Two Texas teachers are spotlighted on this short list of teachers who drastically changed the world
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson: Lyndon B. Johnson was often harshly criticized for his handling of the Vietnam War as President of the United States, but before he even made it to Washington, LBJ was a teacher in South Texas. Johnson attended the Southwest Texas State Teachers College and served as principal at a Mexican-American school during a brief break from college. After graduating, Johnson taught at Pearsall High School in Pearsall, TX, and led his debate team to to win the district championship when he taught at Sam Houston High School in Houston.
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Melvin Tolson
Melvin B. Tolson: Melvin B. Tolson has been named the poet laureate of Liberia, and was a scholar of the Harlem Renaissance, but many people today recognize him as the character played by Denzel Washington in the 2007 film Great Debaters. That movie portrays Tolson's life when he was a speech and English teacher at Wiley College in Marshall, TX. Tolson challenged his students to break with convention and led them to the national debate championship at Harvard. His group organized the first debate team at Wiley College and were some of the first black students to compete against white students in the same championships.
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