Over the years, there have been many outstanding teachers in the history of the USA. They worked to make the world a better place by improving the educational system and teaching practices. Their contribution changed the whole perception of education and shaped our society. Here are famous educators who have made a difference in the world.
Anne Sullivan
Anne Sullivan reimagined special education, using her experience and natural pedagogical talent. She is famous for being a teacher of Helen Keller, a deaf and blind girl. Anne became her educator and eventually a friend. Being visually impaired herself, Sullivan knew what the girl was experiencing. It allowed her to choose special teaching techniques to help Hellen communicate with the world. Anne would take her hand and spell each word on the girl’s palm. This creative method proved to be effective, and soon, Hellen learned more and more words. With Anne’s help, Helen Keller became a well-known author, political activist, and the first blind-deaf person to earn a bachelor’s degree.
William McGuffey
William McGuffey is famous for creating McGuffey Readers, which is a series of books for elementary school students. It was published in more than 120 million copies and used in American schools up until the 20th century. You can still find them in bookstores even though the books were originally published in 1836. William McGuffey contributed to bringing education to the masses. His stories introduced children to a variety of topics and taught them valuable moral lessons at the same time. Moreover, McGuffey was a professor at Miami University and became president of Cincinnati College. He dedicated his life to improving the system of public schooling.
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Emma Willard
Emma Willard made education accessible for women by creating the Troy Female Seminary or the Emma Willard School as it is called today. It was the first higher education institution for females in the USA. Emma Willard made the promotion of education her life-long aim. She fought for women’s rights to achieve higher education of the same quality as men could get. In her institution, female students got a chance to study science, mathematics, philosophy, and other subjects that were not available for them before. Willard’s progressive outlook that prioritized equality changed the perspective people had on education.
Vivian Paley
Vivian Paley was an author of numerous books and a preschool teacher. She emphasized the importance of storytelling and play for the development of children. Paley believed that a good teacher must evoke genuine interest in the youngest students through fantasy. Vivian proved that it is the most effective way to teach with years of practice. She made her lessons memorable for students and encouraged them to express feelings and ideas in the classroom. Over the years, Vivian Paley received numerous awards that acknowledge her contribution to preschool teaching.
Sal Khan
Talking about educators who go above and beyond trying to make education more accessible to people around the world, we cannot but mention Sal Khan. He is an American educator, teacher, and founder of Khan Academy. Despite a difficult path towards his goal, Sal Khan did not give up and created a platform that grants people access to education without limits.
Khan Academy is the world’s largest digital educational platform that contains lectures and exercises for personalized learning. It covers different school subjects that range from math and computing to history and the arts. Besides, Khan Academy can be used as a supplement to traditional classes. As Sal states, “It allows the classroom to do richer things: have conversations, do projects, do simulation.” Today he has more than 60 million grateful students registered on the platform.
The use of technologies has revolutionized education. Sal Khan helps people with studies and has become the “Messiah of Math” as students often call him. Yet, he is not the only one. There are teachers and educators in different subject areas. For example, some of them can teach you the foundations of Chemistry, and others may gladly respond to your write my essay requests. You have an unlimited number of quality sources that can help you study and get a rich learning experience.
Nancie Atwell
Global Teacher Prize, NCTE Award for Outstanding American Middle School English Teacher, MLA Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize… This is an impressive list of awards received by Nancie Atwell, a famous American educator. Understanding the limits of conventional teaching methods, she worked to make the learning process more enjoyable for children.
In her book In the Middle, she presents an innovative approach based on reading. It gives students freedom of choice in terms of genres and authors, increasing the number of books they read a year. Moreover, in 1990 she founded a nonprofit organization called the Center for Teaching and Learning. After her 40-year teaching career, she continues to inspire teachers with her innovative ideas and achievements.
About Author:
Jonathan Brown is a part-time teacher and a custom writing professional. He enjoys doing research and teaching young students. He breaks down complex concepts into simple lessons they can easily understand and remember better.
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