Tag Archives: Veterans

Idaho’s Kelly Carey honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars

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Elementary school teacher Kelly Garey of Idaho has been honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars with a 2023 Smart/Maher National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. Photo credit: Idaho Press

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an exceptional teacher. Today, I shine a light on Kelly Garey, an elementary school teacher from Caldwell, Idaho. She has been honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) with a 2023 Smart/Maher National Citizenship Education Teacher Award.

Kelly teaches second grade at Van Buren Elementary School in Caldwell. In her classroom, she has created a community called Tribes, developing curriculum which emphasizes the use of inclusion activities. Her class concludes each day with a sharing community circle for students to reflect on their day. She also spearheads drug prevention programs and expands her students’ knowledge about patriotic and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) topics. She also helps teach her students about the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance and good citizenship. She has been a teacher for 33 years.

Kelly was nominated for the National Citizenship Education Teacher Award by members of VFW Post 3886 in Caldwell. She earned her honor for her dedication to fostering patriotism, her passion for serving her country and local community, and for her efforts to organize field trips, activities, and services to help her students learn about and recognize the military service of America’s veterans.

This Chalkboard Champion is a retired Navy veteran, with a career in the Navy Reserves that spanned more than 30 years. As a Chief Petty Officer, Kelly worked for the Navy Operations Support Center in Boise. She was also an active member on the Navy Funeral Honor Guard. With this extensive experience, she leads her students and members of her community to understand why veterans choose to serve, the rich history of our nation’s flag, and the genuine spirit of freedom.  She retired from the military in June, 2022.

 

Teacher Samuel Youngs: Revolutionary War veteran

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History abounds with school teachers who have earned fame outside of the classroom. Such is the case with Samuel Youngs, an American school teacher who was a close friend of famous American author Washington Irving. In fact, it has been speculated that Samuel served as the inspiration for the character of Ichabod Crane in Irving’s story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Samuel Youngs was born December 4, 1760. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in the 4th New York Infantry Regiment led by Baron Frederick von Weissenfels. Throughout the war, Samuel served the fledgling American army as a guide over the roads and trails in the county around his home. He was one of a dozen native soldiers who were known as The Westchester Guides. His father’s farmhouse, located near the intersection of Bradhurst Avenue and Grasslands Road in Eastview, was the scene of a British raid during the Revolution.

After the Revolutionary War was won, Samuel served as a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly from 1796-1797, 1809, and 1810. Additionally, Samuel served as a Surrogate of Westchester County for terms of one or more years in 1800, 1807, 1810, 1811, and 1819.

The intrepid school teacher and veteran passed away on September 12, 7051406_1175741520611839. He was originally buried in the yard of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow in New York. There he was honored with other citizens of Tarrytown who fought during the Revolutionary War with a monument, pictured at left. The inscription at the bottom of the monument reads: “This monument is erected by Major General Aaron Ward, 9 division, N.Y.S.M. in testimony of his high appreciation of the services of a brave officer and a true patriot.”

In 1851, Samuel’s remains were relocated to the Dale Cemetery in Ossining, New York. He was the first person to be buried in that cemetery.

Retired teacher Winona Mullis served in US Navy during WWII

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On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, I am reminded that many educators are also veterans. For example, retired teacher Winona Mullis served her country as a WAVE in the US Navy during World War II. Photo credit: USNI News

During those days when our nation is honoring our veterans—days like today, when we observe National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day—I am reminded that many classroom teachers have also served our country in the military. One of these is Winona Mullins, a 100-year-old retired teacher who is also a veteran of World War II.

Winona grew up in Seward, Pennsylvania, but she was a freshman in college at Indiana State Teachers College when Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7,1941. The unprovoked attack resulted in the US entry in World War II. When the young woman returned home for summer break, typists and stenographers were in great demand, and Winona was one among many who answered the call.

In 1943, the college co-ed joined the US Navy as a member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). There she trained as a codebreaker at IBM headquarters in New York City. For the next 27 months, Winona served her country as a Specialist I 3rd Class.

