In this short video, science teacher, author, and television personality Steve Spangler demonstrates how educators can create unforgettable learning experiences with humor and attention-grabbing science demonstrations. Watch! For more about this amazing teacher, check out his website at www.stevespangler.com.
“In an era of afternoon ten-cent newspapers and all-male newsrooms, Esther Clark, a former elementary school teacher who years later would dodge bullets in Vietnam, established her credentials in Arizona as a versatile and fearless reporter.” So says biographer Carol Cain Hughes about chalkboard champion and journalist Esther Hansen Clark.
Esther Hansen was born on September 9, 1910, in Denver, Colorado. As a young girl, she attended Manual Training High School. Upon her graduation, she enrolled in Greeley College, where future teachers were trained. This institution is now known as the University of Northern Colorado. Once her education there was completed, Esther accepted a position an an elementary school teacher in southeastern Colorado. In 1936 Esther married Frank Clark, and nine years later the couple moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
In Phoenix, Esther became employed as a journalist for the Phoenix Gazette, a post she held for nearly 30 years. During her tenure there, she published news stories about current events in Arizona, including dispatches detailing the Civil Rights Freedom Concert, American Indian affairs, military news, and the conflict in the Middle East. “Some of her achievements read like daredevil stunts,” says Hughes. “She was the first newswoman to fly in a T-33, a B-47 Stratojet bomber, and an F-100 Super Sabre jet that cracked the sonic barrier.” Other difficult assignments included simulating bailing out of a jet at 43,000 feet and traveling to Panama with the US Army to participate in rigorous jungle warfare training. But it was her 1966 stint as one of the first women reporters embedded on the front lines in the war-torn jungles of Viet Nam that have earned her the greatest acclaim. For her pioneering work in the field of journalism, Esther was profiled by Time magazine. She also garnered the coveted Dickey Chapelle Award in 1941. She was recognized with the Marine Corps League Awards for Notable Contributions to the Marine Corps and the Nation in 1971. Actor John Wayne was similarly honored that year.
Esther retired from the Gazette in 1973, and in 1986 she returned to her home state of Colorado. She passed away on August 1, 1990, in Grand Junction, Colorado. She was 79 years old.
For more about this amazing educator and journalist, you can read Hughes’ more detailed account in Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers and Journalists 1912-2012.
In US history, there are many examples of politicians who have been employed as professional educators. One example of this is Adam Ryan Young, a high school social studies teacher who was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates.
Adam was born on December 16, 1982 in Summersville, Nicholas County, West Virginia. He grew up the fourth of five children in a working class family. Following his high school graduation from Nicholas County High School in 2001, Adam enrolled in Glenville State College, located in Glenville, West Virginia There he earned a BS in Behavioral Science, a BA in Social Studies, and a BA in History, all in 2006. He completed the requirements for his Masters in Education in Educational Leadership from Salem International University in 2010. Adam was the first member of his family to earn a college degree.
After working for five years as a professional in the mental health field, Adam sought out a position as a teacher at his alma mater, Nicholas County High School, in 2006. He has instructed courses in civics, government, American history, world history, geography, sociology, and psychology. In addition to teaching at Nicholas County High, he has served as the Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers and the President of the Faculty Senate for his high school.
Running on the Democratic ticket, Adam was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates representing District 41. He served there from 2012 to 2014. While in office, he was a member on the committees for Education; Joint Education; Senior Citizen Issues; and Energy, Industry, and Labor Economic Development and Small Business. During his tenure, he co-sponsored the Nonprofit Youth Organization Tax Exempt Support Amendment, a bill that allows property tax exemptions for nonprofit youth organizations that provide opportunities for education and recreation for young people.
Kudos to Adam Ryan Young, chalkboard champion and politician.
There are many examples of fine educators who have made significant achievements in the political realm. One such educator was Ruth Chickering Clausen, an English teacher from Wisconsin who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve in the US Department of Energy. Ruth was born in 1922 in Bruce, Rusk County, Wisconsin. After her 1938 graduation from high school in Eau Clair at the age of 15, Ruth enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. She graduated in 1945 with a degree in secondary education. At about that time, Ruth married her husband, Donald Clusen, a teacher at the state reformatory. The couple settled in Green Bay, and Ruth accepted a teaching position as an instructor of English and speech. In Green Bay, Ruth joined the League of Women Voters, serving as their environmental chairperson for eight years. She served as the League’s national president from 1974-1978. During this time, Ruth organized the first voter-sponsored presidential debates between candidates Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, the first nationally televised presidential debates since 1960. Her performance during these debates made Ruth so recognizable that she was once spoofed by Lily Tomlin in an episode of Saturday Night Live. Following the election, President Carter appointed Ruth the Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Environment in the US Department of Energy. During this time, she ensured the passage of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. From 1978-1981, Ruth was selected to be a member of the US delegation to the first United Nations Conference on Women in Mexico City. After leaving government service, Ruth returned to the field of education, serving on the Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin from 1983-1992. For her impressive achievements, Ruth was named Woman of the Year by the Ladies Home Journal in 1977. In 1978, she was honored as the International Conservationist of the Year by the National Wildlife Federation. She has also been inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 2001. This chalkboard champion passed away on March 14, 2005, in Bellevue, Wisconsin, from complications from Alzheimer’s. She was 82 years old. She is interred in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
