Tag Archives: Teacher Activists

Educator and UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl

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Alex Caputo Pearl

Alex Caputo-Pearl, President of United Teachers Los Angeles, spokesperson for LA teachers currently on strike for the first time in 30 years.

One hardworking and dedicated educator whose name and picture have been prominent in the news this past week is Alex Caputo-Pearl, President of United Teachers Los Angeles. He’s currently acting as the spokesperson for LA teachers as they stage their first teachers’ strike in 30 years.

The strike follows a complete breakdown in 20 months of negotiations between the teachers union and the school district. There is much at stake, says Alex. “United Teachers Los Angeles’ struggle for a fair contract is just one part of a broader movement for students, families and schools,” asserts Alex in an op-ed piece published in the Los Angeles Times on January 6, 2019. “But at its heart, the standoff between L.A. Unified and United Teachers Los Angeles is a struggle over the future of public education,” he continues. To read the entire editorial, click on this link: Why Los Angeles teachers may have to strike.

A veteran teacher, Alex taught for 22 years in the Compton and Los Angeles school districts. He worked most of those years at Crenshaw High School, before he was elected president of UTLA in 2014. Over the years, Alex has earned many accolades for his work in the classroom. He has been recognized with LA Academic English Mastery Program Award, UCLA Social Justice Award, and UTLA Bilingual Education Committee Awards.

Throughout his career, Alex been heavily involved in community organizing, helping to strengthen the efforts of the Labor/Community Strategy Center and the Bus Riders Union, as well as helping to establish the Coalition for Educational Justice, the Crenshaw Cougar Coalition, and the Extended Learning Cultural Model.

Alex earned his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Brown University and his Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA. He has many published articles to his credit, and in addition has been a guest lecturer speaking about labor and community organizing at various Los Angeles area universities. He is an active member of the California Federation of Teachers, the California Teaches Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association.

Teacher Bill Holden: He talks the talk, and he walks the walk

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holdenbridge_i[1]Often classroom teachers become advocates for social issues that extend far beyond their classroom. Such is the case with teacher Bill Holden, an educator who has worked tirelessly to increase awareness about the problem of juvenile diabetes.

Bill was born in 1948 in Elgin, Illinois. He earned his degree from Southern Illinois University in 1970. Bill accepted his first position as a teacher in 1973, and soon became interested in working with Native American students. After teaching many years in Illinois, he transferred to Camp Verde, Arizona. At Camp Verde, Bill became aware of the alarming rate of diabetes among his Native American students. Bill retired after 32 years in the classroom, but he was not done dedicating his energy to benefit his students. He decided to focus his vast energy on helping to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.

In 2005, Bill literally walked from Arizona to Chicago, a distance of 2,100 miles, with the goal of raising $250,000 in donations for the American Diabetes Association to fund research for a cure for juvenile diabetes. Bill started his walk on January 11, 2005, walking through the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. Along the way he battled arthritis in both knees, fatigue, sunburn, windburn, and stifling heat, and once he was nearly hit by a car. It took the dedicated teacher six months to complete the walk, but the effort garnered him national attention.

Bill Holden is certainly a true chalkboard champion.

Alaska educator and community activist Bea Rose

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Bea Rose

Alaska educator and community activist Bea Rose

Throughout our country’s history, there are many dedicated teachers who have earned recognition for their community service. One of these is Beatrice “Bea” Rose, an Alaska educator, long-time Jewish leader, and community activist who worked tirelessly for social justice issues. Advocating for the rights of the disenfranchised, Bea was a role model for many as she carried out the Jewish practice of “Tikkun Olam,” the responsibility to repair the world.

Bea moved to Alaska in 1957 after Bob Bartlett, an Alaska Territorial Congressional Delegate, encouraged her and her husband, Nissel (Mike) Rose, to help work on achieving statehood for the territory. The young couple quickly threw themselves into causes they felt would strengthen a new, young state.

Bea helped create and sustain the first Jewish synagogue in Anchorage, Congregation Beth Sholom. As a founding member, Bea worked with others to create a vibrant Jewish educational and religious center in a state where Jews constituted an almost invisible minority.

