Tag Archives: Elementary Teachers

Elementary school teacher and traveling trailblazer Fanny Ruth Blum

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Elementary school teacher Fanny Blum was a traveling trailblazer in her day. Photo credit:San Bernardino Sun

There are many exceptional educators who serve as trailblazers and role models. One of these is Fanny Ruth Blum, an elementary school teacher who traveled the world as a single woman in a time period where this was not typically done.

Fanny was born on May 17, 1935, in the small town of East Lynn in West Virginia, the fourth of seven siblings. As a young child, she was a dedicated student. In high school, she studied journalism and served on the committee that produced the campus yearbook. As a young woman, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Marshall University located in Huntington, West Virginia. She also completed the requirements for her teaching credential there.

Fanny was excited by the prospect of travel, and was certainly a pioneer in her day. As soon as she completed her education, she accepted teaching positions first in the Philippines and then in Germany. As a single woman in her 20’s, she travelled throughout Asia and Europe, where she celebrated the New Year at the Shangri-La in Singapore. She once went skiing with actor rock Hudson and she also once shook hands with John F. Kennedy.

After returning to the United States, Fanny taught in a small mining town in Northern California. There she met and married Caroll Arthur Blum, an engineer. The couple relocated to Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and Stockton. It was while in Stockton that Fanny and Carol expanded their family to include three children. In the 1980s, Carol was offered a professional opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia, and the Blums readily agreed. During these years, the family enjoyed tours of Europe and Africa.

After Carol passed away in 1983, Fanny returned to California with her children, settling in Placencia and accepting a position as a kindergarten teacher. Once she retired, she moved to Murrieta, California, where she lived until her passing on January 20, 2025, at the age of 89.

 

Elem teacher Laurie Basloe garners NYC Big Apple Award

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Elementary school teacher Laurie Basloe has earned a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Eduction. Photo credit: Laurie Basloe

It is always exciting for me to introduce you to an outstanding educator who has gained recognition for the work they do in a public school classroom. One of these is Laurie Basloe, an elementary school teacher who has garnered a 2024-2025 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Education.

The Big Apple Awards recognize and celebrate New York City teachers who inspire students to be their best selves; who model equitable learning with high expectations for the diverse and dynamic needs of all students; who affirm students’ identities; and who enrich their school communities by partnering with families, community members, and community-based organizations. To learn more, click on this link to Big Apple Awards.

Laurie teaches fifth graders at PS 321 (William Penn Elementary School} in Brooklyn. She has taught there since 2013. Before her assignment at PS 321, she taught fifth grade at PS 119 for six years, and before that she taught fourth grade for two years at PS 72.

This remarkable educator has a reputation for being an active leader in her school community. “One of the things I love most about being a teacher is the ability to inspire children through many different experiences,” confesses Laurie. To meet the needs of diversity in her student population, she incorporates the arts—particularly dance, as that is her specialty—and cultural experiences in her curriculum. In addition to the work she does with fifth graders, she serves on the campus Green & Healthy Committee and on the Sunshine Committee.

Originally, Laurie planned to be a professional dancer, even though she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 7. She achieved her dream of becoming a professional dancer when she was selected to perform with the Richmond Ballet in Richmond, Virginia, until injuries halted her dance career. During three years with the ballet’s outreach program in inner-city schools, Laurie began to seriously consider a transition from arts to education. “I discovered I had this passion for teaching kids,” she recalled.

Laurie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Dance from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 2001. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Brooklyn College in 2006.

Eulalia Bourne: She taught in rural Arizona’s mining camps and Indian reservations

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Eulalia Bourne was a plucky educator who taught elementary school in rural areas, mining camps, and Indian reservations throughout Arizona during some of our country’s most challenging periods. Photo credit: Arizona History

American history is full of colorful individuals who made significant contributions to the settlement and development of the West. One such individual is teacher Eulalia Bourne. This remarkable educator, whose career spanned more than four decades, taught elementary school in rural areas, mining camps, and Indian reservations throughout Arizona during some of our country’s most challenging periods: World War I, the Depression, and World War II. This women’s libber was ahead of her time, becoming one of the very few women in her day to own and run her own cattle ranch.

Eulalia thought outside the box in many ways. Every year on the first day of school she would wear a new dress, usually blue to complement her eye color. Every day after that, she wore jeans, Western-style shirts, cowboy boots, and Stetson hats to class. She was once fired for dancing the one-step, a new jazz dance, at a birthday party some of her students attended, because the clerk of the board considered the dance indecent! She even learned to speak Spanish fluently and, when confronted with non-English-speaking students, taught her classes in Spanish, even though it was against the law to do so.

