El Paso. She was the daughter of Fred and Mabel Clark, local ranchers. As a young woman, Margaret attended Van Horn High School, where she graduated in 1946, the salutatorian of her class. Following her high school graduation, Margaret enrolled at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and Speech in 1950. After her college graduation, she accepted her first teaching position at Hereford High School in Hereford, Deaf Smith County, before relocating to a school in Fort Worth, Texas.

As a young woman growing up in a Western environment, Margaret believed it was important to have women recognized for their many contributions to Western culture. To this end, she founded the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Hereford. The museum was originally located in the basement of the local public library, but was later moved to a building in Fort Worth. Margaret also worked as the editor of Sidesaddle, the official magazine of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

In addition to cultural preservation, Margaret labored tirelessly to create better conditions for young people. She was one of two women in Texas who was named to a commission to investigate child pornography. She also served on a committee sponsored by the Texas House Speaker that researched teen pregnancy.

During her lifetime, Margaret earned many accolades for her work. In 1993, the talented educator was the first woman elected to Texas Tech University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame. In 2000, her name was added  to the list of “100 That Made a Difference: History Makers of the High Plains” by the Amarillo Globe News. She also received the Pioneer Woman Award from the American Cowboy Culture Society.

Margaret Formby passed away on April 10, 2003, at the age of 73. She will forever be remembered as a hardworking educator who worked tirelessly to preserve an important part of our Western heritage.