Tag Archives: Secondary Teachers

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.

Recommended reading: Tony Danza’s book about his experiences in the classroom

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Tony Danza’s book about his experiences in the classroom is recommended reading.

It seems to me that in every teacher’s career, there comes a desperate moment in which we just want to be understood. We fervently wish that the public, the parents, and the media comprehended just how dedicated we are to our students, and just how hard we work on their behalf, and just how tough the job is. Tony Danza goes a long way to build this understanding in his 2012 book I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High.

Having already earned his degree in history and  his teaching credential, Danza accepted a position as a first-year teacher in an inner-city school in Philadelphia, partly because he had always wanted to teach and decided now would be a good time in his career to explore that option, and partly because the experiment could be turned into a reality show that, Danza hoped, could accomplish some genuine good by turning an empathetic spotlight on our nation’s over-worked, over-criticized, and under-paid teachers.
Throughout the book, Danza provides an insider’s perspective on many of the topics that dominate political discussion in the media and professional conversation in the teachers’ lounge, including such topics as funding cuts, high-stakes testing, high absenteeism, student apathy, and lack of parental involvement. It’s amazing how he hit the nail on the head with every chapter.
I loved this book, and how Danza eloquently voiced the frustrations of practically every teacher in America. Most importantly, I loved how much his genuine affection and respect for his students, and his strong commitment to do right by them, shines through the frustrations. It’s an inspirational book I recommend you put on your summer reading list. You can find it on amazon at I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had. Find more recommended reading on this website’s “Books to Read” tab.

Illinois social studies teacher Victor Swanson runs for US Congress

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Victor Swanson

Illinois social studies teacher Victor Swanson runs for US Congress.

Today’s highly-charged political climate is offering many opportunities for accomplished educators to run for political office. One individual who is doing that is Victor Swanson, a high school social studies teacher from Illinois who is running for a seat in the US Congress. He hopes to be elected to the 14th Congressional District on the Democratic ticket, unseating Republican incumbent Randy Hultgren.

Victor earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Science Secondary Education from Illinois State University. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Northern Illinois University. In addition, he is a decorated veteran of the US Navy.

Victor’s career as a public school educator has spanned 18 years. He currently teaches at Glenbard East High School in Lombard, a suburb of Chicago. Victor believes his classroom experience has prepared him very well for public office. “I believe my ability to listen to multiple different perspectives has helped me. You want a representative who can talk to people and work with them to come up with the best possible solution to a problem,” he asserts.

When Victor first expressed an interest in running for Congress, he was told it would be nearly impossible to run a campaign because he has a full-time teaching job. The intrepid educator said that only increased his desire to run. “If we don’t have people in Congress who have real jobs and aren’t independently wealthy or have political connections, then we don’t have real representation,” he declares.

If elected, Victor wants to allocate more money to education. “We need to start spending our money on children and people instead of corporations and the military,” he declares. “The more we invest in our children, the greater our return on investment.”

To learn more about this amazing educator, see his candidate profile at the Daily Herald.