Tag Archives: Teacher Authors

Herbert Parmat of NYC was also a successful author of presidential biographies

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High school social studies teacher and college professor Herbert Parmat earned acclaim as the author of many well-received biographies of American presidents. Photo Credit: The Portal to Texas History

Many talented educators have earned acclaim as accomplished authors. One of these is Herbert Parmat, a high school social studies teacher and historian who wrote many well-received biographies of American presidents. In fact, he has been described as a major historian of the American presidency and politics.

Herbert was born on Aug. 28, 1929, in New York City, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. As a youngster, he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in New York, graduating in 1948. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at State University of New York, Oswego, in 1951, and his Master’s degree from Queens College in 1957. During these years, Herbert also completed a stint in the US Army, where he served from 1952 to 1954, achieving the rank of Corporal.

In the 1960s, Herbert taught social studies at North Babylon High School in Long Island, and then at Mineola High School in Mineola in Long Island. At Mineola, he served as the school’s Social Studies Department. He also taught history courses at the Graduate Center of City University of New York and at Queensborough Community College. By all accounts, Herbert was an outstanding classroom teacher, dynamic and charismatic. When he retired in 1995, the former high school teacher was named a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

While teaching at Mineola, Herbert decided to tackle a writing project with colleague Marie B. Hecht. The pair authored their first biography, Aaron Burr: Portrait of an Ambitious·Man (1967). Together, they also wrote Never Again: A President Runsfor a Third Term: Roosevelt versus Wi/lkie, 1940 (1968). This was followed by a pioneering biography, Eisenhower and the American Crusades (1972). Next, Herbert wrote The Democrats: The Years After FDR (1976). In a return to the biography genre, he authored Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy (1980) and JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1983). Next, he penned the biographies Richard Nixon and His America (1990) and George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee (1997). His later works were Presidential Power from the New Deal to the New Right (2002) and a return to an earlier biographical subject in Richard M. Nixon: An American Enigma (2008).

This outstanding educator passed away on Jan. 25, 2017, in Newton, Massachusetts. He was 87 years old. To read more about Herbert Parmat, click on this link to History News Network.

Alabama’s Catharine Brown: Cherokee teacher and author

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Alabama’s Catharine Brown, a Cherokee who, during the early 19th century, worked as a missionary teacher, also became a celebrated author. Her memoirs were widely distributed and immensely popular.

There are many examples of Native Americans who became teachers and leaders in their community. Some have also become celebrated authors. One of these was Catharine Brown, a Cherokee who, during the early 19th century, worked as a missionary teacher and writer.

Catherine was born at the turn of the century, circa 1800, in a small village in Cherokee Indian Territory, Alabama, approximately 25 miles southeast of the Tennessee River. Her parents, Yau-nu-gung-yah-ski (“Drowned by a Bear”), known by Westerners as John Brown, and Tsa-luh, known as Sarah, held a place of prominence in their tribe.

As a young girl of about 17, Catharine attended the Brainerd Missionary School. Her progress there was impressive. In only three months, she learned to read the Bible in the English language. Then she became a tutor to younger students in the school. May 1820, Catharine accepted a position as a teacher at a school for Native Americans established at Creek Path, her home town. The school opened with 20 students, but enrollment continued to grow, as both children and their parents were eager to learn.

In 1821, Catharine left the school to nurse her brother John, who had contracted tuberculosis. Unfortunately, he did not survive. Soon after he died, Catharine began to show symptoms of the deadly disease. By 1823, her condition was so serious that she was transported by canoe to the home of a missionary doctor. But, sadly, she died on July 18, 1823. She was not older than 23.

One year after her passing, Catherine’s biography was published. The volume, entitled Memoir of Catharine Brown, A Christian Indian of the Cherokee Nation, was widely distributed and became immensely popular. Largely forgotten in the following centuries, Catharine Brown has recently been rediscovered as an influential Native American leader and writer. You can find her memoir on amazon.

African American teacher, poet, and biographer Henrietta Cordelia Ray

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African American teacher, poet, and biographer Henrietta Cordelia Ray became known for her sonnets and her ode to Abraham Lincoln.

Many excellent educators have also earned fame for their endeavors outside of the classroom. One of these was Henrietta Cordelia Ray, an African American teacher who is best known for composing a poem about Abraham Lincoln that is associated with the Freedmen’s Memorial located in Washington, DC.

Henrietta was born on Aug. 30, 1852, in New York City. Her father was Charles Bennett Ray, a blacksmith, abolitionist, and clergyman.

