Tag Archives: Teacher Activists

The intrepid Prudence Crandall: She braved danger to teach African Americans

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Prudence Crandall

Teacher Prudence Crandall: The Chalkboard Hero who taught African American students.

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 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 would not allow her to refuse the request. Prudence had severely under-estimated the resistance.

Figuring the complaint 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, causing ripples all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulting in Prudence’s brief incarceration in the local jail. Eventually, Prudence was forced to close her school and leave town.

Years later, however, the courageous stance taken by this heroic teacher caused her to be named the Female State Hero for Connecticut. Read the gripping account of what happened in my newly-released book, Chalkboard Heroes, now available on amazon.com.

Ruth Frances Woodsmall: English teacher and global activist for women’s rights

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Ruth Frances Woodsmall: English teacher and global activist for women’s rights.

There are many exceptional educators who have also made significant contributions to society as a whole. One of these is Ruth Frances Woodsmall, a high school English teacher from Georgia who is well known as a post World War II global activist for women’s rights.

Ruth was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sept. 20, 1883. She was the daughter of Harrison S. Woodsmall, a lawyer and teacher, and Mary Elizabeth Howes, an art teacher. Ruth grew up in Indiana and attended local schools. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska in 1905. She earned her Master’s degree from Wellesley in 1906.

After she earned her degrees, Ruth worked as a high school English teacher in both Nevada and Colorado from 1906 to 1917. Between 1917 and 1928 she held various positions in the YWCA, including a stint as Director of Hostess Houses in the US and in France. From 1921 to 1928, she was Executive Secretary of YWCAs in the Near East. Based in Istanbul, the former classroom teacher supervised branches in Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. In 1923, her jurisdiction was expanded to include Egypt and Palestine. From 1935 to 1948 Ruth served as General Secretary of the World’s YWCA.

From 1949 to 1952 Ruth served as the Chief of the Women’s Affairs Section of the US High Commission for Occupied Germany. For this work she received the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of West Germany. At the same, she did extensive research on the changing status of Muslim women in the Middle East and published several important works on the subject.

In recognition of her work with women and international relations, this exceptional educator received honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska in 1945 and the University of Indiana in 1954.

Sadly, this Chalkboard Champion passed away in New York City on May 25, 1963.

Chalkboard Champion Emma Hart Willard advocates for girls’ education

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Chalkboard champion, educator, and advocate of education for women Emma Hart Willard

One of the most influential educators in American history is Chalkboard Champion Emma Hart Willard, a teacher and women’s rights advocate from New England. In a time when most women were restricted to the role of homemakers, Emma advanced the cause of making higher education available for girls.

Emma was born on Feb. 23, 1787, in Berlin, Connecticut. Even at a young age, her intelligence was evident. Even though she was a female, her father nurtured her intellectual development. By the time she was 17 years old, Emma was teaching at the academy where she had been a student. By the time she was 19 she was the principal of the school.

In 1809, Emma married Dr. John Hart, and the couple had one son together. After her marriage, Emma and her family moved to Vermont. There she opened her own boarding school for girls. She taught her young students courses in science, mathematics, philosophy, geography, and history. The experience put her in a fine position to advocate for an institution of higher learning for female students.

In 1821, Emma persuaded the leadership of Troy, New York, to sponsor the founding of an institution of higher learning for girls. The school became known as the Troy Female Seminary, the first higher education institution for women in the country. The school was an immediate success, and upper class families began to send their daughters to Troy. Her example inspired other private institutions to open their doors to girls. Emma served as the principal of Troy Female Seminary until 1838. By that time, hundreds of graduates of the school—many of them teachers—had been shaped by her philosophy.

In addition to paving the way for advanced educational opportunities for girls in New York, Emma traveled widely throughout the country and in Europe, where she advocated more schools of higher learning be established. She founded an all-girls school in similar to the Troy School in Athens, Greece. She also wrote textbooks for American history and geography. In addition, she published a volume of poetry.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on April 15, 1870, in Troy, New York. She is interred in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. In 1905, this amazing educator was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in Bronx, New York. She was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013. The school that Emma Hart Willard founded in Troy still exists today, although it is now known as the Emma Willard School.

