Tag Archives: Secondary Teachers

South Carolina’s Kate Vixon Wofford: A Groundbreaker in the Field of Education

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Many gifted classroom teachers have proven to be groundbreakers in the field of education. This is certainly true of Kate Vixon Wofford, a high school teacher from Laurens, South Carolina.

Kate Vixon Wofford

Kate was born on October 20, 1894, the eldest of ten children born to John and Cleo (Cunningham) Wofford. As a young girl, Kate attended Winthrop College, where she graduated with honors in 1916.

Kate accepted her first position as an educator at Laurens High School in Laurens, South Carolina. When World War I broke out, the intrepid teacher joined the United States Navy, where she served as a yeoman. She was one of the first women to enlist in the war effort. After the war was won, Kate returned to her classroom at Laurens.

At a time when women were not generally active in the political arena, Kate broke down many barriers. In 1922, she was elected to the position of County Superintendent of Schools, becoming the first woman in the state of South Carolina to be elected to a public office. She served two terms in this position. In addition, she served a term as the first president of the South Carolina State Teachers Association. And in 1929, she was selected to be a delegate to the World Conference in Education held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Kate Vixon Wofford

A lifelong learner, Kate returned to school in 1930. She earned her master’s degree from Cornell University in 1931, and her doctorate from Columbia University in 1934. Following this, Kate accepted a position as the Director of Rural Education at State Teachers College in Buffalo, New York. An accomplished author, Kate wrote two books about education: Modern Education in the Small Rural School in 1938, and Teaching in Small Schools in 1946. These books were widely acclaimed. She also published pieces for the National Education Association.

In 1947, Kate was selected to be the Director of Elementary Education at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In 1952, she threw her energy into organizing a program for the Turkish Ministry of Education, successfully gaining funding and then directing a course of study for 25 Turkish educators. Her report of this program, entitled The Workshop Way with Foreign Students, was published in 1954.

Sadly, that same year, Kate learned she had cancer. She passed away at the age of 60 on October 31, 1954, in Gainesville. She is interred at the New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery in Laurens, South Carolina.

During her lifetime, Kate was a member of the Daughters of American Revolution and the National Council of Administrative Women in Education. She was also a member of the honors association Pi Gamma Mu. To read more about this chalkboard champion, see South Carolina Encyclopedia.

Oregon’s Edward Diller: Foreign Language Educator Extraordinaire

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Many teachers who exhibit talents in the classroom also achieve accomplishments on an international scale. One of these is Edward Diller, a high school foreign language instructor who made significant contributions to German studies.

Edward came from humble origins. He was born on December 14, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the youngest of six children born to Isaac and Frieda Diller. His father, who worked in a hat factory, had immigrated to the US from Austria-Hungary in 1910.

During WWII, Edward served our country in the US Marine Corps. Once the war was won, he returned to school, earning his both his bachelor’s  (1953) and his master’s (1954) from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1961, Edward completed the requirements for his doctorate at Middlebury College located in Middlebury, Vermont.

During the 1950’s and early 1960’s, Edward taught German language classes at Beverly Hills High School in California. He also served as the foreign language coordinator for the Beverly Hills Unified School District. In the 1960’s, the gifted teacher left the Golden State and headed to the Rocky Mountain State to work as a professor at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In 1965, he relocated to Eugene, Oregon, to join the faculty of the University of Oregon. There he served as the director of the Robert D. Clark Honors College from 1972 to 1977, and as the Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1974 to 1977.

Edward’s brilliance was obvious to many in the academic field. He was selected to be a Fulbright visiting lecturer to Germany in 1967, and he garnered a Fulbright research grant in 1977 to fund his research studies in Freiburg, Germany. Additionally, he was awarded Fulbright Research Professorships in Braunschweig and Regensburg in Germany,  and was named Carl Schurz Visiting Professor at the University of Dortmund in Dortmund, Germany, in 1970.

During his professional career, Edward was named to a number of prestigious leadership positions. During the 1980-1981 school year, he served as the resident director of the Oregon Study Center in Stuttgart, West Germany. He also served as the president of the American Association of Teachers of German from 1978 to 1980; on the Executive Board of the Joint National Committee for Languages from 1979 to 1980; and the chairman of the Selection Committee of the Federal Republic of Germany and the US Office of Education Grants in 1979. The brilliant educator also served on the Board of Trustees for the American Council on German Studies in 1977. Edward excelled as an academic author as well. He published numerous articles, books, and book reviews, and made important contributions to textbooks for Spanish, French, and German languages.

One of this talented educator’s major skills was his ability to win grants. He won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and another from the National Science Foundation to produce projects that improved relations between Oregon’s Native American tribes and local Caucasian residents. With a colleague, he garnered another grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund summer seminars for high school teachers.

