The Million-Dollar Educator, a Long-Overdue Graduation, and an African Odyssey
Teacher Magazine ’s take on education news from around the Web, Aug. 19-Sept. 1.
While it’s always inspiring, it’s nothing new to hear about a teacher who made a huge difference in her students’ lives. Jean Louise Stellfox was a 39-year veteran who taught high school English in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town. She never raised her voice, but she was stern. And she did things that stuck with her students for years—like having them memorize Hamlet’s soliloquy. Turns out the teacher was also rich, to the tune of $1.5 million . The value of Stellfox’s estate was revealed two years after her untimely death; in 2003, at age 64, she was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Stellfox—who’d never married and lived frugally—left most of her money to Dickinson College, where, in 1959, a visit by poet Robert Frost helped the undergrad decide to pursue teaching. Her gift will fund future visits by renowned writers, including novelist Ian McEwan. Stellfox also left money and personal items to some of her colleagues. One former student, who became an English teacher herself, got $25,000, all of Stellfox’s books, and a La-Z-Boy. Noreen Schwalm said of her friend and mentor, “She didn’t teach you for a year...
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