Former Special Education Teacher Kate Capshaw: She is Not Doomed!

Many talented educators have made their mark in fields other than education. This is certainly true of former teacher Kate Capshaw, a Hollywood actress who is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. She is also married to famed director Steven Spielberg.

Kate was born on November 3, 1953, in Fort Worth, Texas, of humble origins. Her mother was a travel agent and beautician, and her father was an airline employee. When Kate was only five years old, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where in 1972 she graduated from Hazelwood Central High School.

After her high school graduation, Kate earned a bachelor's degree in history education and a master's degree in special education, both from the University of Missouri. She accepted her first teaching position as a special education teacher at Southern Boone County High School in Ashland, Missouri. Later she transferred to Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. During her years as an educator, she married and divorced Robert Capshaw, a school principal. The union produced one daughter.

After some years in the classroom, Kate moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting, landing her first role on the soap opera The Edge of Night. She also starred in Dreamscape in 1984, SpaceCamp in 1996 and How to Make an American Quilt in 1995. During the filming of Indiana Jones, Kate began a relationship with Spielberg, which eventually resulted in her conversion to Judaism and their marriage in 1991. The couple have five children in addition to Kate's daughter from her first marriage.

A School Child's Memory of the Assassination of President Kennedy

 

Much has been said in the news this past week about the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As an individual old enough to remember this historical event, this extensive news coverage triggers a strong and vivid memory of that painful day.

As an eight-year-old, I spent that day in my third grade elementary class. My fellow classmates and I had gone out to lunch. The school yard rang with the happy outbursts of girls playing hopscotch and boys playing dodge ball. We girls were all dressed in our little 60's dresses with fitted bodices, puffed sleeves, defined waists, flared skirts, and peter pan collars. In those days, girls never wore pants to school. Most of us swept our hair up into pony tails; the boys sported buzz cuts. In the innocence of the hour, we enjoyed our play. Then the bell rang signalling our free time was over, and we reluctantly returned to our academic labors.

Once inside the classroom, however, a sight I had never seen before confronted us. My teacher was weeping, and this frightened me, because I had never seen a teacher cry before. We children counted on adults to be always strong and brave, to guide us and protect us in every circumstance. Through her tears, my teacher told us the president had been shot, and that he had died as a result of his injuries. Then she instructed us to go to the window, as the flag was to be lowered to half-mast, and she wanted us to witness this. Perhaps her true motivation was to momentarily direct our eyes and attention away from her grief-ravaged face. As she intended, I have never forgotten the slow and deliberate descent of our country's fabric emblem, the lowering of which symbolized the depth of despair at our nation's loss.

In the thirty-three years that I have been an educator, several catastrophic historical events have occurred during school hours---the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, September 11th. Then it has been my duty to shepherd my students safely through a tumultuous day in our nation's history. I cannot in all honesty say that I did this with better control of my grief than my third grade teacher did, but I did my best. When the signalling bell of history rings, that's all any of us can ever do.

Michigan Teacher James E. O'Neill, Jr., Was Also a Highly-Respected Politician

Many talented teachers are also accomplished in the political arena. This is certainly true of high school teacher James E. O'Neill, Jr., who also served in the House of Representatives for the state of Michigan.

James was born in Saginaw, Saginaw County Michigan, on May 26, 1929, and was a lifelong resident of that city. Saginaw is also the birthplace of Motown musician Stevie Wonder. James O'Neill earned his degrees from Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan. He served in the United States Army during the years of 1951 to 1953. In his younger years, he worked as a high school teacher and an elementary school principal in Hemlock Public Schools.

