Category Archives: Education
Pioneering broadcast journalist and schoolteacher Nancy Dickerson
Pioneering broadcast journalist and schoolteacher Nancy Dickerson
Because of their experience as leaders in the classroom, educators are ideally suited to professions that require grace on a stage. One former teacher who exemplified this grace is Nancy Dickerson, a pioneering broadcast journalist, who was once an elementary school teacher in Wisconsin.
Nancy was born on January 19, 1927, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. After her high school graduation, she first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and then transferred to University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1948.
After earning her college degree, Nancy accepted a position as an elementary school teacher in Milwaukee. In 1951, she moved to Washington, DC. But Nancy dreamed of a career as a broadcast journalist, specifically as a reporter of political news. To achieve this goal, she completed courses in speech and drama at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
The former teacher worked diligently, and was able to realize her goal. In 1960, Nancy was selected to be the first woman reporter to cover the Presidential elections for CBS News. During her time at CBS, she covered the presidential campaigns of Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson, the assassination and funeral of President Kennedy, and key events of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1963 March on Washington. In 1971, Nancy took a major step forward when she launched her career as an independent broadcaster and producer. From 1971 to 1974, she was the first woman to have a daily news program on network television, Inside Washington. In 1980, Nancy founded the Television Corporation of America, where she produced quality documentaries for the Public Broadcasting System.
For her outstanding work as a journalist, Nancy earned many awards. She earned a Peabody Award and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and received honorary degrees from American International College and Pine Manor College.
Sadly, in 1996, at the age of 69, Nancy suffered a stroke. She passed away the next year in New York City on October 18, 1997. She was interred at Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband, John C. Whitehead, a Navy veteran.
To read more about this pioneering chalkboard champion, see her obituary at the The Washington Post.
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Olive Mann Isbell: The California teacher who taught while war raged around her
Olive Mann Isbell, the California teacher who taught while war raged around her.
One relatively unknown figure in California history is educator Olive Mann Isbell. This outstanding lady taught while the Mexican American War raged on around her. She is credited with being the first teacher in a school in the state of California.
In 1846, when Olive was only 22 years old, she and her husband, Dr. Isaac Isbell, made the arduous journey west by wagon train. Western territories had recently severed their relationship with Mexico, and the Isbells arrived just as the Mexican army was poised to attack in an attempt to reclaim the land.
When fighting broke out, Olive and over two hundred American women and children barricaded themselves inside Mission Santa Clara de Asis, while the men were quickly drafted to defend the dilapidated fort. Inside the shelter, Olive sensed the anxiety of the children, so she decided to organize a school to occupy their attention. The newly-arrived pioneer was well-suited to this work, being the niece of the famous educator Horace Mann and an experienced teacher from her home state of Ohio.
The bullets were flying all around the mission, but Olive steadfastly conducted her lessons. Without slates or chalk, without pencils or paper, and with only a few books, the intrepid teacher skillfully conducted her lessons with little more than her experience and her wits. She used a long pointed stick to draw diagrams on the dirt floor. She used charcoal from an extinguished fire to write the letters of the alphabet on the palms of the children’s hands. And she kept a long rifle by her side, just in case.
When Mexico finally laid down their arms and signed a truce with the United States on January 3, 1847, Olive’s Santa Clara Mission School became recognized as the first American school on California soil.
You can read more about this amazing chalkboard champion in my book, Chalkboard Heroes, available on amazon.com.
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Patrick Seitz: Language Arts teacher and Hollywood voice actor
Patrick Seitz: Language Arts teacher and Hollywood voice actor
Many excellent classroom teachers have made their mark in professions other than education. This is the case for Patrick Seitz, a high school Language Arts teacher who has also distinguished himself as a voice actor, script writer, and ADR director. ADR means automated dialogue replacement, and is commonly known as “dubbing.”
Patrick, whose whole name is David Patrick Seitz, was born and raised on March 17, 1978, in Riverside, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. After graduating from high school, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing in 1999, and his Master’s degree in Creative and the Performing Arts Writing in 2005. He earned both these degrees from the University of California, Riverside. Then he went to work as an English teacher at his high school alma mater.
In 2001, the enterprising educator began his career as a voice actor. In this capacity, Patrick has provided voices for several English versions of Japanese anime and video games, performing in over 100 projects to date. In the movies, Patrick is known for his work on the animated movies Inside Out (2015), Monsters University (2013) and Resident Evil: Damnation (2012). He has also done voice over work for video games. He has supplied the voice of Ragna in the BlazBlue series, Scorpion in the last few Mortal Kombat titles, Lucian, Kog’Maw, and Renekton in League of Legends, Arthas Menethil and Garrosh Hellscream in World of Warcraft, among others. As an ADR director, Patrick has adapted and directed over 100 episodes of popular series. He adapted and directed the English dubbed versions of Girls Bravo, Kamichu, Tales of Phantasia, Zegapain, Hell Girl, and Romeo and Juliet.
To learn more about this chalkboard champion, see his biography at FanCons.com.
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Chicago’s Ricky Castro named Illinois Teacher of the Year 2017
Chicago’s Ricky Castro named Illinois Teacher of the Year 2017
It is always inspirational when a member of the teaching profession is recognized for their dedication and hard work. One such dedicated educator is Chicago’s Ricky Castro, a high school World Languages teacher who was named the 2017 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
Ricky was raised in Humboldt Park, a Puerto Rican community on Chicago’s west side. As a youth, he got involved with gangs, ditched school, and struggled in his classes. He credits a caring junior high school teacher for helping him turn his life around. As a young man, Ricky earned his Bachelor’s degree in English from DePaul University and his Master’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Because mentoring was such a positive experience in his own life, Ricky wanted to create similar experiences for students who were struggling with making unwise life choices. Shortly after going to work at Elk Grove, Ricky established Estudiantes Unidos, an after-school mentoring program. The program is staffed by 40 high school student mentors who are paired with Grove Junior High School students that are in need of positive influences. The students meet every two weeks to discuss principles of character and leadership, participate in team-building activities, and work on community service projects. The hope is that these mentors will encourage their younger peers to make wiser decisions with their lives.
Ricky also helps lead Elk Grove High School’s Latino parent outreach organization, Familias Unidas. This organization helps parents become part of the school setting. As part of the outreach, Ricky inaugurated Saturday outreach events out in the community where Spanish-speaking teachers host parent-teacher conferences.
“What makes Ricky remarkable is his constant dedication to long-term solutions,” asserts Elk Grove High School Principal Paul. “He’s not a teacher who only thinks what a class day should be like. He thinks about what a whole society should look like.”
Under his teaching, 80% of Elk Grove’s ninth grade Latino English Language Learners qualified to move into “mainstream” courses in just one year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education website. For his outstanding work with his students and their parents, Ricky was named the Illinois Teacher of the Year in 2017. This award is sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education.
To read more about this amazing chalkboard champion, read this article published in the Daily Herald.
