Kindergarten Teacher Sara Ware Bassett Was Also a Prolific Writer of Novels for Young Adults

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SWBassett[1][1]Talented teachers often earn acclaim in fields other than education. One such chalkboard champion was Sara Ware Bassett, a kindergarten teacher who worked in the public schools of Newton, Massachusetts. Her career as a teacher spanned twenty years, but during these years, she was also a prolific author of books for young adults.

Sarah was born in 1872 and educated in Newton. Her family spent their summer vacations on Cape Cod. After her high school graduation, she attended the Lowell Institute of Design at MIT where she majored in textile design. She then studied writing at Radcliffe and Boston University. In her later years, she divided her time between homes in Princeton and Cape Cod.

She began her career as an author writing a series of non-fiction books for young adults. The series was entitled The Story of Lumber, The Story of Wool, etc., but it was through fiction that her talent was really evident.  Many of her novels focus on love stories and humorously eccentric characters. She wrote over forty novels for young people, most with Cape Cod as the setting. Some of these titles were Within the Harbor, Hidden Shoals, and Flood Tides. The novels usually took place in the town of Belleport, a locale which she created that seemed so real to her hundreds of readers that they could not believe it did not really exist. Many readers made pilgrimages up and down the Cape looking for it! Two of her novels were even made into movies. Her very first novel, The Taming of Zenah Henry, became the movie Captain Hurricane when it was released by RKO. The Harbor Road filmed by Universal became Danger Ahead.

During her lifetime, Sarah cut an unusual figure around town, resembling a character in an English detective novel. She dressed as one would expect Agatha Christie’s character Miss Marple would have dressed, sporting tweed skirts, a man’s shirt, and sensible walking shoes. She was often seen around Princeton as she conducted her daily errands at the post office or the general store.

When she passed away in 1968 at the age of 95, she left a legacy of over 500 books of her own writings and those of her contemporaries to the Boston Public Library. The collection is now part of their Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection.

Chalkboard Champion and Veteran Bob Dettmer Also Serves in Minnesota House of Representatives

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39A[1][1]Many a chalkboard champion has distinguished himself in fields other than education. One such educator is Robert P. Dettmer, a retired teacher who is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Bob was born in 1951 on a dairy farm in Faribault, Minnesota. He attended Bemidji State University, where he graduated in 1973 with his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He earned his master’s degree in education curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas.

Following his college graduation, he accepted his first position as a teacher at Forest Lake High School in Minnesota, where he taught physical education and coached wrestling. He worked there until 2007, when he retired after thirty-four years in the profession.

During Bob’s tenure as Head Wrestling Coach, he accumulated a record of 399-144-2. This record ranks Bob 25th out of 321 high school wrestling coaches in the state of Minnesota. Bob also has received numerous awards as an athlete and as a coach. He was named the  NAIA National Wrestling Champion. He has also been inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Bemidji State Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame,and   the David Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has also earned both High School and College Athlete of the Year awards. During his career as a wrestling coach, Bob has coached 15 individual state champions, 64 individual state place winners, 115 individual state participants, one state team champion, one fourth place, and one fifth place finish. He currently officiates high school wrestling matches for the Minnesota State High School League.

Bob is also a veteran, serving in the United States Army Reserve as a Chief Warrant Officer in the military intelligence branch. In November, 2001, he began a two-year tour of active duty supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also an Army master fitness trainer for soldiers and taught many military courses for the Army. He was honored with his highest military award, The Legion of Merit, upon retirement from his twenty-five-year Army career. This award was given for exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving as Senior Intelligence Technician within the Military Intelligence Readiness Command.

In the Minnesota House of Representatives, Bob represents District 39A, located in the northeastern part of the Twin Cities Metro area. He was elected in 2006 to fill the open seat vacated by Representative Ray Vandeveer, who had made a bid for higher office that year. Bob was re-elected in 2008, 2010, and 2012. In the Minnesota House, this chalkboard champion focuses on the issues of education, health care reform, economic growth, transportation, veterans’ issues, and public safety.

Chalkboard Hero Michael Landsberry of Sparks, Nevada

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1382463286000-Michael-and-Sharon-Landsberry[1][1]Yesterday the entire educational community was saddened to learn of yet another school shooting. This one occurred when a twelve-year-old junior high school student opened fire on his classmates on a playground at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada. As a result of the shooting, our profession lost a highly respected and beloved chalkboard champion, math teacher Michael Landsberry. The teacher was shot in the chest at point blank range while attempting to persuade the student to lay down his weapon. He had stepped between the shooter and a student at which the gunman was taking aim. Two other students were hit before the shooter turned the gun on himself. Because the teacher distracted the gunman enabling many students on the playground to flee to safety, he is credited with saving as many as thirty students’ lives.
Michael Landsberry earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Nevada State University, Reno, in 2001. The forty-five-year-old had been a member of the Nevada Air National Guard and a former corporal in the Marines who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He leaves behind a wife and two stepdaughters.

Olive Mann Isbell: The Chalkboard Champion of the Mexican-American War

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P_32405[1]A little-known figure in California history is educator Olive Mann Isbell, who is credited as being the first teacher in a school conducted in English in California. In 1846, when Olive was only 22 years old, she and her husband, Dr. Isaac Isbell, traveled west by wagon train. The territory had recently been severed from Mexico, and the Isbells arrived just as the Mexican army was poised to attack in an attempt to reclaim the land.

Olive and over two hundred American women and children were barricaded inside Mission Santa Clara de Asis, while the men were quickly drafted to defend the dilapidated fort. Inside the shelter, Olive, sensing the anxiety of the children, 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. 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. This mission school property now belongs to the University of Santa Clara.

You can read more about this amazing educator in Women Trailblazers of California: Pioneers to the Present, available on amazon. I have also included a chapter about this remarkable teacher in my book, Chalkboard Champions, available from amazon.com.

Turn-of-the-Century Chalkboard Champions Found Homes for New York City Orphans

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9780618117123_xlg[1]Have you ever heard of the Orphan Trains? During the early years of the 20th century, there were literally thousands of homeless children living aimlessly on the streets of New York City. The Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organization which still exists to benefit children today, developed a method for finding loving and wholesome homes for many of these children. The CAS organized small groups of children to be transported west and placed them in foster homes on farms and in rural communities. To care for these children, the CAS recruited teachers to escort them, conduct background checks on the prospective foster parents, and make periodic checks on the children’s progress. One such teacher was Clara Comstock, born in 1879 in Hartsville, New York.
Andrea Warren has documented the phenomena of the Orphan Trains very diligently in her book, We Rode the Orphan Trains, available through amazon.com. You can also read a chapter about teacher Clara Comstock in Chalkboard Champions.