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Marva Collins embodies all that is meant by that hallow...)
Marva Collins embodies all that is meant by that hallowed word. . .teacher. She gives of herself tirelessly so that those whose minds are supple may grasp knowledge and power through her love. Indeed love, like that of a mother for her children, is the essence of the Marva Collins Way. . .love of learning, love of teaching, and love of sharing. It charges her mission with an incredible power to heal broken spirits.
Discover the power to truly teach, whether it be one child or many. Children don't have to be geniuses to be successful. By the power of the extraordinary teacher, each and everyone can achieve extraordinary success. You can be that teacher or parent.
In this book, Marva Collins reveals the secret of her success and the principles which will aid you to duplicate her achievements - first within yourself, then within your classroom or in your own home. Here is an opportunity to expand your teaching ability with the aid of one who has stretched the boundary through her own bold experiments. It works. Go for it. Renew your spirit. The Extraordinary teacher is you.
Values: Lighting the Candle of Excellence : A Practical Guide for the Family
(Gathers anecdotes, games, exercises, poems, and proverbs ...)
Gathers anecdotes, games, exercises, poems, and proverbs that demonstrate the ways that parents can help children develop confidence, kindness, courage, determination, and perseverance
Collins was born Marva Delores Nettles on August 31, 1936, in Monroeville, Alabama, United States. Collins has described her childhood as "wonderful" and filled with material comforts that included riding in luxury cars and having her own horse. Her father, Alex Nettles, was a successful merchant, cattle buyer, and undertaker. He lavished attention and praise on his daughter and her younger sister, Cynthia. By challenging Collins to use her mind, he instilled in her a strong sense of pride and self-esteem. As a child, Collins managed the store's inventory, kept track of invoices, and deposited the store's money in the bank. From these early experiences, she developed the philosophy she would use later in life to teach children, one that entailed providing encouragement and positive reinforcement.
Education
Collins attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in secretarial sciences.
Career
In 1957 she returned to Alabama to teach typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, and business law at Monroe County Training School. Having never intended to be a teacher, she left the profession in 1959 to take a position as a medical secretary at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago.
In 1961 Collins returned to teaching as a full-time substitute in Chicago's inner-city schools because she missed helping youngsters discover the joy of learning. Working against a tide of indifferent teachers who, in Collins' words, were creating "more welfare recipients" soon left her weary and angry. With her pension money and the support of her husband, Collins opened the Westside Preparatory School in the basement of Daniel Hale Williams University. Collins made a point of not accepting federal funds because she did not want to abide by all the regulations that such backing required. Craving more independence than she had in the university setting, Collins soon moved the school into the second floor of her home, which she and her husband had renovated to accommodate approximately twenty children ranging from four to fourteen years old. Located in one of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods, the school was eventually moved to its own building near Collins's home. Shortly after this move, enrollment increased to over two hundred students.
Collins started attracting media attention in 1977 after an article on her and the Westside Preparatory School appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. Several national publications printed her story, and she was featured on the popular television program 60 Minutes in an interview with Morley Safer. In 1981 CBS presented a Hallmark Hall of Fame special entitled The Marva Collins Story, starring Cicely Tyson.
Late in 1980 Collins was considered for the post of secretary of education by U. S. President Ronald Reagan. Preferring to continue teaching and running her school, Collins announced that she would not accept the position if it were offered to her. She believed that she could make a bigger difference by working with the children in Chicago than she could by immersing herself in the paperwork the job in Washington, D. C. , would surely bring.
The Chicago school board and the Los Angeles County school system also offered her positions. Again, she declined.
Collins's method of teaching, spelled out in her 1982 book Marva Collins' Way, provides students with a nurturing atmosphere in which they learn the basics - reading, math, and language skills. Gym class and recess are considered superfluous. When writing about Collins and her school, many journalists comment on the familiar sight of young children reading such classics as Aesop's Fables and works by William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer. Each day students write papers and memorize a quotation of their choice. In addition, they are expected to read and report on a new book every two weeks. Collins guides all of this activity with a strong dose of love and personal concern for each student. Any child who has to be disciplined understands that it is the behavior, not the child himself, that is objectionable. In an interview in the Instructor, Collins pointed out that "teacher attitude is very important" and that she believed that the "children should be given a lot of my time. "
In 1982, however, Collins was assailed by criticism from several fronts. Charges against her ranged from accepting federal funds - she had always adamantly claimed that she would not - to reports that she had exaggerated her students' test scores. An independent investigation revealed that Collins received $69, 000 through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). Collins refuted these charges early in 1982 as a guest on the Phil Donahue Show, during which she claimed that the CETA money had come to her through a social services agency and that she had no idea the money had originated in Washington, D. C. A majority of the parents of Westside's students rallied behind her, declaring that they were pleased with the work Collins was doing with their children. Support also came from Morley Safer who had stayed in contact with Collins after her appearance on 60 Minutes. Kevin Ross, a former Creighton University basketball star, would no doubt agree with Safer. Ross came to the Westside Preparatory School in the fall of 1982 because he had not acquired basic education skills after four years of college. Working with Collins, Ross was able to double his reading and math scores and triple his language score within one school year. Collins chose Ross to deliver the commencement address at Westside's eighth grade graduation. He was quoted in Newsweek as telling the graduating class to "learn, learn, and learn some more" so that the debate on the potential of inner-city school children would become "as obsolete as covered wagons on the expressway. " Others also support Collins's work. She received donations from many individuals, most notably rock star Prince, who became cofounder and honorary chairman of Collins's National Teacher Training Institute, created so Collins could retrain teachers using her methodology.
Collins later resigned her position at the school but continued working with the Westside Prep staff and traveled widely to promote her ideas. The school was closed in 2008 owing to a shortage of funds.
Collins died on June 24, 2015 in Beaufort County, South Carolina, aged 78, while in hospice care.
Achievements
She founded the private Westside Preparatory School, which welcomed students who had been rejected by other schools and labeled disruptive and "unteachable. " By offering a plethora of individual attention tempered with strict discipline and a focus on reading skills, Collins was able to raise the test scores of many students, who in turn went on to college and excelled.
In 1981 she won Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged. In 2004, Collins received a National Humanities Medal, among many awards for her teaching and efforts at school reform.
A firm believer in the value of a teacher's time spent with a student, Collins rejected the notion that the way to solve the problems faced by U. S. schools was to spend more money.
Quotations:
"Teachers need nothing more than books, a blackboard, and a pair of legs that will last the day. "
"It takes an investment of time to help your children mature and develop successfully. "
"[My father] never presumed that any task was too challenging for me to try nor any concept too difficult for me to grasp. He gave me assignments that helped build my confidence and gave me a sense of responsibility. "
"All of that means nothing, except what I get for the children. Those were fleeting moments. .. . Being a celebrity isn't important. It's what the children learn that's important. "
"I take the children no one else wants. "
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"I'm convinced that Marva Collins is one hell of a teacher. " - Morley Safer
Connections
She met Clarence Collins, a draftsman, whom she married on September 2, 1960. She had two sons - Patrick and Eric - and one daughter - Cynthia.