Eulalia is probably best known for producing a little classroom newspaper entitled Little Cowpunchers which featured student writings, drawings, and news stories about classroom events. Today, these little newspapers are recognized as important historical documents of Southern Arizona ranching communities from 1932 to 1943. Additionally, Eulalia published three critically-acclaimed books about her teaching and ranching experiences: Ranch Schoolteacher, Nine Months is a Year at Baboquivari School, and Woman in Levi’s. These volumes, although now out of print, can sometimes be purchased at used book stores and sometimes can be found at online sites featuring royalty-free works. The read is well-worth the search, particularly for those interested in Arizona history.

You can read about Eulalia’s intriguing life in a book entitled Skirting Traditions, published by  Arizona Press Women. You can also find a chapter about her in my first book, Chalkboard Champions.

Elem teacher Mabel Desmond served four terms in Maine’s House of Reps

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Elementary school teacher  Mabel Desmond of Maine served four terms in her state’s House of Representatives. Photo credit: Bangor Daily News

Many exemplary educators have also served our country in political offices. One of these is Mabel Desmond, a teacher who served four terms in the Maine House of Representatives.

Mabel was born on January 30, 1929, in Lower Southampton, New Brunswick, Canada. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1964 from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and her Master’s degree in Education in 1975 from the University of Maine at Orono. She then taught from 1949 to 1994 in public elementary schools in Bridgewayter, Presque Isle, Mapleton, and Ashland. In addition, from 1991 to 1994 she served as an adjunct professor at her university alma mater.

During her long and distinguished career, Mabel earned many honors. For example, in 2001, she received the State Leader in Education Award and Legislator of the Year Award. She also garnered the Alpha Psi State Achievement Award. In addition, she was  a member of the Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Chemical Abuse, and she served as the secretary and past president of the University of Maine-Presque isle Alumni Association. She was also a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (DKG), an organization that promotes leadership opportunities and professional development for women educators.

Mabel’s entry into politics occurred when she was elected to the Maine House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket in 1994. She represented District 146 for four terms, until 2002. While in the legislature, the former teacher served on the committees for Education and Cultural Affairs. She was also appointed by Maine’s Governor John Baldacci to the Maine State Board of Education, where she served from 2007 to 2010, and she served as the Chair for the Maine Education Research Institute.

While working on the Education Committee, then Governor King’s Maine Learning Initiative (popularly known as the Laptop Project) was voted “Ought not to pass,” and it wouldn’t have passed, except for one lone dissenting vote cast by Mabel. Because of her vote, the initiative ultimately was adopted, and a laptop was made available to every seventh and eighth-grade student in the state of Maine so they could use it during their school years.

Sadly, Mabel passed away on March 2, 2023, in Mapleton, Maine. She was 94 years old.

Educator Catherine Bell of Texas, member of her state’s Hall of Fame

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For her extensive body of work as an educator, former classroom teacher and administrator Catherine Bell was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: Texas Woman’s University

Many excellent educators achieve honors of distinction for their work in the profession. One of these was Catherine Bell, a classroom teacher, administrator, educational innovator, and teachers’ union leader from Texas. For her extensive body of work as an educator, she was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.

Catherine Bell was born on June 29, 1907, in Groveton, Texas. After her graduation from high school, young Catherine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Bachelor University. She earned both her Master’s degree and her PhD from the University of Houston, and she also completed courses at the University of Chicago.

After earning her degrees, Catherine accepted a position as a teacher in the Houston Independent School District, where she taught for 11 years. She spent the next four years as a principal at Port Houston Elementary School. She spent 14 years as the District’s Assistant Director of Elementary Education, and then was appointed the Director of Elementary Education, where she served for nine years. In addition, she served as the Area IV Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Schools, and then as Assistant Superintendent for K-12 Basic Skills. During these years, she co-authored the Developmental Science Series and Skill Building Series books.

In addition to her work as an administrator, Catherine served as a member of the White House Conference on Education in both 1955 and 1960. She represented the United States at The World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession in Paris, Dublin, Abidjan, and Sidney. She was also a member of both the Board of Examiners on Teacher Education and of the Texas Commission on Science. In addition, she was elected president of the Texas State Teachers Association in 1954.

In all, Catherine served as a professional educator for 47 years. She retired in 1976. For her body of work in the field, Catherine was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1984. Kate Bell Elementary School in Houston was named in her honor. She was also named a life member of the Texas State Teachers Association and an Honorary Life Trustee of the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation.

Catherine Bell passed away on Feb. 25, 2003. She was 95 years old.