Tag Archives: Science Teachers

The amazing Freida Riley, inspiration for Rocket Boys

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Freida Riley, the West Virginia educator who inspired the book Rocket Boys and the movie October Sky.

One of the most amazing teachers I ever read about was a West Virginia educator named Freida Riley. This dedicated teacher is responsible for inspiring young students in a small coal mining town to pursue careers in NASA.

Freida was born in 1937 in Squire, West Virginia, to J.F. and Sallie (Beavers) Riley. As a high school student, she attended Big Creek High School, where she was ranked first in her class. Following her high school graduation, she attended Concord College, and then she completed graduate work at Ohio State University and West Virginia University.

After college, Frieda was hired to teach at her alma mater, Big Creek High School in War, West Virginia. She worked there during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s teaching math, science, chemistry, and physics. As an educator, she was described as  dynamic, but tough. She was widely known for her inspiring work with students, including Homer Hickam, Jr., who achieved his seemingly unattainable goal of working for NASA. After Homer retired, he became a highly acclaimed writer, publishing a 1998 memoir entitled Rocket Boys which soared to the top of the best seller lists. In the book, Homer gave a great deal of credit to Freida for his professional success. Eventually the story became the 1999 feature film October Sky, with actress Laura Dern portraying Freida. The talented educator also appeared in Homer’s two follow-up memoirs, The Coalwood Way published in 2000, and Sky of Stone published in 2002.

In the last days of her life, Freida suffered from Hodgkin’s Disease. Nevertheless, she insisted on continuing with her teaching, even when  it was necessary for her students to carry her to her classroom on a stretcher. She passed away in 1969. She was only 31 years old. She is interred at Grandview Memory Gardens in Bluefield, Virginia.

The Freida J. Riley Award was established in her honor and is awarded annually to an American educator who overcomes adversity or makes an enormous sacrifice to positively impact students. The award is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and administered by the Partnership for America’s Future. Concord College has also established an annual scholarship in Riley’s name.

Science teacher Donna Gradel recognized as Oklahoma’s 2018 Teacher of the Year

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Donna Gradel

Oklahoma’s Donna Gradel, a science teacher and girls’ basketball coach at Broken Arrow High School,  recognized as 2018 Teacher of the Year

Oklahoma’s 2018 Teacher of the Year is Donna Gradel, a high school science teacher and girls’ basketball coach. Donna has taught at Broken Arrow High School in northeastern Oklahoma near Tulsa for 21 years. She taught in West Virginia for seven years before moving to Oklahoma.

Throughout her career, Donna has led her students in projects that explore ways they can help improve their local environment. The students have already helped their city to develop and implement low-cost,solar-powered solutions that improve the city’s water quality. The students have also worked on developing aquaponic systems to help feed people living in poverty in Kenya.

Donna once said that  there are three principals at the core of her practice as an educator. “Number One: All students can learn regardless of their starting point, she declared. “Number Two: All students have a sense of purpose, and they want to make a difference in the world,” she continued. “And Number Three: All students need to know that their teacher has a genuine concern for them and is willing to be their champion,” she concluded.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Donna serves as her school’s Science Department Chair and is an advocate for STEM curriculum and facilities. In 2015, she was one of ten educators throughout the nation to the receive the Henry Ford Innovation Nation Innovative Teacher Award. She was the recipient of the 2017 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators which recognized her innovative approach to environmental education. And as if all this were not enough, Donna has also coached her school’s girls’ basketball team to a state championship.

Donna earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1982 and her Master’s degree in 1983, both from West Virginia University.

Science teacher and former MLB pitcher Jim Morris

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Jim Morris

Science teacher and former MLB pitcher Jim Morris

There are many examples of professional athletes who also enjoyed highly successful carers in the classroom. One of these athletes is Jim Morris, a high school teacher and coach who was also a pitcher for Major League Baseball.

Jim was born January 19, 1964, in Brownwood, Texas. Because his father was in the Navy, the family moved quite often during Jim’s childhood. He spent some of his childhood in New Haven, Connecticut; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Jacksonville, Florida. When his parents finally settled in Texas, Jim attended Brownwood High School. He graduated in 1982.

