Tag Archives: Teacher Politicians

Educators who have also served in political positions, either appointed or elected.

Former English teacher Mark Takano serves in US House of Reps

Posted on by

Former English teacher and member of the US House of Representatives Mark Takano works to improve educational opportunities for learners of all ages. Photo Credit: The Press Enterprise.

Many fine classroom teachers go on to successful careers in politics. One of these educators in Mark Takano, a former teacher who now serves in the US House of Representatives.

Mark was born on December 10, 1960, in Riverside, California. He spent his entire childhood there. As a Japanese American, he grew up listening to stories told by his parents and grandparents about their internment in an American camp during WWII. As a young boy, Mark attended La Sierra High School. When he graduated in 1979, he was named the school’s valedictorian. After his high school graduation, Mark attended Harvard, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Government in 1983. He earned a second Master’s in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Creative Writing for the Performing Arts, from the University of California, Riverside, in 2010.

Once he earned his degree, Mark worked as a substitute teacher for various public school systems in the Boston area. Later he returned to Riverside, and, in 1988, he inaugurated his teaching career in the Rialto Unified School District. He taught British Literature at Rialto High School. Only two years later, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Riverside Community College District. There he worked diligently to increase job training opportunities for adult learners. In 1991, Mark was elected Board President. In all, Mark taught for 23 years in public schools.

In 2012, Mark was elected elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the 41st District in the US House of Representatives. His District includes Riverside, Moreno Valley, Jurupa Valley, and Perris. As a Congressman, he serves on a variety of committees, including the Education and Labor Committee; the Science, Space and Technology Committee; and as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

To learn more about Mark Takano, see his Congressional website.

Timothy Bloodworth: American educator, patriot, soldier, and statesman

Posted on by
Timothy BLoodworth

Timothy Bloodworth was a teacher, soldier, patriot, and statesman from the Revolutionary War. Photo Credit: Founder of the Day

Chalkboard Champions have been as much a part of American life as any other hero since the very beginnings of our country’s history. One such historical figure was North Carolina educator, patriot, and statesman Timothy Bloodworth.

Timothy was born in New Hanover County, North Carolina, in 1736. He was named after his father, who had migrated to North Carolina from Virginia in the early 1700’s. As a young man, Timothy had little formal education, but he pursued a variety of careers.  Although  he spent most of his adulthood before the Revolutionary War as a teacher, he also farmed, kept a tavern, operated a ferry, practiced medicine, and preached occasionally. He also worked as a wheelwright and watchmaker, but he was probably best known as a blacksmith.
This talented educator eventually emerged as a leader in the movement for independence from Great Britain. When war broke out in 1776, Timothy began making weapons such as muskets and bayonets for the Continental Army. According to legend, he even saw combat as a sniper in fighting around Wilmington, North Carolina.
In 1778 and 1779, he served as a member of the state legislature for North Carolina. After the war ended, he held a number of political posts until serving as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1786. Timothy was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the First United States Congress, a position he held from 1790 to 1791. After his tenure in the House ended, he returned to the North Carolina State Legislature. In 1794, Timothy was elected to the United States Senate, where he served from 1795 to 1801. From then until 1807, this chalkboard champion served as collector of customs in Wilmington.
Timothy Bloodworth passed away on August 24, 1814. During World War II, the liberty ship SS Timothy Bloodworth was named in his honor.

 

NJ educator Donald Payne served in the US House of Reps

Posted on by
Donald Payne

New Jersey educator Donald Payne also represented his state in the US House of Representatives. Photo Credit: US Government

In American history, there are many examples of successful educators who later became noteworthy politicians. One of these is Donald Payne, a former teacher who was elected as the first African American to represent New Jersey in the US House of Representatives.

Donald Milford Payne, Sr., was born in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, on July 16, 1934. Following his graduation from Newark’s Barringer High School in 1952, Donald enrolled on a scholarship in Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Social Studies in 1957. Later he pursued post-graduate studies at Springfield College in Massachusetts.

After his college graduation, Donald taught English and Social Studies in Newark Public Schools. He also coached football. While still a teacher, Donald became the first African American president of the National Council of YMCA. From 1973 t 1981, he served as the chairman of the World YMCA Refugee and Rehabilitation Committee.

After leaving the classroom, Donald worked for a time as an executive for the Prudential Insurance Company. He also served three terms as a Municipal City Councilman, but he had always wanted to become a Congressman. In 1988 he finally achieved that goal when he was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent New Jersey’s Tenth District. “I want to be a congressman to serve as a model for the young people I talk to on the Newark street corners,” Donald said during his campaign. “I want them to see there are no barriers to achievement. I want to give them a reason to try.”