To read more about Emma Hart Willard, click on this link to Encyclopedia Britanica.

Teacher Winchel Bacon: Part of the Underground Railroad

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Teacher Winchel Bacon: Abolitionist and member of the Underground Railroad.

In many cases hardworking school teachers become involved in important social causes. This is true of Winchel Bacon, a schoolteacher, farmer, businessman, and politician from Waukesha, Wisconsin, who participated in the Underground Railroad.

Winchel was born August 21, 1816, in Stillwater, New York, the son of Samuel and Lydia Barber Bacon. For two years, he worked as a clerk in Troy, New York, before joining his parents in their 1837 move to Butternuts, New York. On July 4, 1838, the young Winchel married Delia Blackwell, a native of Butternuts. For four years the couple ran a farm in Butternuts, while Winchel taught school in the village during the winters.

On September 2, 1841, the Bacons ventured west. They travelled from Utica to Buffalo, New York, by steamer, and from there to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From Milwaukee the young schoolmaster and his wife traveled west to what was then called Prairieville. This town in now known as Waukesha. There they settled for the remainder for their lives. Winchel continued to farm and teach school. From 1843, this intrepid pioneer ran a local newspaper and engaged in the wagon-making and blacksmithing business, in partnership with his brother-in-law Charles Blackwell and his friend, Edmund Clinton. In 1850 Winchel traded the business he’d built in Waukesha for a steam-powered sawmill located in nearby Brookfield.

Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the abolitionist schoolteacher participated in the Underground Railroad. He even sheltered at least one fugitive slave in his own home. He was also active in organizing first the Liberty Party and then the Free Soil Party in Wisconsin. In 1852, he was elected to one term in the Assembly from Waukesha as a Free Soiler. Additionally, Winchel took an active role during the Civil War. In 1863, he was appointed paymaster in the army by President Lincoln. He was stationed at St. Louis.

After the war, Winchel used his influence to establish the Reform School located at Waukesha. As an acting commissioner, he had charge of the school’s accounts and disbursed the money until the school was opened. For several years he was a trustee of the State Insane Hospital. He also served as a trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. He was president of the Waukesha Agricultural Society for several years, and also served as a member of the Chicago University’s Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the Masonic Order of the Knights Templar.

In his later years, the former teacher was afflicted with a heart condition. At the age of 78, Winchel passed away at his home on March 20, 1894. He is buried in Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

Fannie Richards: A teacher who worked for social change

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Detroit’s Fannie Richards, a dedicated teacher who worked for positive social change.

For me, one of the best characteristics of teachers is their willingness, ability, and dedication towards bringing about positive social change. A wonderful example of this is Fannie Richards. She was a Michigan schoolteacher who worked to desegregate Detroit public schools.

Fannie Richards was born on October 1, 1840, in Fredericksberg, Virginia. Her parents were free African Americans. As a young child, Fannie’s family moved to Toronto, Canada, where Fannie was enrolled in school. When she grew up, Fannie traveled to Germany, where she worked with innovative educator Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel to develop the first kindergartens. When she completed this work, Fannie returned to the United States and settled in Detroit, Michigan.

Always eager to learn new skills, Fannie enrolled at the Teachers Training School in Detroit. After her graduation, she became passionate about educating the African-American community of Detroit. Even decades before the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Fannie was advocating desegregation in Detroit schools. In 1863, while the Civil War was still raging, she opened a private school for African-American children in Detroit. A few years later, the Detroit Public School system opened a school for Black children, and when Fannie learned the school board planned to open a second school, she applied for a teaching position. In 1869, she was hired to teach in Colored School #2, the first African American teacher to work in Detroit Public Schools.

To Fannie’s delight, in 1871, the Michigan State Supreme Court ordered the integration of Michigan schools. That same year, the school board transferred Fannie to the newly desegregated Everett Elementary School. She taught there for 44 years. Fannie was known for her devotion to the children, using modern pedagogic methods, and maintaining a high standard of scholarship.

Fannie Richards retired in 1922 after more than fifty years as an educator. This chalkboard champion passed away on February 13, 1922, at the age of 81. She is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

To learn more about Fannie, click on this link to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.