Tag Archives: Teacher Activists

Belgian teacher Andree Geulen-Hersvovici saves Nazi children from the Holocaust

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Andree Geulen-Hersvovici, a teacher in Belgium, is credited with saving the lives of almost 1,000 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Photo credit: Old Photo Club

I am always amazed when I stumble across the story of an intrepid teacher who has done something genuinely heroic. Recently I encountered the story of Andree Geulen-Hersvovici, a teacher in Belgium during World War II. She is credited with saving nearly 1,000 Jewish children from the Holocaust.

In 1942, while teaching one day in her classroom in Brussels, Andree noticed that some of her students were wearing yellow stars sewn to their clothing. The Nazi regime mandated that Jewish citizens wear the star so they could be quickly identified when out in public, and therefore easy to target for interrogation, abuse, or even deportation.

When Andree saw the yellow stars, she was furious. Not at the children, but at the cruelty of the Nazi regime. Determined that no one in her classroom would be singled out, she directed her entire class to wear aprons so the stars would not be visible.

Later Andree joined an underground group called the Committee for the Defense of Jews. There she embarked on a dangerous mission to save as many Jewish children as she could. First, she had to convince terrified parents to give up their little ones in order to save their lives. Then she personally escorted them, sometimes by train and sometimes on foot, to hiding places in homes, convents, and orphanages. In this way, she was able to smuggle almost 1,000 young children to safety.

All the while, Andree continued to teach at the Gate de Gamont School, where 12 Jewish children were being protected in secret. Unfortunately, in May of 1943, the school was raided. Nazi soldiers stormed into the building, rousting the students and demanding to see identity papers. The terrified Jewish children were arrested.

During this raid, one of the Nazi soldiers confronted Andree and asked her, “Aren’t you ashamed to teach Jewish children?”

Andree didn’t cower. She didn’t say silent. She defiantly looked the soldier in the eye and responded, “Aren’t you ashamed to make war on Jewish children?”

Once WWII was over, Andree wouldn’t allow others to call her a hero. She simply said that she was just doing what was right. But in the truest sense of the word, she was a Chalkboard Champion.

Teacher and activist Julia Flisch fought for equity for women

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History teacher and social activist Julia Flisch fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century. Photo Credit: Georgia College

In my opinion, teachers are among the most dedicated proponents of social change in American society. Julia Flisch a Georgia teacher who fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century, is a fine example of this.

Julia was born on Jan. 31, 1861, in Augusta, Georgia, the daughter of immigrants from Switzerland and Germany. She was raised in Athens, Georgia, where her father operated a candy store and ice cream parlor, and her mother was a homemaker. As a young girl, Julia had always dreamed of attending the all-male University of Georgia, but when she applied in 1869 she was denied admission because of her gender. Instead, she enrolled at Cooper Union New York City, where she studied secretarial skills. But it was the rejection from the University of Georgia that inspired her life-long campaign for women’s rights and higher education, as an educator and scholar, and also as a journalist and author.

While still a student, Julia spend her summers working as a school teacher. Eventually she was able to take courses at both Harvard University and the University of Chicago. In 1905, she opened a school at the University of Wisconsin, where by 1908 she had earned both a Bachelor’s and a Masters degree in History. After earning her degrees, Julia accepted a position at Tubman High School in August, where she taught for 17 years. Until the 1950s, Tubman was the area’s only public high school for girls. Later Julia served as the first female instructor at the Junior College of Augusta.

Throughout her years in the classroom, Julia was a hardworking teacher dedicated to the success of her students. During this period, she advocated for collective bargaining rights for teachers, which had been unheard of before her time. She also actively lobbied for women’s suffrage and state grants to pay for women’s higher education. Her rallying cry was “Give the girls a chance!”

To advance her campaign for women’s education, Julia published an anonymous letter to the editor in 1882 in the Augusta Chronicle which called for opportunities for women to pursue financial and social independence. She also spread her message through fiction, and her first novel, Ashes of Hopes, which depicted the story of three young women searching for independence, was published in 1886. The effort earned wide acclaim.

Julia Flisch passed away on March 17, 1941. After her passing, this Chalkboard Champion was described as having accomplished “more than than any other person to advance the cause of women’s education in the state of Georgia.” In 1994, she was inducted into the Georgia Women of Achievement.

To read more about Julia Flisch, see this article about her published in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Educator and philanthropist Margaret Brewer Fowler

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Educator and philanthropist Margaret Brewer Fowler of Chino, California. Photo credit: Boys Republic

There are many amazing educators who have made a major impact on their communities. One of these was teacher and philanthropist Margaret Brewer Fowler, who was a significant figure in the history of Chino, California.