All during high school Jim nurtured a dream of pitching professional baseball. His dream was nearly realized when, in the 1982 amateur baseball draft, Jim signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. However, due to several arm injuries sustained while he played in the minor leagues, Jim was released during the 1987 season. In 1989, the young ball player signed with the Chicago White Sox, but once again was released before he could make it to the Show.

Once Jim retired from baseball, he decided to go back to school. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Science, Kinesology, and Psychology from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, in 1996. Then he became a high school physical science, chemistry, and physucs teacher and baseball coach at Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas.

In the Spring of 1999, eleven years after retiring from minor league baseball, Jim  was giving a pep talk to his high school team about the importance of dreams and hard work. His high school players challenged him to pursue his own dream of pitching in the major leagues, so Jim promised the students that if they won the District Championship, he would tryout for a spot in Major League Baseball one more time. When his students won the title, Jim kept his promise by attending tryouts for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team scout wasn’t really interested in signing the high school coach, but allowed him to tryout so that he could keep his promise. To everyone’s surprise, Jim played exceptionally well, and so, even though he was 35 years old, he signed a contract with the team. He made his MLB debut in September, 1999, and 16 more major league appearances before his arm injuries resurfaced. He was released in 2000, and then played briefly for the Dodgers. Jim retired from baseball in 2001.

In 2001 Jim published his autobiography, The Oldest Rookie. The book was adapted into a film called The Rookie, released in 2002 and starring Dennis Quaid. Today Jim appears as a motivational speaker.

Middle school teacher and former Green Bay Packers football player John Anderson

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John Anderson

Middle school science teacher and former Green Bay Packers football player John Anderson.

Super Bowl fever has hit the nation! As we get ready to enjoy this sports spectacular, I am reminded that there are many examples of gifted athletes who are also talented classroom teachers. One of these is Roger John Anderson, a professional football player who became a junior high school science teacher.

Roger was born on February 14, 1956, in Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. All his life he preferred to be called John. As a youth, John attended Waukesha South High School, where he played both football and basketball.

Following his high school graduation, John enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he studied from 1974 to 1977. While there, he played college football as a linebacker and defensive end. In 1976, this stellar athlete was selected to be a member of the First-Team All-Big Ten Conference. In 1977, he was named a First-Team All-American.

In 1978, John played the first of 12 seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round. During these years, he was selected by the Packers as their Most Valuable Defensive Player three times. By the time he retired from pro football, John had become the Packers’ all-time leader in tackles (1,020). He was was tied with Ray Nitschke for the career interception mark (25). In 1996, John was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

When John’s career as a pro-ball player came to a conclusion in 1989, he became a sportscaster for WITI station in Milwaukee. In 1998, he decided to teach Earth Science at Brookfield Academy, a non-sectarian, private pre-K-12 school located in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He also served as the linebackers coach for Carroll University in Waukesha. Established in 1846, Carroll University is a private liberal arts college associated with the Presbyterian Church. Carroll was Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning.

Now 62, John retired from his teaching position at Brookfield Academy in 2017. To view a four-minute video interview of this inspirational athlete and educator, click on this link: Alumni Spotlight: John Anderson.

Educator Ben Walker named Alaska’s 2018 Teacher of the Year

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Ben Walker

Outstanding educator Ben Walker of the Anchorage School District named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year.

Ben Walker of Anchorage has been named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year. Ben teaches science at Romig Middle School in the same classroom where his mother, Karen Walker, also taught school.

Ben is originally from Ketchikan. His family moved to Anchorage, where Ben graduated from Dimond High School in 1996. The honored educator earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Following his college graduation, he moved back to Anchorage where he worked in the science industry for ten years. Then he decided become a teacher. “I wanted to do something that was a little more meaningful in my life,” Ben confessed. He enrolled at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where he earned his Master’s degree in Teaching. His teaching career now spans 13 years.

Ben reveals that he works toward making science exciting, integrating hands-on activities into his daily lessons. For example, his students recently collected water from around the city. Then the students examined the samples under a microscope to find various microorganisms and classify them into different kingdoms. “Instead of just saying, ‘This is taxonomy. This is how we classify things,’ ” Ben explained, “we say, ‘Let’s get some real things, let’s bring them in and classify them.’ “

Congratulations, Ben Walker.