Marva Delores Collins (1936–2015,) née Knight, was an American educator who broke away from a public school system that she believed was failing inner-city children. She established her own rigorous system to foster independence and achievement among her students.
Born in Monroeville, Alabama, Marva Knight attended Bethlehem Academy, a strict school that had a significant impact on her later teaching methods. She studied secretarial sciences at Clark College in Atlanta, but racial barriers prevented her from working as a secretary. In 1957, she began teaching bookkeeping, typing, shorthand, and business law at Monroe County Training School.
In 1961, Collins joined the Chicago school system. However, she was profoundly disappointed by its indifference toward underprivileged inner-city students, who were predominantly poor and black. Collins set high standards for her students and embraced unconventional teaching methods to address this issue. She relied on traditional memorization techniques and assigned classic texts that others considered too challenging.
In 1975, Collins left the Chicago school system and founded the private Daniel Hale Williams Westside Preparatory School in the disadvantaged Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, with financial support from the government-funded Alternative Schools Network. In 1979, Collins gained national recognition through a report and interview on the television news show 60 Minutes. She received highly positive coverage in magazines such as Time, Jet, Newsweek, and Black Enterprise. CBS even aired a television movie titled The Marva Collins Story in 1981.
In 1982, an educational publication accused Collins of inflating test scores. She also faced allegations of plagiarism, harassing parents about tuition payments, and being associated with right-wing attacks on public education. Despite the controversy, Collins retained many supporters and initiated a teacher-training program to share her methods with other inner-city educators. Collins eventually resigned from her position at the school but continued working with the staff at Westside Prep. She also traveled extensively to promote her ideas. Unfortunately, her school closed in 2008 due to financial difficulties.
In 1982, Collins co-wrote Marva Collins’ Way with Civia Tamarkin, which detailed her educational approach and experiences.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Marva Collins
Don’t try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Teachers
The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Teaching
Can’t make a mistake, can’t make anything.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Creativity
Mr. Meant-to has a friend, his name is Didn’t-Do. Have you met them? They live together in a house called Never-Win. And I am told that it is haunted by the Ghost of Might-have-Been.
—Marva Collins
Topics: The Past, Past
I am a teacher. A teacher is someone who leads. There is no magic here. I do not walk on water, I do not part the sea. I just love children.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Teachers
Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do the best.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Excellence
Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Determination
Success doesn’t come to you—you go to it.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Strength, Success, Success & Failure, Opportunity
There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.
—Marva Collins
Character is what you know you are, not what others think you have.
—Marva Collins
Topics: Character
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Leave a Reply