As a young woman, Henrietta earned her degree in pedagogy from the University of the City of New York in 1891. She also studied French, German, Greek, and Latin at the Sauvener School of Languages. Then she launched her career as a public school teacher in New York City schools. During this period, Henrietta also became active in community-building and political activism.

Henrietta gave up her position as an educator to pursue a career as a writer. One her pieces, an eight-line ode to Abraham Lincoln, was read at the unveiling of the Freedmen’s Memorial in Washington, DC, in April, 1876. At this unveiling ceremony, the prominent African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass served as the keynote speaker. In 1887, Henrietta co-authored a biography of her father with her sister, Florence. The book was entitled “Sketch of the Life of Rev. Charles B. Ray.” Henrietta also published a collection of sonnets in 1893 and a second book of poetry in 1910.  Selections from the 1910 volume were widely included in anthologies published in the early 20th century. Frequently, the subjects of her verse were nature, piety, and idealism.

In her retirement years, Henrietta returned to her original vocation of teaching. She tutored students and instructed English classes for teachers. In addition, she organized and participated in regional and national conferences for African American teachers.

Sadly, Henrietta passed away on Jan. 5, 1916. She was 63 years old.

Teacher Miriam Del Banco earned acclaim as an author and poet

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Teacher and principal Miriam Del Banco was also an acclaimed author and poet. She is pictured here in 1931. Photo credit: Public Domain

I am always excited to share the story of a talented educator who has earned accolades for their work as writers. One of these is Miriam Del Banco, a teacher and principal who earned acclaim as an author and poet.

Miriam Del Banco was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 27, 1858. Her father was a respected rabbi and her mother was a homemaker. Sadly, Miriam’s father passed away when she was just an infant, and and Miriam went to live with an uncle in St. Louis, Missouri. She enrolled in school there, and even as a child, she displayed remarkable talent as a poet.

When she grew up, Miriam attended Missouri State Normal School (now known as Missouri State University) in Springfield. She earned her PhD from DePaul University in 1921.

Once she completed her initial degrees, Miriam relocated to Chicago, where her mother was already living. In 1885, she accepted a position as a public school teacher in Chicago schools. Four years later she became an assistant principal at Von Humboldt School, and in 1904 she was named the principal of McClellan Elementary School. In 1908 she became the principal of Motley Public School.

In addition to her work as an educator, Miriam was also a prolific writer and translator. She translated Kayserling’s “Die Jüdischen Frauen,” which appeared serially in the columns of the Jewish Advance and was published in Chicago in 1881 and Alberti’s “Ludwig Börne,” which appeared in the Menorah, published in 1888-1889. Miriam also published articles in educational journals and she wrote many poems, both Jewish and secular in content, that were published to high acclaim. A collection of her work entitled Poetry and Prose was published posthumously.

During her lifetime, Miriam was a member of the Principal’s Club; the Ella Flagg Young Club; the National Education Association; and the Wild Flower Preservation Society.

Miriam passed away on November 6, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois. She was 61 years old.

History teacher Pat Conroy has become an acclaimed author

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Former history teacher Pat Conroy has become a leading figure of Southern literature. Photo credit: Pat Conroy

Sometimes in history a talented educator earns fame, fortune, and acclaim in the literary world. One teacher like this is Pat Conroy, considered by many the leading figure of Southern literature of the late 20th century. Pat Conroy is the author of two acclaimed novels: The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini. Both these novels have garnered Academy Awards as films. He also penned the successful novel The Lords of Discipline.

Donald Patrick Conroy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 26, 1945. His father was a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and for this reason his family moved frequently. Pat once said he attended eleven different schools before his sophomore year. Also, he has often described his father as abusive and his childhood as traumatic.

As a college student, Pat attended The Citadel, an all-male military college in South Carolina. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1967. After earning his degree, Pat accepted a position as an English teacher at Beaufort High School in Beaufort, South Carolina. While there, he wrote his first novel, The Boo, which he self-published using money he borrowed from the bank.

After two years, Pat spent a year teaching at a two-room school on Daufuskie Island off the coast of South Carolina. There he worked to expand the horizons of his African American students, poorly-educated kids who spoke the Gullah dialect and had very little knowledge of the world beyond their island. Pat’s unorthodox instructional methods caused the superintendent of schools to fire him after just one year. Nevertheless, Pat relished his job as an educator. “There’s no word in the language I revere more than ‘teacher,’” Pat said in 1986. “My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I’ve honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher.”

This dedicated educator and outstanding author passed away from pancreatic cancer on March 4, 2016. He was 70 years old. He is interred at St. Helena Memorial Garden on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. To read the 2009 interview with Pat Conroy published by Low Country Weekly, click on The Power of Circles.