RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — For Dr. Elisabeth Alderman, class is always in session.
“Colleges really don’t prepare them for discipline, and it makes a difference,” she said.
The 84-year-old educator turned entrepreneur is passionate about helping teachers.
“We always talk about what teachers do to students, but we don’t talk about what students do to teachers,” Dr. Alderman said.
The Riviera Beach native took on the topic of teacher abuse while working on her PHD at Florida State University in the 1980’s.
“I wrote my book, it was the first book to be written in the state of Florida and the second in the United States,” she said. “Then they just got a chance to see that it wasn’t just Black students causing problems.”
Gwendolyn Taylor calls her a mentor.
“She has influenced me in so many ways,” Taylor said.
Taylor, a high school counselor says Dr. Alderman’s efforts made her more confident in her profession.
“It’s always inspiring when you see someone like Dr. Alderman pushing forward for teachers in the classroom and other educators to have their support,” she said.
“I like for them to know that I was one of the people that did make a sacrifice for them,” Dr. Alderman said. “Especially, my children.”