James was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent the 85th District from 1967 to 1992, and the 95th District from 1993 to 1994. While serving in the Michigan State Legislature, he was a tireless advocate for schools and education, a respected source of information on school finance, and a key contributor to landmark changes made by legislation that established per-pupil student foundation grants for every school district in the state. "When you hear the old line that money will not buy a quality education, it's almost always someone from a wealthy district," he was expressed. "But if you talk about anything that would limit their money, they don't want to hear it." Today, this legislation is hailed by Democrats and Republicans alike as an innovative step toward improving equity among all state school districts. James was also a strong supporter of Saginaw Valley State University. He is credited with playing a critical role in securing much-needed state dollars for the college's expansion. The arena in the Ryder Center on the campus was named in his honor in 1989. Highly respected, this talented politician and educator retired after twenty-eight years of dedicated service in the Michigan House. He was also a member of the American Legion and the NAACP.

This talented educator and politician passed away on December 31, 2002, at the age of 73.

Alaskan Pioneer Orah Dee Clark: She Was the First Superintendent of the First School in Anchorage

Many talented educators were pioneers as well. A fine example of this is educator Orah Dee Clark, a teacher who is best known for being the first superintendent for the first school in Anchorage, Alaska.

Orah was born in 1875 in Firth, Nebraska. She started her teaching career in 1906, when she was hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to teach in the Territory of Alaska. She worked in a number of remote outposts, including Kodiak, Anvik, Tanana, and the Aleutian Islands. In 1915, she was named the first superintendent of the first school in Anchorage. After leaving her position in Anchorage, she helped establish schools up and down the railroad belt in towns including Wasilla, Eske, Fairview, and Matanuska. She also taught in Unga, Kennicott, Ouzinkie, Takotna, Kiana, Nushagek, and Moose Pass. This amazing pioneer concluded her fifty-one-year career when she retired in 1944. A champion of Native Alaskan rights, Orah always believed that all children should be integrated into schools that fostered individual growth. Throughout her career, she was a strong advocate for schools where Native Alaskans and white students would attend school together.

Clark Middle School in Anchorage was opened in 1959 and named in her honor. In the early days of the school, Orah visited the campus often. It is said the students enjoyed talking with her between classes and after school. In 1962, Orah was awarded the Scroll of Honor by the Cook Inlet Historical Society. In 1980, the school where she served as the first superintendent, the Pioneer School House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2009, Clark was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. Her personal papers are held in the collection of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Anchorage Museum holds a collection of photographs she once owned. Every year, the Anchorage Women's Club awards a high school scholarship for boys and girls named after Clark.

This remarkable educator passed away in 1965.

Math Educator Timothy Kanold: A True Chalkboard Champion

One of the most exceptional chalkboard champions in the field of math education is Timothy D. Kanold, a retired high school mathematics educator and author of math textbooks. At the age of 14, Tim decided he wanted to be a math teacher. "It never occurred to me to do anything else," he once said. This outstanding educator earned his bachelor's degree in education and his master's degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership and counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Timothy was employed for twenty-one years at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. For the last seventeen of these years he served as his school's director of mathematics and science. He retired from the teaching profession in 2007, and served as the president of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics from 2008 to 2009.

With his co-author Ron Larson, Timothy Kanold has written twenty-seven high school and junior high school mathematics textbooks. Even after his retirement, he continues to write and present for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics on topics related to the principles and standards for school mathematics, as well as for AASA and NASSP. He is the lead author for NCTM’s update of the Teaching Performance Standards Document, and has presented more than six hundred speeches and seminars nationally and internationally over the past decade. The primary focus of these speeches is the creation of equitable learning experiences for all children in mathematics.

Timothy has earned much recognition for his outstanding work. He is the 1986 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, the 1991 recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Illinois State University, the 1994 recipient of the Outstanding School Administrator Award from the Illinois State Board of Education, and the 2001 recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award from Addison Trail High School. He also is the developer and presenter for New Dimensions in Leadership: Leading in a Learning Organization, a training program for future school administrators. Considered to be teacher of leaders, he currently presents leadership training for school administrators on behalf of Solution Tree and mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment workshops for NCTM and NCSM.

Timothy Kanold: a true chalkboard champion.

