Famous teachers

One of my not-so-secret indulgences online is playing Words with Friends. I have a number of regular friends that I play with on a daily basis. When I’m done those games, I’ll often turn to some of the other features that WWF offers.

One of these things is a solo challenge against the program. There’s something uplifting about beating a machine. One of these offerings recently had a list of 10 that hit pretty close to home. The topic was Teachers and Masters. Now, some of these I knew and some I didn’t. So, I did some research to find out who they are. Since I did all that research, I’ve decided to keep it around for future reference here.

William McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was a college professor and president who is best known for writing the McGuffey Readers, the first widely used series of elementary school-level textbooks. More than 120 million copies of McGuffey Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960^[1], placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster’s Dictionary.

Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori broke gender barriers and expectations when she enrolled in classes at an all-boys technical school, with hopes of becoming an engineer. She soon had a change of heart and began medical school at the University of Rome, where she graduated – with honors – in 1896. Her educational method is still in use today in many public and private schools throughout the world.

Arete Of Cyrene (/əˈriːtiː/; Greek: Ἀρήτη; fl. 5th–4th century BC) was a Cyrenaic philosopher who lived in Cyrene, Libya. She was the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene.^[1]

Ernest Everett Just (August 14, 1883 – October 27, 1941) was a pioneering African-American biologist, academic and science writer. Just’s primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms. In his work within marine biology, cytology and parthenogenesis, he advocated the study of whole cells under normal conditions, rather than simply breaking them apart in a laboratory setting.

Chanakya (IAST: Cāṇakya, was an ancient Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya or Vishnugupta, who authored the ancient Indian political treatise, the Arthashastra,^[3] a text dated to roughly between the 2nd century BCE and the 3rd century CE.^[4] As such, he is considered the pioneer of the field of political science and economics in India, and his work is thought of as an important precursor to classical economics.^[5][6][7][8] His works were lost near the end of the Gupta Empire and not rediscovered until the early twentieth century.^[6]

Fanny Jackson Coppin (January 8, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an African-American educator and missionary and a lifelong advocate for female higher education.^[1][2]

Aristotle (/ˈærɪstɒtəl/ ^[3]Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs, pronounced [aristotélɛːs]; 384–322 BC)^[A] was a philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, the founder of the Lyceum and the Peripatetic school of philosophy and Aristotelian tradition. Along with his teacher Plato, he is considered the “Father of Western Philosophy“. His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and government. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him, and it was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.

Anne Sullivan (April 14, 1866 – October 20, 1936), better known as Anne Sullivan, was an American teacher best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller.^[1] At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her blind and without reading or writing skills.^[2] She received her education as a student of the Perkins School for the Blind, where upon graduation she became a teacher to Keller when she was 20.^[2]

Inez Beverly Prosser teacher and school administrator, is often regarded as the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D in psychology. After growing up in Texas, Prosser was educated at Prairie View Normal College, the University of Colorado and the University of Cincinnati. She was killed in a car accident a short time after earning her doctorate.

Confucius (/kənˈfjuːʃəs/kən-FEW-shəs;^[1] 551–479 BC)^[2][3] was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period.

Each of them are linked to their Wikipedia page so that the complete story can be found. Even those names that I knew had fascinating history and achievements that I’d never know. So, thanks to Words with Friends for this learning experience and Wikipedia for the references.

Now, in addition to the names, they are ranked in their word skills from Easy to Very Hard. Knowing what you know now, would you rank them the same way? 😊

More importantly, are there any educators that you would have included on this list? Do you see any of these educators using social media today to promote themselves to get a speaking job? Somehow, I doubt it.

In the meantime, I can’t wait to take on Confucius!