Dick Ault: PE teacher and Olympic competitor

Posted on by

There are many examples of fine educators who have distinguished themselves in the world of sports. Such is the case with Dick Ault, a high school physical education teacher who competed in the 1948 Olympics.

Richard “Dick” Francis Ault was born on December 10, 1925, in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, the son of the Herbert and Madeline (Dowling) Ault. After his graduation from Roosevelt High School in his home town, Dick attended the University of Missouri from 1946 to 1949. While there, he won the Big 6 title in the 220-yard low hurdles in both 1946 and 1947. In the seasons that followed, he garnered the Big 7 title in the same event in 1948 and 1949. He was also named the conference champion in the 440-yard dash in 1947 and 1949. In 1948, Dick competed in the London Olympic Games, finishing 4th in the 400-meter dash. In 1949, the former Olympic athlete competed in Oslo, Norway, where tied the world record in the 440-yard dash.

In 1950, Dick accepted a position as a teacher and coach at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois. While there, he led his cross country students to the state championship. In 1967, Dick was hired to be a physical education professor at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. There he coached several sports, including cross country, track, swimming, and golf. After a career spanning 29 years, he retired in 1996.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away from complications from diabetes at the age of 81 on July 16, 2007, in Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri. For his outstanding achievements, Dick has earned many honors. He was inducted into the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame (1976), the University of Missouri Hall of Fame (1991), the Missouri State Sports Hall of Fame (1993), and the National Sports Hall Of Fame in Washington, DC (1999).

To read more about this amazing educator and athlete, click on this link: Dick Ault Obituary.

Teacher Juanita Harris supports frontline educational workers

Posted on by

Arkansas kindergarten teacher Juanita Harris supports frontline educational workers through her Teachers Support Teachers program. Photo Credit: Juanita Harris

We know that educators dedicate themselves to taking good care of their students. But there are cases when these teachers dedicate themselves to taking care of their fellow educators, too. One of these is Juanita Harris, a kindergarten teacher from Texarkana. In addition to her work in the classroom, Juanita is founder and CEO of Teachers Support Teachers, an organization whose mission is to provide care and support to fellow educators.

Teachers Support Teachers provides much-needed self-care for frontline educational workers, a group which includes teachers, paraprofessionals, school librarians, cafeteria workers—anyone who spends at least 85% of the instructional day working directly with and for students. The self-care comes in the form of massages, pedicures, funds for supplies, celebratory cookouts, group therapy sessions, and more. “Our mission is to encourage the hearts that shape the minds,” declares Juanita.

This effort is especially important now, asserts Juanita. She notes that educators struggled greatly through the Covid-19 years, but even though those years are behind us, teachers continue to struggle. Many teachers are feeling under-appreciated, under-valued, and under-paid. All over the country, large numbers of them are choosing to leave the profession. “I don’t believe we have a teacher shortage problem,” she says. “We have a teacher retention problem.” She founded Teachers Support Teachers to help address the emotional and professional needs of teachers so that they will stay in the profession.

Through her efforts, Juanita not only provides self-care for educators, but she also supports small businesses in her area. For example, at a recent teacher appreciation event, she partnered with a local teacher supply store, neighborhood restaurants, the community bank, and even a local balloon store.

In the five years since Juanita has founded the organization, the effort has spread to other states, and she is actively working to create a more widespread movement. To learn more, to find out how to become a partner with the organization, or to make a contribution, simply click on this link: Teachers Support Teachers.

Joel Truesdell of Hawaii inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

Posted on by

High school science teacher Joel Truesdell has been inducted into the 2024 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: NTHF

There are many exceptional educators who have spent their careers working in American schools. One of these is Joel Truesdell, a science teacher from the state of Hawaii. For his work in the classroom, Joel has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Now retired, Joel’s career as an educator spanned 34 years. He taught chemistry courses at Kamehameha High School, a private school for Native Hawaiians located in Keanu, Hawaii, from 1987 to 2021. There he worked tirelessly to integrate aspects of Native Hawaiian culture into his lessons and labs. He spent the final year of his career at Tuba City Middle School, a Bureau of Indian Education school in the Navajo Nation of Arizona.

In 1991, Joel founded the Hawaiian culture-based Kamehameha Summer Science Institute in Organic Chemistry of Hawaiian Medicinal Plants, (KSSI). In this program, high school students isolated the bioactive components from medicinal plants identified by legendary Hawaiian traditional healer Papa Henry Auwae, who was recognized in 1997 as a Living Treasure of Hawai‘i. In 2012, Joel added a koa reforestation project along with other cultural practices to his 10th grade Chemistry classes.

Joel’s inauguration into the NTHF is not the only recognition Joel has earned. He garnered the National Science Teachers Association’s Shell Science Teaching Award in 2017. He was the winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in the state of Hawaii in 2002.

Joel earned both his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and his Master’s degrees in Organic Chemistry, both from the University of Maui. He earned his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, in 1987.

