Marva Delores Collins (née Knight; August 31, 1936 – June 24, 2015) was an American educator. Collins is best known for creating Westside Preparatory School, a widely acclaimed private elementary school in the impoverished
Garfield Park neighborhood of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, which opened in 1975.
Early life
Collins was born in
Monroeville, Alabama
Monroeville is the county seat of Monroe County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census its population was 5,951.
Monroeville is known as the hometown of two prominent writers of the post-World War II period, Truman Capote and Harper Lee ...
, to father, Henry Knight, a businessman who owned a funeral home and worked with cattle, and to mother, Bessie Knight (née Nettles). She grew up in
Atmore, Alabama, a small town near
Mobile, Alabama, during the time of
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
in the American South.
[ When she was young, Collins went to a strict elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse in Atmore, Alabama, an experience which influenced her later in life.] She graduated from Clark College (now known as Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
.[
]
Career
Collins taught school for two years in Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, then moved to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in 1959, where she taught as a full–time substitute teacher in inner–city Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles.
...
system for fourteen years.
Westside Preparatory School
Dismayed at the low levels of learning that she felt some students were experiencing in particular areas, Collins took $5,000 ($25,910 in 2021 dollars) from her own teacher's retirement fund and started a private school on the top floors of the brownstone in the West Garfield Park
West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park.
Neighborhood boundaries
The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St. ...
neighborhood where she lived in 1975.
The school she started was called Westside Preparatory School. Westside Prep became an educational and commercial success. Collins created her low-cost private school specifically for the purpose of teaching low income black children whom Collins felt the Chicago Public School System had mislabeled as being learning disabled. Collins said she had the data to prove that her students were teachable and were able to overcome obstacles of learning via her teaching methods, which she said eliminated behavioral issues and allowed students to flourish.
The one-room schoolhouse of her education influenced her methods. At home her father gave her assignments she believed built her confidence and gave her a sense of responsibility. She felt time spent with students was more valuable than distance-creating audio visual information. Collins and her daughter ran the school for more than 30 years until it closed in 2008 due to lack of sufficient enrollment and funding.
Media coverage
Collins became well-known due to the 1981 TV movie based on her life's work entitled '' The Marva Collins Story'', starring Cicely Tyson
Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...
and Morgan Freeman. She also appeared on a featured news article on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
's '' 60 Minutes. ''Cicely Tyson, who played Collins in the TV movie, said she spent time with Collins to research for the role. The ''60 Minutes'' feature was inspired by a 1970s article written by Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
reporter Zay N. Smith about Collins and Westside Prep.
Kevin Ross
In 1982, Kevin Ross, a 23–year-old Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
basketball player, got to his senior year of college without being able to read. With the assistance of a Creighton booster, Ross enrolled in 7th grade at Westside Prep. With private tutoring by Collins, Ross learned how to read and graduated in May 1983. Ross had difficulties continuing his education, but when he had serious troubles, Collins was instrumental in helping him.
Career highlights
Due to the success of her teaching methods, it was reported that President Ronald Reagan wanted to nominate Collins to the position of Secretary of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, but Collins took herself out of the running for the position. In 1983, Reagan cited Collins during an unveiling of a national program to combat adult illiteracy. She was also asked by president George H. W. Bush to become Secretary of Education, but she declined in favor of teaching one student at a time. In 1994, Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
featured Collins in his music video for " The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." He also donated $500,000 to the Westside Preparatory School Teacher Training Institute, which was created to teach Collins' teaching methodology.
In 1996, Collins was hired to supervise three Chicago public schools that had been placed on probation. In 2004, Collins received a National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...
, among many awards for her teaching and efforts at school reform. During the 2006–07 school year, Collins' school charged $5,500 for tuition, and parents said the school did a much better job than the Chicago public school system, which budgeted $11,300 per student. The authorities complained that this was not enough.
Teaching methods and critics
Collins was known for applying classical education Classical education may refer to:
*''Modern'', educational practices and educational movements:
**An education in the Classics, especially in Ancient Greek and Latin
**Classical education movement, based on the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) an ...
, in particular the Socratic method
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ou ...
, modified for use in primary schools, successfully with impoverished students. Collins criticized the teaching of the students, not the students themselves. She wrote a number of manuals, books and motivational tracts describing her history and methods. In 1982 and in subsequent articles, Collins has been criticized by George N. Schmidt from ''Substance News,'' who claims that Collins' work was fraudulent. Collins denied any fraud. At the time, Collins had both supporters and detractors.
Personal life and death
Collins married to Clarence Collins from September 1960 until his death in 1995. Together, they had three children; Patrick, Eric and Cynthia. Collins died on June 24, 2015, in Beaufort County, South Carolina
Beaufort County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort.
Beaufort County is part of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Stati ...
, aged 78, while in hospice care.[
]
Works and publications
Monographs
* Collins, Marva, Bert Kruger Smith, and Charlene Warren. ''A Conversation with Marva Collins: A Different School.'' From ''The Human Condition.'' Austin, Tex: Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the University of Texas, 1982.
* Collins, Marva, and Civia Tamarkin. ''Marva Collins' Way.'' New York: Putnam, 1990. Foreword by Alex Haley. 2nd ed.
* Collins, Marva. ''Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Teachers.'' Norfolk, VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co, 1992.
* Collins, Marva. ''Values: Lighting the Candle of Excellence: A Practical Guide for the Family.'' Los Angeles, CA: Dove Books, 1996.
Video
* CBS News. ''Marva.'' '' 60 Minutes.'' New York: Carousel Films, 1979.
* Dave Bell Associates. ''Success! The Marva Collins Approach.'' Wilmette, Ill: Television Licensing Center, 1984.
* Collins, Marva. ''Too Good to Be True?'' '' 60 Minutes.'' New York: CBS Video, 1995. - follow up to original ''60 Minutes'' segment.
* Robbins, Anthony, Marva Collins, and Peter Lynch. ''Anthony Robbins' Powertalk! The Power of Life Metaphors.'' San Diego, CA: Anthony Robbins, 2004.
* Holzgang, Conrad, Clifford Campion, Peter Levin, Cicely Tyson
Cicely Louise Tyson (December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson recei ...
, and Morgan Freeman. '' The Marva Collins Story''. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, 2008.
Awards
* 1981: Jefferson Awards for Public Service
The Jefferson Awards Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both national and local levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation ...
- Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged
* 1981: George Collins Award of the Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
* 1982: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...
* 2004: National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
- National Humanities Medalist
* Alpha Kappa Alpha - Honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
References
Further reading
* Davenport, Loretta Powell C. ''Maria Montessori, A.S. Neill and Marva Collins: Educating the Human Potential.'' Ph.D. dissertation, Iowa State University: 1987.
* Collins, P. Kamara Sekou. ''The School That Cared: A Story of the Marva Collins Preparatory School of Cincinnati.'' Dallas: University Press of America, 2003.
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Marva
1936 births
2015 deaths
20th-century African-American educators
20th-century American educators
Schoolteachers from Illinois
20th-century American women educators
Clark Atlanta University alumni
People from Monroeville, Alabama
Educators from Chicago
National Humanities Medal recipients
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American education writers
Writers from Alabama
Writers from Chicago
20th-century American women writers
American women non-fiction writers
20th-century African-American women writers
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
African-American women educators