This amazing chalkboard champion passed away on March 30, 1985, at the young age of 59. He is interred at Rest-Haven Memorial Park in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. You can learn more about him at Revolvy. You can also visit the Edward Diller author page at amazon.com.

 

West Virginia’s Lavinia Norman: The Chalkboard Champion of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority

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Many dedicated educators have devoted their entire professional lives to the classroom. One such educator is Lavinia Norman, a high school languages teacher from West Virginia who is also known as one of the original founders of the prestigious Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Lavinia was born on December 14, 1882, in Montgomery, Fayette County, West Virginia. She was the eighth of sixteen children in the family of Thomas and Virginia Norman. Young Lavinia spent her early years in elementary schools in West Virginia, but when her father found employment with the US Postal Service, the family moved to Washington, DC.

In 1901, Lavinia enrolled in preparatory school at Howard University, a traditionally Black college located in our nation’s capital. At the time, there were very few women enrolled at Howard. While at Howard, Lavinia became one of the 16 original founding members of the prestigious Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. The young scholar graduated cum laude in 1905 with a degree in English and French. Later, she returned to college to earn a second bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State College, another historically Black university located in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1934.

After her graduation, Lavinia accepted a position as a teacher at Douglass High School in Huntington, West Virginia, where she worked her entire professional career. During her tenure, she taught English, French, and Latin. She also served as her high school’s drama coach and the adviser of the school newspaper. In 1950, this chalkboard champion retired after a distinguished career of forty years in education. 

Lavinia passed away in Washington, DC, on January 22, 1983, at the age of 100. To learn more about this amazing educator, click on this link, Virginia Commonwealth University, or the website for Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Chalkboard Champion Bryan Still: From NFL to Virginia Classroom

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There are many fine examples of professional athletes who go on to successful careers in the classroom. One such athlete is Bryan Andrei Still, a physical education teacher from Virginia who was a former professional football player.

Bryan was born on June 3, 1974, in Newport News, Virginia. As a youth, he attended Huguenot High School in Richmond, Virginia. Upon his high school graduation, Bryan enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University located in Blacksburg, Virginia. There the 5’11”, 174-pound wide receiver played college football. In fact, this outstanding athlete went with the Virginia Tech Hokies to the Nokia Sugar Bowl, where the team came from behind to defeat Texas 28-10. Bryan garnered the coveted Most Valuable Player Award for that game. You can read more about this spectacular victory by clicking on this link: HokieSports.com.

After college, Bryan was drafted into the National Football League (NFL). He played first for the San Diego Chargers (1996-1999), then the Atlanta Falcons (1999), and finally the Dallas Cowboys (1999). In total, Bryan played 52 games in the NFL. To examine Bryan’s statistics, you can check them out on NFL.com.

Currently, Bryan teaches physical education and health education at Cosby High School, a public school located in Midlothian, Virginia. He also coaches track and field there.

Charge on, Brian Still!

Florida School Shooting: Mourning the Loss of Three Chalkboard Heroes

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Once again our nation mourns the tragic loss of life in a school shooting which occurred two days ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This most recent shooting brings to national attention three exceptionally courageous chalkboard heroes who were killed while attempting to protect their students from the gunman, a former student described as mentally ill who was expelled from the school last February.

Scott Beigel

Among the slain is geography teacher and Cross Country Coach Scott Beigel, age 35. Student Kelsey Friend remembers her teacher with great respect. “Mr. Beigel was my hero and he still will forever be my hero,” said the grieving teen. “I will never forget the actions that he took for me and for fellow students in the classroom. I am alive today because of him.”

Chris Hixon

Also killed in the attack was Athletic Director and Wrestling Coach Chris Hixon, age 49. Known for his generosity to students, he would give them rides or lunch money and, if they needed it, welcome them into his home, remembered his wife, Debra Hixon. “He just loved being around kids and giving back to the community,” she said. Also a United States veteran, Chris served his country as a Naval Reservist and was deployed to Iraq in 2007.

Aaron Feis

The third chalkboard champion who perished was Assistant Football Coach Aaron Feis, age 37. An alumnus of Stoneman Douglas High School, Aaron had been a football player when he was a student, and in 2002 he returned to the campus to serve as a coach. Witnesses say Aaron shielded students with his own body, and was hit by oncoming bullets which caused his fatal wounds. “He died the same way he lived –he put himself second,” expressed football program spokesperson Denis Lehtio. “He was a very kind soul, a very nice man. He died a hero.” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel concurred. “The kids in this community loved him. They adored him. He was one of the greatest people I knew. He was a phenomenal man,” said the sheriff.

To view CNN’s story about all 17 victims of the shooting, click on CNN: These Are the Victims. You can also read the story at Times: These are the Victims.