Thank You Mrs. Satchell

Someone recently asked me how I got interested in teaching as a career and in American government and policy.  My memory instantly took me back to my seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher. Naomi Satchell was the first African- American teacher I had ever had.  She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The year was 1960 and the students in Mrs. Satchell’s social studies classes at Beeber Jr. High School in Philadelphia were about to learn about the political process. That fall, America was getting ready for an important Presidential election that would pit Vice President Richard Nixon against Massachusetts Senator John Kennedy. Mrs. Satchell taught us about the election process and the Electoral College. She organized mock debates in our class. She encouraged us to make posters and pins for our favorite candidate. She even showed us how a voting machine worked. On Election Day, Mrs. Satchell gave each of us an outline map of the United States instructing us to go home and watch the election returns that evening and to color in each state as the results were tabulated. This was quite an exciting experience for me. At 11PM on election night my mom told me to get to bed, but for those of you who know about this election, the results were not final until the next day when the results from Illinois were made official. It turned out to be the closest election in US history.

I went on to take every history course I could in high school and majored in history in college. I graduated with a degree in social studies and education and started my professional career as a middle school social studies teacher, just like Mrs. Satchell. I also found myself volunteering for local political candidates and occasionally worked the polls as an election challenger. I don’t think that she ever knew what became of me or the fact that I went on to teach and advise future teachers at a state college in New Jersey. I owe the foundation of my career to Naomi Satchel. For those of you who are teachers or are considering teaching as a profession, here is a cautionary tale. You never know who will be sitting in your classroom or what positive impact you can have on a student’s future. You owe it to yourself to be your best and do your best every day.

“You can’t be a full participant in our democracy, if you don’t know our history.” David McCullough

c.2014 J. Margolis

Teaching Swimming in School

During the summer months when America’s children are at play, there comes a growing concern about the numbers of young people who drown in swimming pools, lakes and oceans. According to a report from the Center for Disease Control between 1999 and 2010 as many as 14,000 children under the age of 19 drowned. Almost half these casualties were of children between the ages of 1 to 4. The numbers of drowning deaths drop significantly when children are given swimming lessons. Spending a good portion of my teaching career on the barrier islands of New Jersey, our school district took the initiative to “waterproof” its students by requiring swimming lessons as part of the physical education curriculum for fifth graders. The school worked out an agreement with the local community center and bused the children to the pool several times a week for lessons with a Red Cross certified Water Safety Instructor. For some schools this may be a costly or impractical solution but for many others, it is an opportunity to teach students a useful and perhaps life-saving skill.

For other parents, sending children summer camp with a water safety program is a workable alternative.

More recently the Safe and Healthy Children’s Coalition of Southwest Florida received funds to create a “Kids Don’t Float” program. Funds were used to purchase life jackets which were then placed at several public beaches and lakes. Parents can borrow the vests for free and just return them to the rack when finished using them.

Parents should also be encouraged to participate in parent and baby water safety classes often sponsored by local YMCA branches.

The reality is that all students should learn how to swim, just as all students should learn computer literacy. As schools and their teaching staffs are often called on to go beyond the traditional teaching and learning process (school lunches, health check-ups, etc.), adding swimming and water safety is just a logical extension to provide for our children. And who know we might just be able to find the next Michael Phelps or Dara Torres.

c. 2014 J. Margolis

US Presidents as Teachers

When I think of our American presidents, I often think about what they did prior to being elected President of the United States.  There were those like Grant and Eisenhower, who were generals. Others had been state governors, like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. There were those who were US senators too, prior to rising to our nation’s highest office. But when people think about our Presidents, seldom do they think of them as teachers. But it is interesting to note who spent time the classroom prior to coming to Washington.

John Quincy Adams was a professor at Harvard University from 1806-09 teaching oratory and logic. President Clinton taught constitutional law at the University of Arkansas Law School and President Obama taught the same subject at the University of Chicago. Grover Cleveland taught at the New York Institute for the Blind.

Two of our presidents were college presidents. Dwight D Eisenhower was president of Columbia University in New York and Woodrow Wilson was president of Princeton University in New Jersey. William Howard Taft was dean of the University of Cincinnati Law School.

James Garfield and Chester Arthur both had brief careers in education. Millard Fillmore taught in an elementary school to help pay for his law school tuition. However the one US president for whom the teaching career had the greatest influence on his Presidency was Lyndon B. Johnson. While Johnson taught public speaking and debate at Sam Houston High School in Texas as well as at Pearshall High School, it was his teaching at the segregated Texas-American Welhausen School in Cotulla, Texas that had the most impact. It is believed that these early experiences helped to shape his beliefs about the plight of the poor, civil rights and education. As President, Johnson did sign the Civil Right Acts (1964) as well as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) and was at the  forefront of the " War on Poverty."

While there are many detractors out there who do not miss an opportunity to lambast the teaching profession and teachers unions, it should be noted that over 20% of America’s presidents had a teaching career somewhere on their resume. Teaching is the career that shapes all others.

C.2014 J. Margolis

Is Cursive Writing Still Relevant?

 An article appeared recent in the Epoch Times questioning the importance of cursive writing in today’s twenty-first century curriculum. It seems that in a society that is using all sorts of abbreviations and shortcuts and where texting and emails have replaced letter writing, that good old-fashioned handwriting may have outlived its usefulness. The article noted that the new federal Common Core standards no longer required cursive writing in the school curriculum. To date 45 states plus the District of Columbia have decided to subscribe to Common Core. However it should be noted that a states 

( like Florida or Tennessee)  can  and have opted out and are still teaching cursive writing.

 Because of this seminal change, there has been a schism between those who think that this is a good  idea and those who do not. Proponents feel that jettisoning cursive is a good idea because more class time can be spent on important academic subjects like math and  science (STEM). Those who feel that it is important to retain cursive writing in the curriculum believe that there are cognitive benefits that  can be derived from teaching it.  These advocates believe that cursive can be an especially helpful tool in working with students with disabilities.

So the question is out there for debate. Is the cursive technique obsolete  or  still an important part of producing well rounded literate and articulate student who can be successful in a twenty-first century world?

You can find discussion of the divergent opinions about this issue at the following web links:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/04/30/should-schools-require-children-to-learn-cursive/the-benefits-of-cursive-go-beyond-writing

https://www.zaner-bloser.com/news/importance-teaching-handwriting-21st-century

http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/curriculum-instruction/5-reasons-cursive-writing-should-be-taught-in-school/

You are invited to join the conversation.

c.2014  J. Margolis