Margaret was born in 1863 in San Francisco, California. Her mother’s family were among the earliest settlers of the Oregon Territory, and her father, a graduate of Yale University, was a prominent attorney in San Francisco. In 1882, Margaret and her parents immigrated to Hawaii, which was an independent kingdom in those days. In Hawaii, Margaret became a teacher in various Hawaiian schools, including the Kawaihao Seminary, the Punahou Preparatory School, and Honolulu High School. In fact, Margaret served as the principal at the Punahou School. In all, Margaret spent 14 years as an educator in Hawaiian schools.

When she left Hawaii, the experienced educator traveled east and enrolled in New York University, where she earned her Master’s degree in 1899, a rare accomplishment for a woman in those days. In 1902, Margaret married Eldridge Fowler of Detroit, Michigan. The couple moved with Eldridge’s daughter from a former marriage to a luxurious home in Pasadena, California. Two years later, Margaret’s husband passed away, leaving his young wife and daughter a considerable fortune.

After her husband’s passing, Margaret became a substantial donor to the Young Women’s Christian Association and its World Committee. Always interested in furthering education for women, she became a founding trustee of Scripps College, the women’s school at what is now known as the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California. She also became a trustee of the California Institute of Technology. In Chino, Margaret was instrumental in establishing Boys Republic, a residential treatment center for troubled boys. She purchased the land, paid to have the buildings constructed. and financed the operating costs of the center. Boys Republic still exists today, helping adolescent boys to stay out of jail and to redirect their lives in more positive directions.

In 2001, Margaret Brewer Fowler was named to the Chino City Hall of Fame. To read more about this amazing educator, click on this link to the Boys Republic.

Pennsylvania’s Laura Towne: She taught emancipated slaves

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Laura Towne

Chalkboard Champion Laura Towne from Pennsylvania opened a school for emancipated slaves as the War Between the States raged around her. Photo credit: Beufort County Library

American history is full of Chalkboard Champions who risked life and limb for their students. One of these educators is Laura Towne, who taught newly-emancipated African Americans, 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 as 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 newly-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 War Between the States continued to rage all around her.

Laura Towne was practical, independent, down-to-earth, and strong-willed. She readily entered into the life of St. 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 adult 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 historically Black College Hampton Institute, at which time the school began operating as the Penn Normal, Industrial, and Agricultural School.
Laura Towne: A true Chalkboard Champion. To learn more about her, click on this link to read her biography published by the Social Welfare History Project sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University.

Washington, DC’s Edna Burke Jackson: Educator, author, and activist

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Edna Burke Jackson, an educator, author, and activist from Washington, DC, was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city. Photo credit: The Washington Post

Many talented classroom teaches have also worked diligently to promote the interests of African Americans in our country. One of these was Edna Burke Jackson, an educator and activist from Washington, DC. She was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city.

Edna was born Jan. 25, 1911, in Washington, DC. As a young woman, she attended Dunbar High School, a school for African American students. She graduated in 1928, valedictorian of her class. She then enrolled on a scholarship at Howard University, where she studied Romance languages, especially French, and social studies. There she earned first her Bachelor’s degree, and then her Master’s degree. Later she completed graduate courses at Howard University, Cornell, and Catholic University.

In 1934, Edna relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she accepted a position as a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School. In the six years she taught there, she founded the school’s Language Department and became the Department Chair. In 1940, the veteran educator returned to Washington, DC, where she was hired to teach at Cardozo High School. She worked there until 1954.

In 1954, Edna and colleague Archie Lucas, a chemistry teacher, were hired as the first African American teachers hired to work at the prestigious, all-white Woodrow Wilson High School. The pair were hired even though Wilson High remained segregated, unlike six other public high schools in the city of DC. As one of the only two Black educators on the staff, Edna faced scathing racism from her White colleagues. In 1955, Wilson High finally integrated. At Wilson, Edna taught European and World History.

Edna taught at the school for more than 20 years, until her retirement in 1976. During those years, she advocated for increased enrollment of African American students, and for the inclusion of courses in Black Studies to the curriculum.

In addition to her talents in the classroom, this amazing Chalkboard Champion was also an excellent writer. During the 1930’s, she authored a weekly column in the Oklahoma Eagle, a prominent African American newspaper in Tulsa. From 1959 to 1970, she wrote book reviews for the Journal of Negro History in Washington, DC.

Edna Burke Jackson passed away on Feb. 21, 2004. She was 93 years old. To read more about her, see the obituary published by the Washington Post.