Author Appearance at Local Library

!On September 15, 2012, I was fortunate enough to appear as a guest author at the Glen Avon Public Library in Jurupa Valley, California. This was a great opportunity to share my recently published book, Chalkboard Champions, with other local authors and library visitors who attended the annual event. The Glen Avon Friends of the Library took very good care of us, providing a sack lunch from Subway plus other snacks and goodies. I also got to learn about some new technology which the Riverside County Library System (RCLS) has added to its catalogue of patron services. In addition, I'm very excited that the RCLS has added seventeen copies of my book to various branches within their network. I hope to be invited to more of these author events in the future!

Educators of the Wild West Spotlighted in Book about Frontier Teachers

Between the years of 1847 and 1858, more than six hundred women left their comfortable, civilized homes and traveled across the country to teach in America's frontier schools. These women dedicated their lives and their talents and overcame untold hardships to educate the children of the Wild West. The true stories in this book, Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West by Chris Enss, spotlight twelve of these most amazing teachers.

 

One of the most compelling tales is that of Olive Mann Isbell and Hannah Clapp, who opened school each day armed with guns to protect their students from hostile natives, and Sister Blandina Segale, who became a teacher to outlaws, including Billy the Kid, and Eliza Mott, who taught her students the alphabet using the inscriptions on tombstones because she didn't have any textbooks or supplies.

 

In addition to these compelling stories, the volume possesses numerous high-quality black-and-white photographs of the teachers and their classrooms, plus a handy appendix furnishing additional details about teaching in frontier schools. The book is a treasure-trove of information for anyone interested in the history of education during this particular time period.

 

If you're interested in finding out more about these historic women, you can find this book at amazon.com through the following link: Frontier Teachers.

Gladys Kamakuokalani Brandt: A Champion of Hawaiiana

This beautiful lady is teacher Gladys Kamakuokalani Brandt, a Native Hawaiian old enough to have attended the funeral services in 1917 of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reining monarch of Hawaii, and yet young enough to witness the unprovoked attack upon Pearl Harbor in 1941 which precipitated World War II. Gladys began her career as a teacher, working in public schools and eventually becoming an instructor  at the prestigious Kamehameha Schools, a private institution set up to educate Native Hawaiian students.

 

As a youngster, Gladys was deeply ashamed of her Hawaiian heritage, so much so that she rubbed her face with lemon juice to lighten her complexion. By the time she became the principal of Kamehameha Schools, however, she fought tirelessly for the inclusion of courses to preserve Native Hawaiian culture, supporting instruction in Hawaiian language, song, and the controversial standing hula dance which had been forbidden by the school's trustees. The story of her work is an inspirational one.

 

Equally inspirational is the story of the dedication and sacrifice of Hawaii's teachers in the days and weeks following the bombing. From serving as ambulance drivers, setting up shelters for survivors, teaching their students how to use gas masks, taking their students into the sugar cane fields to harvest the crops, and re-establishing some semblance of order for their students when school resumed, their deeds are truly remarkable. You can read about Gladys and her fellow Hawaiian teachers in Chalkboard Champions.

The Inspirational Stacy Bess

Here is a teacher who is truly inspirational: Stacey Bess of Salt Lake City, Utah. As a first-year teacher, Stacey landed in a classroom set up in a storage shed in an area homeless shelter. The facility was literally referred to as the School With No Name. As you can imagine, her students wrestled with a variety of issues, including unstable living arrangements, domestic abuse, poverty, and alcohol and drug-abusing parents. Not the most desirable circumstances for learning. But this remarkable teacher created a safe and loving classroom environment for her kids. She went to battle with the local school board for a more suitable teaching space and better resources. And, oh, yeah, she raised her own family and defeated cancer at the same time.

 

You can read the story of the dynamic Stacey Bess in Beyond the Blackboard, available through amazon.com.

Elaine Goodale Eastman: Sister to the Sioux

One of the most fascinating books I have read in recent times was Sister to the Sioux: The Memoirs of Elaine Goodale Eastman (1863-1953). This inspirational teacher was born and raised in New England, but decided to give up all the comforts of home to travel to a South Dakota Indian reservation. She wanted to establish a day school for Sioux Indians because it was her strong belief that it was better to educate Native Americans in their tribal environments rather than follow the alternative practice, which was to take the children out of their homes and send them far away from home and family to Indian boarding schools. Before long, this talented classroom teacher was promoted to the position of Superintendent of Indian Education for the Two Dakotas. While serving in this capacity, Elaine witnessed the Wounded Knee Massacre, and with her fiance, Santee Sioux Indian Dr. Charles "Ohiyesa" Eastman, nursed the Native American survivors back to health. Great story, well worth taking the time to read. You can find this book on amazon.com at the following link:

 

Sister to the Sioux: The Memoirs of Elaine Goodale Eastman

 

If you prefer, you could read a chapter about her in my book, Chalkboard Champions. See the following link to amazon.com:

 

Chalkboard Champions

 

Enjoy!

Chalkboard Champions Has Been Added to Four University Libraries

Have you ever heard of WorldCat? The word stands for "World Catalogue," a web site that offers a truly great service to bibliophiles. If you go to this site and type in the title of a book you are seeking, WorldCat will tell you which libraries possess the book in their catalogue, in geographical order from the library nearest to you to the one that is farthest away. It's a great way to cut down on the time you spend looking up the book in each individual library through their internet catalogues, or even from having to drive around town from library to library. Once you have determined where the title can be found, you can click on a link to that library to discover how you can check it out. I have even found some things I've been looking for available in ebook versions available to the public. Those I simply opened up and read right there online. If no library close to you owns the book, WorldCat will tell you where the volume can be purchased and the price you can expect to pay.

Through WorldCat, I discovered something that gave me a personal thrill. My book, Chalkboard Champions, has been added to the library catalogues of four prestigious colleges. They are: The University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Salem State College Library in Salem, Massachusetts.

Teacher Charlotte Forten Grimke: A True Champion

One of the most heroic teachers I have ever heard of is an African American woman named Charlotte Forten Grimke. This amazing woman, who was born a free black in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1837, became a teacher of newly emancipated slaves in Port Royal, South Carolina, during the Civil War. After the Union Army pushed through the area, freeing the slaves, the government recognized that these citizens desperately needed assistance in basic literacy skills and vocational training on how to take care of themselves. Grimke agreed to travel to the South, despite the high risk to her own personal freedom and her rather delicate health. While the war raged on around them, she set up a school and diligently held classes for students who ranged in age from kinders to grandparents. When the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an all-black regiment, suffered high casualties at Fort Wagner on July18, 1863, Grimke left her classroom with a substitute teacher and went to the soldiers' aid as a nurse and letter writer at the nearby hospital where the injured had been taken.

 

You can read her fascinating story in her own words through her very copious journals, The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke, or you can read a shorter chapter about her life in my book, Chalkboard Champions. Either way, the story is a good read.