In addition, Bea was a long-time leader in the education community. She was particularly interested in issues related to special education. Working as a speech therapist with the Anchorage School District for 25 years, Bea assisted students with disabilities, serving on the first committee to initiate special education in Alaska. She also became the chairperson for the National Education Association in Alaska.

After their son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1977, Bea and her husband became indefatigable advocates for improving mental health resources available in the state. She joined the board of the Alaska Mental Health Association and participated in national mental health conferences. Bea worked to destigmatize mental illness and was instrumental in lobbying for the passage of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Settlement.

In addition, the civic-minded Bea focused on advancing the rights of women and promoting progressive causes through the Alaska Democratic Party. She is remembered as a loving mother and grandmother, a committed friend, and a role model for many who appreciated her warmth, welcoming spirit, and kindness.

For her work as an educator and a community activist, this amazing chalkboard champion was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018.

Carrie Chapman Catt: Suffragist and Iowa schoolteacher

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Carrie chapman Catt

Suffragette and Iowa schoolteacher Carrie Chapman Catt.

Many times throughout history, talented teachers earn national recognition for achievements outside of the classroom. Such is certainly the case for Carrie Chapman Catt, a schoolteacher from Iowa who labored tirelessly to earn the vote for women.

She was born Carrie Clinton Lane in Ripon, Wisconsin, to parents Lucius and Maria Louisa Lane. Carrie was raised in Charles City, Iowa, where her family had moved when she was seven.

After high school, Carrie graduated from Iowa State Agricultural College, having worked her way through school as a teacher in the summer months. Her father, a subsistence farmer, contributed only $25 a year to her education, partly because he didn’t have a lot of financial resources, but mostly because he didn’t believe in advanced education for girls. But the young woman was determined to get a college degree. After her graduation, she continued to teach, earning a stellar reputation as an educator. In time, she was promoted to the position of  superintendent of schools.

Carrie could have remained in that comfortable job until retirement, but she was determined to improve the lives of the women of her day. The right to vote for women became her life’s passion. The intrepid teacher became one of the leading forces for the Suffragist movement, which lobbied state by state, and eventually descended upon Washington, DC, to pressure Congress into passing a constitutional amendment that would grant women the right to vote. Once that goal was accomplished, Carrie spent the rest of her life advocating for peace and human rights.

You can read about the life of this remarkable educator in my recently published book, Chalkboard Heroes: Twelve Courageous Teachers and Their Deeds of Valor, now available on amazon.

The Civil War raged around her, but that didn’t stop educator Laura Towne

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Laura Towne

The Civil War raged around her, but that didn’t stop teacher Laura Towne

American history is full of chalkboard champions who risk life and limb for their students. One of these educators is Laura Towne, continued to teach even though the Civil War raged around her.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1825, Laura was raised in Philadelphia, where she moved in socially progressive circles. She was formally educated as both a homeopathic physician and a school teacher. She was also a dedicated abolitionist.

During the Civil War, Laura was one of the first Northern women to go south to work with freed slaves. She traveled to St. Helena Island in Port Royal, South Carolina, where she founded the first school for freed slaves, even though the battle continued to rage all around her.

This chalkboard champion was practical, independent, down-to-earth, and strong-willed. She readily entered into the life of Saint Helena Island, where she began her work attending to the medical needs of the freed slaves. In June, 1862, Laura gave up her medical practice, and together with Ellen Murray, her life-long friend and fellow teacher, opened the first school for freed slaves. Laura named her institution the Penn School. Nine adults students enrolled in the school, which operated out of the back room of an abandoned plantation house. Unlike most schools established for emancipated slaves, Laura’s school offered a rigorous curriculum, which was modeled on the schools of New England.

Laura spent forty years running her school and grew to love the life she had established in Port Royal. She and Ellen eventually adopted several African American children and raised them as their own. Upon her death in 1901, Laura bequeathed the Penn School to the Hampton Institute, at which time it began operating as the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School.
Laura Towne: A true chalkboard champion.