While in Congress, the former teacher served on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, including the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. In addition, he was a part of the Committee on Government Operations and on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, including the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was elected to Congress a total of eleven times, and some of his wins were by the widest margins in New Jersey history.

In his later years, Donald suffered from diabetes and he experienced several small strokes, but it was colon cancer that finally claimed his life on March 6, 2012. He was 77 years old. Donald Payne: a true Chalkboard Champion.

World Languages teacher Marilyn Johnson also served as a US veteran, foreign diplomat

Posted on by

Teacher Marilyn Johnson served her country as a WWII veteran and as a foreign diplomat. Photo Credit: Caledonian Record

Many exceptional teachers also earn acclaim in fields other than education. One of these is Marilyn Johnson, a World Languages teacher from Massachusetts. She served her country as a WWII veteran, and also as a distinguished foreign diplomat.

Marilyn was born on June 19, 1922, in Boston Massachusetts. The first in her immediate family to attend college, she earned her Bachelor’s degree with Honors from Radcliffe in 1944. She earned her Master’s degree in French from Middlebury College in 1952. In addition, Marilyn served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, while World War II was in full swing. She became a member a specialized group in the Navy’s WAVES. That group, which was based in Washington, DC, became known as “code girls.” Their specific mission was to break Japanese codes.

From 1952 to 1959, Marilyn taught French at various high schools. She also taught English as a foreign language in numerous schools in the African countries of Cameroon and Mali between 1962 to 1964.

In 1964, Marilyn joined the US Foreign Service, and she also served as a cultural affairs officer in Bamako, Mali, and Tunisia, and as the public affairs officer in Niger. She then served as the Deputy Assistant Director of the Information Program from 1971 to 1974. In 1975, she attended the Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy, and from 1975 to 1976, she attended special training where she learned to speak Russian. This training led to a job as a cultural affairs officer in Moscow in the former Soviet Union. In 1978, Marilyn was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the US Ambassador to the African country of Togo. She served in that position until her retirement in 1981.

Sadly, Marilyn Johnson passed away in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, on Sept. 19, 2022. She was 100 years old. To read more about this amazing educator, click on this link to the Caledonian Record.

 

Retired educator Lenton Malry served in the NM House of Reps

Posted on by

Retired teacher and administrator Lenton Malry served his community as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Photo Credit: History Makers

Many outstanding educators also serve their communities as politicians. One of these is Lenton Malry, a retired teacher and administrator from New Mexico who once served in his state’s House of Representatives.

Lenton was born on Sept 31, 1931, in Keithville, Louisiana, the son of farmers. In 1948, he graduated from Central Colored High School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education from Louisiana’s Grambling College in 1952. In 1957, Lenton earned his Master’s degree from Texas College in Tyler, Texas. In 1968, he completed the requirements for his PhD from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In fact, he was the first African American to earn a PhD from that institution.

Lenton is also a US veteran. After he earned his Bachelor’s degree, he enlisted in the US Air Force, where he served in the Education Office at RAF West Drayton. The base is located in the London borough of Hillingdon, which served as the main center for military air traffic control in the United Kingdom at the time.

The former military man inaugurated his career as an elementary school educator at Douglas High School in Sherman, Texas. Later he worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Kinlichee School on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, and later in the Gallup-McKinley County School District in New Mexico.

In 1962, Lenton moved to the secondary level when he accepted a position at Lincoln Junior High in Albuquerque. Two years later, he was named the principal of John Marshall Elementary School, and four years after that, he served at La Mesa Elementary School. From 1975 until his retirement in 1987, Lenton served as the Equal Opportunity Director for the Albuquerque School District. Interestingly, Lenton was the first African American man to teach in New Mexico, and the first to serve as a principal in the Albuquerque district.

Once he completed retired, Lenton decided to go into politics. He was elected on the Democratic ticket to the New Mexico House of Representatives. He served in that body from 1969 to 1979. While there, he advocated for better resources for public education and for universal kindergarten.

In 2016, Lenton became a published author, when his autobiography, Let’s Roll this Train, was released by the University of New Mexico Press. This volume earned him the Father Thomas Steele History Award from New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in 2017.

This was not the only recognition Lenton earned.  He received the University of New Mexico’s Living Legend Award in 2007, and he was inducted into Grambling State University’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Lenton Malry: A true Chalkboard Champion.