The NTHF was founded in 1989 by Emporia State University. The program recognizes dedicated and successful educators throughout the United States through an annual induction ceremony. Located on Emporia State University campus in Kansas, the Hall of Fame honors teachers through a gallery of previous honorees, a Wall of Fame, a museum, and resource center that records the history of education through antique textbooks and other artifacts. 

To read more about Joel, click on this link to an article about him published by Kamehameha Schools. To read more about the NTHF, click on this link to their website.

Kiana Foster-Mauro named 2024 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year

Posted on by

Elementary school teacher Kiana Foster-Mauro has been named the 2024 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Connecticut Education Association

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today, I share the story of Kiana Foster-Mauro, an elementary school teacher who has been named the 2024 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year.

Kiana teaches fourth grade at Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in New London, Connecticut. She has taught there for the past three years. Kiana is passionate about working with her young students. “Every day as a teacher should be a step outside your comfort zone,” asserts Kiana. “I love that every day is a new adventure. I don’t go to work expecting the same thing as the previous day,” she continues. “I love connecting with new students each year and being part of their lives,” she concludes.

Kiana has been a member of the National Association for Multicultural Education since 2018 and was recently accepted to present on facilitating critical conversations around current events, identity, human rights and mental health. In addition, she has been a presenter at conferences at both the national and local levels. She also works as a dance teacher at The Dance Extension, and as a company advisor to the Community Dance Ensemble. 

Kiana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education with minors in History and Human Rights in 2020, and she earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2021, both from the University of Connecticut. While there, she served on the Executive Board of Leadership in Diversity, a student-led organization advocating diversity in education. She also completed a graduate internship with a nonprofit where she developed a human rights curriculum for grades K-4.

To read more about Kiana, click on this link to an article about her published by the Connecticut Education Association.

Sweden’s Vasa Museum offers lesson in maritime history

Posted on by

Author Terry Lee Marzell explores the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. This museum is where the historic Swedish warship known as the Vasa is housed. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

Summer is prime time for teachers—and students—to incorporate travel into their vacation plans. Many people, both young and mature, know that travel, in addition to being fun and intellectually stimulating, is one of the most meaningful learning opportunities available. Last month, I was able to enjoy the fun, stimulation, and learning opportunities to be gained from a tour of four Scandinavian countries.

Scandinavia is a region that abounds with watercraft. When Hal and I were there, we indulged in numerous cruises, and we visited a number of maritime museums. One of these included the Vasa Museum located in Stockholm, Sweden. This museum was built specifically to house the Vasa, a mighty ship of great importance to the country’s nautical history. The vessel is one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions. In fact, more than 35 million people have visited the ship since the Vasa Museum opened in 1989.

The Vasa was a warship that sank in Stockholm’s harbor on her maiden voyage on Aug. 10, 1628. In fact, the ship went down immediately after she was launched for the first time. After 333 years lying hidden on the harbor seabed, the ship was salvaged, fully intact. Today, the Vasa is the world’s best-preserved 17th century ship.

The Vasa was armed with 64 bronze cannons and was magnificently decorated with royal and national symbols, carved and painted in dazzling colors. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

The man-of-war was built on the orders of Sweden’s King Gustavus Adolphus as a weapon for his military campaign against Poland and Lithuania. Constructed between 1626–1627, the Vasa was armed with bronze cannons. In fact, she was one of the most powerfully armed ships in the world in her day. In addition, she was magnificently decorated with royal and national symbols, carved and painted in dazzling colors.

Unfortunately, the king ordered the last-minute construction of an additional deck and the installation of extra cannons. The Vasa had not been designed to carry this extra, upper-deck tonnage. The weight made the ship dangerously top heavy, and therefore precariously unstable. But nobody wanted to incur the ire of their impatient and short-tempered king, so despite her lack of stability, the ship was launched anyway—amid much fanfare and celebration. Shipwrights pushed the vessel out to harbor and held their breath, hoping for the best. Their worst fears were realized. With the first strong gust of wind, the Vasa promptly tilted, swamped, and sank. The sinking not only represented a significant financial loss, but also cost the lives of numerous Swedish sailors—plus their womenfolk and children who were aboard to celebrate the inaugural voyage.

Among the many exhibits in the Vasa Museum are the remains of numerous individuals who went down with the ship. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell

In 1956, the vessel was located on the bottom of Stockholm Harbor, and in 1961, after 333 years underwater, covered in the rich silt of Stockholm Harbor, the Vasa was raised. In the years that followed, she was painstakingly restored. Then the Vasa Museum was built around her, and the facility was opened in 1989.

The museum houses a collection of over 40,000 artifacts, including the intact warship herself, six of the ship’s ten original sails, and two of the original 64 bronze cannons. In addition, the exhibits include the skeletal remains (encased in glass) of at least 15 individuals who went down with the vessel and some objects belonging to those individuals, including clothing, tools, coins, weapons, and cutlery.

Learning about the Vasa would make a great lesson in European history, geography, ship design (and design flaws), the technology used to raise the ship intact, or the science behind her natural preservation in the Scandinavian harbor. If you choose to fit a lesson about this historic ship into your curriculum, you and your students can learn more by visiting the museum website. A virtual tour of the ship is also available.

As always, teach a great day!