LouAnne Johnson is an American writer, teacher and former U.S. Navy journalist. She spent seven years as a radio-TV broadcaster and one year as a Marine Corps Officer, after graduating as Honor Woman in her
Marine Corps OCS class. She was the first woman inducted into the DINFOS (Defense Information School) Hall of Fame.
She is best known for the book ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'', which was adapted as the film ''
Dangerous Minds
''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 to ...
'' in 1995.
She was portrayed by
Michelle Pfeiffer in the film,
[ and by ]Annie Potts
Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in '' Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty ...
in the TV series. She is the author of ten books, including a popular textbook for teachers, ''Teaching Outside the Box'' (Jossey-Bass) and the Young Adult novel ''Muchacho'' (Knopf) which won awards.
Early life and education
Johnson grew up in Youngsville, Pennsylvania
Youngsville is a borough in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,729 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Youngsville is located at (41.853460, -79.318614).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a t ...
. After high school, she enrolled at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...
but dropped out after a few weeks and enlisted in the Navy in 1971, serving at Clark Air Base in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. While on active duty, she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology, graduating with honors. Prior to becoming a high school teacher, Johnson also earned a master's degree in teaching English. Later, based on her work designing and presenting staff development workshops and presentations, as well as mentoring teachers, she was awarded an honorary Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from The Sage Colleges
The Sage Colleges were a private educational institution comprising three institutions in New York State:
Russell Sage College, a women's college in Troy; Sage College of Albany, a co-educational college in Albany; and the Sage Graduate Sch ...
in New York.
Career
Johnson wrote about her experience of the service in her 1986 book ''Making Waves: A Woman in This Man's Navy''. She later transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps OCS. Johnson wrote a book about her experience in the USMC, detailing the sexual harassment that she identifies as the primary reason she left the military, but was unable to find a publisher for that book in the 1980s. While working on her graduate thesis in 1989, Johnson began teaching as an intern at Carlmont High School
Carlmont High School is a public high school in Belmont, California, United States serving grades 9–12 as part of the Sequoia Union High School District. Carlmont is a California Distinguished School.
Carlmont was founded in 1952 as "a sch ...
in Belmont, California. Her memoir, ''My Posse Don't Do Homework,'' was based upon her experiences teaching at-risk teens at Carlmont High, where she taught for four years before moving to New Mexico to attend graduate school in creative writing. In 1995, Johnson taught English at Onate High School in Las Cruces, but left teaching full-time in order to escape the publicity following the movie. She presented staff development workshops around the US and overseas—she was invited to present keynote speeches at the European Council of International Schools and in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. She also taught adult education classes, GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
classes, and English as a Second Language
English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
classes at various colleges. From 2013-2016, Johnson taught high school in Deming and Silver City, New Mexico. Since 2010, Johnson has served as an adjunct instructor in the Teacher Education Department at Santa Fe Community College.
Bibliography
* ''Making Waves'' (1986)
* ''My Posse Don’t Do Homework'' (1992), renamed ''Dangerous Minds'' in 1995
* ''The Girls in the Back of the Class'' (1996)
* ''School Is Not a Four-Letter Word'' (1997)
* ''Two Parts Textbook, One Part Love'' (1998)
* ''Queen of Education'' (2004)
* ''Teaching Outside the Box'' (2005, 2009, 2012)
* ''Muchacho'' (2009)
See also
*''Dangerous Minds
''Dangerous Minds'' is a 1995 American drama film directed by John N. Smith and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It is based on the autobiography ''My Posse Don't Do Homework'' by retired U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who in 1989 to ...
''
*'' Dangerous Minds (TV series)''
*List of teachers portrayed in films
The following real-life inspirational/motivational instructors/mentors have been portrayed in popular films:
* W. H. Balgarnie, inspiration for Mr Chipping, in James Hilton's ''Goodbye, Mr Chips'' and the three movie (1939, 1969, 2002) adaptati ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Louanne
American women writers
Schoolteachers from California
American women educators
Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni
Female United States Marine Corps personnel
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Warren County, Pennsylvania
Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania
21st-century American women