Although her job was on the mainland, Winona had to go through basic Navy training just like any sailor. She learned to march at the WAVES basic training site at Hunter College in New York City. She studied ship terminology, and toured a variety of different ships to learn how each one functioned.

After her training at IBM’s Madison Avenue headquarters was completed, Winona shipped out to a base in Bremerton, Washington, located on Puget Sound. She remembers seeing ships with battle damage, some with holes due to torpedoes, she says. And she also remembers the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the base to address the soldiers.

At the end of WWII, Winona secured the base and closed all the offices. That was in March, 1946. She returned to college in Ohio to complete her formal education, and she became a teacher. She taught for many years in the Detroit area, and then relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut, about an hour north from where she first boarded the train to start her naval career, to teach. In all, her career as an educator spanned 39 years before her retirement.

Even in retirement, Winona has been an active member of her community, volunteering to teach English as a second language, tutoring from her home and at the Greenwich Senior Center and at a local church. In addition, she has worked many blood drives, served as a member of the Representative Town Meeting for a decade, and tabulated absentee ballots for her local registrar of voters.

What an amazing woman! To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to USNI News.

Veterans’ Day: Honoring all veterans, especially those who are also teachers

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Today is a day we have set aside to honor our United States Veterans. But the call to service is something that many service members don’t lose once they are discharged. That’s one of the reasons that so many veterans gravitate towards the teaching professions once their military service is complete. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 2% of teachers in our nation’s classrooms are military veterans.

Military veterans have many personality traits that make them particularly suited for a career in teaching. When entering the teaching profession, veterans are typically older and have had more varied life experiences. In addition, veterans can bring a wealth of leadership qualities to the classroom. An understanding of the importance of discipline, an appreciation of the value of education, the ability to adapt, and the capacity to work well, even under highly stressful circumstances, are some of the qualities that veterans can bring to the classroom. Also, often veterans possess the ability to persevere, which is a trait that is especially needed in a profession that has a high turnover rate.

Another valuable characteristic that many veterans possess is their potential to connect with students from ethnically diverse neighborhoods or lower-economic backgrounds, because many veterans themselves come from such circumstances. They understand from firsthand experience how challenging some school environments can be, and therefore may be more invested in helping to make a difference in such school systems. Furthermore, veterans have been especially trained to accomplish tasks collaboratively.

For these reasons, and many more, veterans are invaluable as Chalkboard Champions. So, today and every day, let’s celebrate our nation’s veterans who are also teachers!

Ohio kindergarten teacher and US Coast Guard veteran Audrey Keagy

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Ohio kindergarten teacher Audrey Keagy served in the US Coast Guard during World War II. Photo credit: WikiTree.

There are many American veterans who have chosen to serve in the classroom after they have served their country in the military. One of these is Audrey Keagy, a kindergarten teacher from Ohio who also served in the United States Coast Guard.

Audrey was born on August 17, 1923, in Jefferson County, Ohio. When she was a child, her family moved frequently because her father worked for the New York Central Railroad.

After she graduated from high school in Ohio in 1941, Audrey accepted a job as an office worker at the Timken Roller Bearing Company in Canton. When World War II erupted, Audrey supported the war effort by working at the Republic Steel company, a factory that assembled airplanes. In October, 1944, she joined the SPARs, the Women’s Reserve of the US Coast Guard. The military sent her to Toledo, where she worked for the duration of the war as a switchboard operator.

Once the war was ended and her service was over, Audrey returned to Canton. There she used her GI Bill benefits to enroll at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where she earned the degrees necessary to become a kindergarten teacher. She was the first person in her family to attend college. “My mother was absolutely thrilled that I was attending college,” Audrey once remembered.

Audrey inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a kindergarten teacher in Canton. Eventually she transferred to the public school system in Williamsburg, Ohio. She taught there for 26 years. After her retirement, she continued to serve her community as a literacy tutor at her local library.

Sadly, this amazing Chalkboard Hero passed away on May 18, 2012. To learn more about Audrey, click on this link to WikiTree.