We Honor Our Chalkboard Champions Who Are Also Veterans

When celebrating our nation's veterans today, I like to remember that many of them are also chalkboard champions.

I think about Henry Alvin Cameron, an African American schoolteacher who served as an officer in the United States Army during World War I. Henry taught science and coached basketball at Pearl High School in Nashville, Tennessee. At the age of 45, well past the usual age of enlistment, Henry answered the call for African Americans to serve as officers in all-black regiments that were deployed to Europe. Henry served in France and, tragically, was killed in the Battle of the Argonne Forest just days before the war ended. Henry Cameron is pictured here at right.

And then there is Braulio Alonso. Braulio began his teaching career as an instructor of physics and chemistry courses at Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, but when World War II erupted in 1941, he became part of the United States Army. He was immediately sent to officer candidate school, and later he became part of the 85th Infantry Division in North Africa. The teacher-soldier was promoted to Battery Commander for the 328th Artillery Battalion, taking an active part in the Italian campaign. He was among the first Allied soldiers to liberate Rome. By the time he was discharged from the service, Braulio had earned a Bronze Star with Cluster and a Purple Heart. This distinguished veteran is pictured here at left.

Another chalkboard champion is veteran LouAnne Johnson, an educator, author, journalist, and former servicewoman in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marines. LouAnne is best known for her book My Posse Don't Do Homework, which was adapted as the film Dangerous Minds  starring Michelle Pfeiffer in 1995, and a television series starring Annie Potts in 1996.  LouAnne enlisted in the Navy in 1971, and served at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. She served nine years on active duty, achieving the rank of Petty Officer First Class. She later transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps, where she rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant. Throughout her military service, LouAnne earned the Navy Commendation Medal and the Air Force Achievement Award for her work as a journalist and ​radio-television broadcaster.

After her years of service in the military, LouAnne became an educator at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where she began teaching reading and writing to non-English speakers as an intern. Two years later, she was appointed department chair of a special program for at-risk teens. During the government evaluation of ten similar pilot programs, LouAnne's group was rated first in academic achievement, increased self-esteem, and student retention. Since then, LouAnne has taught English, adult basic education, developmental reading, and writing at high schools and colleges. LouAnne is pictured here at right.

These are but three examples of remarkable Americans who have given years of devoted service to our country in our military, and who have also given years of dedicated service to our kids as fine teachers. We thank them for all their service!

Remembering Chalkboard Champion Jaime Escalante

One of the most well-known teachers in twentieth-century American history, Jaime Escalante, passed away in 2010, but already his story is fading from our collective cultural memory. Recently I conducted an informal poll of the students, and even a few of the younger teachers, at my Southern California high school. "Do you know who Jaime Escalante is?" I questioned them. Almost every one said they didn't, until I mentioned he was the teacher portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver. The recipient of numerous awards and special praise from President Ronald Reagan, Jaime Escalante was a popular and talented teacher who challenged supposedly "unteachable" inner-city Latino students to achieve beyond a level anyone thought them capable of, eventually leading them to unparalleled success on the extremely difficult Advanced Placement Calculus exam. In researching the life story of Escalante for my own book, Chalkboard Champions, I learned some surprising facts about this remarkable educator. For example, the movie never mentions that prior to immigrating to the United States, Escalante earned a degree in mathematics and a teaching credential in Bolivia. Escalante was a veteran teacher with nine years of experience in prestigious schools when he decided to leave his politically unstable homeland and come to America in search of a better life for his family. Once he arrived, unable to speak a word of English, he discovered that his education, training, and experience held no value here. Determined to return to the classroom, Escalante set about learning the English language and earning his university degree all over again. It took him ten years to get back into the classroom, at a significant cut in pay, by the way, but to this dedicated teacher, it was well-worth the hard work. A well-researched and well-written account of Escalante's life can be found in the biographical book Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America by Jay Matthews. For a condensed version of Escalante's life, check out chapter 12 my volume, Chalkboard Champions. Either way, you'll find his story compelling and inspiring.