Waurine Elizabeth (or Isabel) Walker (June 30, 1908 – July 22, 1987) was an American educator based in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. She was elected president of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

in 1954.

Early life

Waurine Isabel Walker was born in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, the daughter of Alonzo "Lon" Singleton Walker and Minnie Lee Rogers Walker. Her father was a railroad conductor. She trained as a teacher at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

. She earned a master's degree from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

. She earned a doctorate in education at Baylor University. In 1955 she was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at

Lindenwood College Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

Career

Walker taught school in Mineral Wells and Waco. She was director of teacher relations and certification for the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. In 1950, she received the Texas State Achievement Award, from the Texas chapter of

Delta Kappa Gamma Delta Kappa Gamma () is a professional society for women educators. History The society was founded on May 11, 1929, at the Faculty Women’s Club at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. The idea was conceived by Annie Webb Blanton, member of ...

. She was president of the Waco Classroom Teachers Association, and the

Texas State Teachers Association Texas State Teachers Association, or TSTA, is the oldest education organization in Texas, affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA). TSTA is led by a full-time state president and vice president, a board of directors, and a democrat ...

. Walker was elected president of the

in 1954. As NEA president, she lobbied for federal school building funds, and appeared on television to discuss education issues. She tied many of her policy positions to the arrival of the

Baby Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. Th ...

in American public schools, requiring more space and more teachers. She gave keynote addresses at the World Federation of Teaching Professions meeting in Norway in 1954, and in Turkey in 1955. In 1955, she spoke at Baylor University's commencement, saying "Neither free speech, nor a free press, nor popular government nor universal education can long endure without a constantly renewed supply of teachers. Upon the character and quality of teachers the effectiveness of all education depends.” As former president in 1957, she addressed the NEA again, in the aftermath of

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

ruling on school desegregation: "Fear to speak out on controversial issues seems to be growing," she said, before exhorting teachers to give students encouragement "to raise questions about economic, social and political issues in today's world." In the early 1960s, Walker was president of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, and worked for the founding of the Texas Retired Teachers Residence in Waco. She was part of a

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

project to study the education of American military dependents overseas, and toured armed forces schools in Western Europe and East Asia. "We found the Japanese-based American school outstanding as compared to European bases," she remarked, noting further than that the European schools excelled in language instruction.

Personal life

Walker died in 1987, in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Waurine 1908 births 1987 deaths American educators Presidents of the National Education Association People from Tyler, Texas Baylor University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni