Blind and Teacher of the Blind, Chalkboard Champion Genevieve Caulfield

Our nation's special education students are truly fortunate to have talented and dedicated teachers working tirelessly on their behalf. One such teacher was Genevieve Caulfield, a teacher for the blind who was, herself, visually challenged.

Genevieve was born on May 8, 1888, in Suffolk, Virginia. When she was only two months of age, she lost her sight when a doctor accidentally spilled a bottle of corrosive medicine over her eyes. A later operation restored some sight to her right eye, but for the rest of her life she saw only shades of gray. Despite her handicap, she taught herself to live like a sighted person, and to be independent and useful.

Genevieve was seventeen years old when an incident involving prejudice and a lack of cultural understanding prompted her to choose a career in teaching. She determined to learn about Japanese culture while helping the blind in their country. It took the persevering  young lady fifteen years to achieve her goal. By then she qualified as a teacher of English, practiced teaching to the blind, and proved she could survive on her own and earn a living.

In 1923, Genevieve traveled to Japan, where she taught English and Braille to blind students. In 1938, after learning that in Thailand, blind children were considered throw-away children, she mastered the difficult Thai language, traveled to that country, and founded the Bangkok School for the Blind, an institution partially financed by her own savings. When World War II ended, the hardworking educator opted to remain in Bangkok and continue her work with her school. From 1956 to 1960, at the invitation of the government of VietNam, Genevieve organized a school for the blind in Saigon. This institution also served as a rehabilitation center for boys.

This chalkboard champion received several honors for her many dedicated years of service. In 1961, Genevieve was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding. On December 6, 1963, seventy-three-year-old Genevieve received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work for the blind in Asia. The award was authorized by President John F. Kennedy, but due to the young president's assassination, the honor was bestowed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1960, Genevieve published an autobiography about her achievements entitled The Kingdom Within.

This remarkable educator passed away on December 12, 1972.

Dr. Gwendolyn Cartledge: She Developed Social Skills Curriculum for Special Education Students

The teaching profession is fortunate to boast a large number of educators who are expert at working with special education students. One such educator is Dr. Gwendolyn Cartledge, a former public school teacher who is now a professor in the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services at the Ohio State University.

Gwendolyn earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1965 and her master's degree in special education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. She earned her doctorate in special education and curriculum and supervision from the Ohio State University in 1975.

After her college graduation, Gwendolyn accepted a position as a teacher in the West Mifflin School District in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. There she taught elementary students with learning and behavior disorders. While there, Gwendolyn encountered a parent who criticized the special education program, pointing out that the school had failed to teach her son critical social skills. Gwendolyn realized the parent was right. This experience challenged the educator to explore methods to fill this vital need.

After she earned her doctorate, Gwendolyn accepted a position as a faculty member at Cleveland State University where she was a facilitator for teacher inservices for educators who worked with students with mild disabilities. In addition, she consulted with various agencies on developing curriculum. Gwendolyn specializes in methods for teaching social skills to children, both those with and those without disabilities. These social skills include speaking assertively, accepting individual differences, giving and accepting criticism, respecting the property of others, helping others participate, and anger management.

At the Ohio State University, Gwendolyn's primary responsibilities include teacher education for students with mild disabilities. In addition, this remarkable educator has produced research and writings that are recognized and cited nationally in teacher preparation programs. She has written several books and articles on these topics.

In recent years, Gwendolyn has shifted her focus to the development of social skills in children with learning and behavior disabilities to students enrolled in inner city schools. Her latest book focuses on classroom and behavior management strategies and successful interventions for culturally and racially diverse children with special educational needs.

For her innovative work, Gwendolyn was honored in 2006 with The Educator of the Year Award from the Ohio State Council for Exceptional Children.

Mary Kennedy Carter: Chalkboard Champion and Civil Rights Activist

Many talented educators are often passionate about social causes and work to make the world a better place. Such is certainly the case with Mary Kennedy Carter, a social studies teacher from Ohio who became involved in the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. Mary is pictured here, on the right, with three of her siblings.

Mary was born on January 13, 1934, in Franklin, Ohio, the youngest of six children. Her father was a barber and her mother was a teacher. In her home, a great deal of emphasis was placed on getting a good education, and the Kennedy children were taught to take pride in their African heritage. In school, however, they were taught that Africa was a continent of savages and that blacks were inferior to whites. As a child, Mary made friends with both black and white children, although she was raised in a segregated community and therefore was subjected to racism all around her. Mary felt the sting of racial prejudice first-hand. When she graduated from high school, she qualified to be the valedictorian of her class, but was not given the honor because of this bigotry.

The sting didn't keep her down, however. Mary enrolled at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Once she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education and history, she taught for several years in predominantly Polish elementary schools in Dayton, Ohio, and in San Diego, California.

In 1963, Mary was granted a teacher's fellowship from Teachers for East Africa, an organization affiliated with Columbia University in New York City, where she had earned her master's degree in Curriculum and Teaching. This fellowship allowed her to travel to Lira, Uganda, to become a trainer of educators at Canon Lawrence Teachers College. Mary said she enjoyed the opportunity to return to the continent of her ancestors, to learn from her heritage, and to finally be part of a majority, as she described it. In Uganda she came into contact with African people of power: presidents, diplomats, and officials of many African countries. She also supervised Peace Corps student teachers and served as an assistant to the director of teacher preparation in the East Africa Orientation Program. At the end of her fellowship, the remarkable educator was asked to stay in Uganda; however, she declined the invitation and returned to the United States.

Once she returned home, Mary moved to New York City to work as an editor and writer for the textbook publishers McGraw-Hill. There she met her husband, Donald Carter. Mary left McGraw-Hill when offered the opportunity to create Black History program for the Roosevelt School District in Long Island, New York. At that time it was an elective for seniors. During the time she worked for Roosevelt Schools, she was able to arrange many prominent speakers to come to the school district, including Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play Major League Baseball, and Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcom X. In time, Mary went on to teach in Rockville Center schools in Long Island, where she established popular after-school youth clubs that promoted diversity, multiculturalism, and anti-violence. This talented teacher promoted equality and diversity everywhere she went.

After retiring, Mary became a field supervisor and adjunct professor at Hofstra University, where she worked closely with student teachers. She also worked with the New York State Council for the Social Studies as part of a team that developed and field-tested an anti-racism curriculum entitled New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance. In 2005, the curriculum won the Program of Excellence Award from the National Council for the Social Studies.

In her later years, Mary Kennedy Carter was a member of the New York State Amistad Commission, an organization established by the state legislature to research the best way issues of race could be taught in America's social studies classrooms. Near the end of her career, Mary became a professor at Hofstra University in Long Island where she supervised student teachers, conducted workshops, and taught social studies methods and educational issues classes. Most of her students were white and were raised in largely white suburban communities, so a major focus of her courses involved helping them to recognize the importance of diversity. "All students need to know the history of Africa and Egypt and the contributions they have made to world history," Mary once expressed. "This is not just something to be taught to black children. They also all need to understand that many white people played important roles in the struggles for minority rights."

Mary Kennedy Carter was also a published author. In 1970 she published the book On to Freedom, a 55-page narrative about a slave family planning to escape to freedom. In addition, the talented educator contributed to some editions of Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study.

This chalkboard champion and Civil Rights activist passed away on December 14, 2010. She was 76 years old.

Schoolteacher Winchel D. Bacon: Participant in the Underground Railroad

In many cases hardworking school teachers become involved in important social causes. This is certainly the case with Winchel Daily Bacon, a schoolteacher, farmer, businessman, and politician from Waukesha, Wisconsin, who participated in the Underground Railroad. 
Winchel was born August 21, 1816, in Stillwater, New York, the son of Samuel and Lydia Barber Dailey Bacon. For two years, he worked as a clerk in Troy, New York, before joining his parents in their 1837 move to Butternuts, New York. On July 4, 1838, the young Winchel married Delia Blackwell, a native of Butternuts. For four years the couple ran a farm in Butternuts, while Winchel taught school in the village during the winters.

On September 2, 1841, the Bacons left for the west, traveling from Utica to Buffalo, New York, by steamer, and from there to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From Milwaukee the young schoolmaster and his wife traveled west to what was then called "Prairieville." This town in now known as Waukesha. There they settled for the remainder for their lives, where Winchel continued to farm and teach school. From 1843, this intrepid pioneer ran a local newspaper and engaged in the wagon-making and blacksmithing business, in partnership with his brother-in-law Charles Blackwell and his friend, Edmund Clinton. In 1850 Winchel traded the shop he'd built in Waukesha for a steam-powered sawmill located in nearby Brookfield.

Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the abolitionist schoolteacher participated in the Underground Railroad, even sheltering at least one fugitive slave in his own home. He was also active in organizing first the Liberty Party and then the Free Soil Party in Wisconsin. In 1852, he was elected to a single term in the Assembly from Waukesha as a Free Soiler. Additionally, Winchel took an active role during the Civil War. In 1863, he was appointed paymaster in the army by President Lincoln, and was stationed at St. Louis.

After the war, Winchel used his influence to establish the Reform School located at Waukesha. As an acting commissioner, he had charge of the school's accounts and disbursed the money until the school's completion. For several years he was a trustee of the State Insane Hospital, and he also served as a trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. He was president of the Waukesha Agricultural Society for several years, and also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago University for several years. In addition, Winchel has been connected with Carroll College as a Trustee. He was also a member of the Masonic Order of the Knights Templar.

In his later years, the former teacher was afflicted with heart disease. At the age of 78, Winchel passed away at his home on March 20, 1894. He is buried in Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

High School Social Studies Teacher and Radio Personality George Savarese

Often talented educators make a name for themselves in fields outside of education. This is certainly true of George Savarese, a high school social studies teacher who has also earned recognition as a radio personality and sportscaster.

In 1988, George earned his bachelor's degree in history, political science, and English from Duquesne University, a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh. He earned a master's degree in history in 1991 and a master's in education in 1996, also at Duquesne. He accepted his first teaching position at Pennsylvania Governor's School for International Studies. In 1997, he has been employed as a social studies teacher in the public school system at Mt. Lebanon High School. He also worked for ten years as the educational director of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, an organization which works to foster informed, independent, and critical thinking about global issues that affect the nation and Western Pennsylvania.

For many years George has served Mt. Lebanon as the faculty advisor for the school's National Forensic League team. Under his leadership, George's team advanced to the 2006 State Championship. Throughout his tenure as director of the speech and debate program, he has coached thirteen Mt. Lebanon students to state championships. Five of his students were National Finalists at NFL Nationals, and four of them were named runners-up in the National Championships in their events. For this work, George has been recognized with the Diamond Key Coach Recognition Award from the National Forensic League. In addition, George has served as one of the coaches of his school's Model United Nations team, along with fellow history teacher Peter DiNardo. Under the leadership of these two talented educators, the school's MUN team has consistently been considered among the premier programs in the country.

For his achievements in the classroom, George has been named a Teacher of Excellence by the Teacher Excellence Center, and he was inducted into the Cum Laude Society. He was also chosen as one of ten Pennsylvania teachers to travel to European Union and NATO headquarters in Brussels as part of a EU program in 2004. He was also selected the winner of the Get Involved! Dr. Tom Baker Community Leader Award in 2012. The selection committee chose George for this honor because of his dedication to the community and his passion for making a positive difference in the region.

But the talented teacher has earned recognition in other fields as well. He has served as the host of the Global Press Conference on the World Affairs Council on KQV Radio, and he has also worked for AP Radio and National Public Radio. He currently covers Pittsburgh sports on an intermittent basis for Fox Sports Radio, CBS Radio, and the NFL Radio Network on Sirius XM Radio. Throughout his career, he has interviewed numerous famous sports personalities such as Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Ron Francis, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripkin, Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Troy Polamalu, Heath Miller, and Sidney Crosby.

Chalkboard champion George Savarese is certainly an impressive individual, as a educator, radio personality, and sportscaster.

High School Math Teacher Alma Wagen Whitacre: Pioneering Mountain Climber and National Parks Guide

Many talented educators pursue careers in areas other than education. Such is certainly the case for Alma Wagen Whitacre, a high school math teacher who was also enjoyed an illustrious career as a mountain climber and national parks guide.

Alma was born in 1878 on her grandparents' farm in Mankato, Minnesota. As a young child, she discovered a fierce desire to climb, and because there were no mountains near her home, she began to climb local windmills. This earned her the nickname of "the windmill climber."

After high school, Alma attended the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1903. She then moved to Tacoma, Washington, where she accepted a position as a math teacher at Stadium High School. Just about every minute she was not in the classroom, she climbed in the nearby North Cascades and Olympic Mountains.

In 1913, Alma became an official member of the Mountaineers, a nonprofit outdoor recreation, education, and conservation group founded in 1906. The next year, she traveled to Glacier National Park where she discovered a passion for national parks. The following year she climbed Mount Rainier for the first time. In 1916, the intrepid math teacher spent the summer hiking in Yellowstone National Park, and in 1917, she climbed Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Hood with the Mountaineers. It was during one of these climbs that Alma nearly lost her life.  In the June, 1922, Sunset Magazine, it was recounted that, "When well up to the summit of Mount Hood, a small boulder, loosened by the melting snow, came bounding down the steep declivity, (and) struck Miss Wagen upon the back just above one hip. The pain and shock were terrific, but the girl, clutching the rope desperately, saved herself a fall that would have meant death."

When the United States became involved in World War I, many mountain guides volunteered for the service. To partially fill this personnel shortage, Alma joined the National Park Service as a guide in 1918. She was the first woman to become a guide in Mount Rainier National Park. She spent her work hours as a guide leading tourists on hikes to nearby glaciers. Joseph Hazard, Rainier's chief climbing guide at the time, once described the teacher as "one of the best guides in the employ of the company." She also worked in Yosemite National Park briefly in 1922 before returning to Rainier.

Alma had come to the Northwest wearing a jaunty Tyrolean hat decorated with a pheasant feather. Her hat and feather became her trademark as a guide. The rest of her outdoor clothing was warm and practical for use in uncertain weather conditions. The weather did not dampen her enthusiasm for climbing, however. In an interview appearing in the April 18,1923, Tacoma News Tribune, Alma declared, "I wanted to get up among the clouds and to feel myself as free as the birds and the air, and to be able to shout my freedom as loudly as I liked without having someone point to me sadly and say 'It is not pretty for little girls to climb windmills.'"

Alma retired from her career as a mountain guide following her marriage to Horace J. Whitacre in Tacoma. After he passed away in 1950, she moved to Claremont, California, where she lived until her death on December 7, 1967.

Chalkboard Champion Stanley Vestal Campbell: Teacher, Author, Historian, and Veteran

Many talented teachers make a name for themselves in fields other than education. Such is the case for Walter Stanley Vestal Campbell, a high school English who is also well-known as a writer, biographer, poet, and historian. He is probably best known as an author of books about the Native Americans and the Old West.

Known by his middle name, Stanley was born on August 15, 1887, near the town of Severy in Greenwood County, Kansas. His parents were Walter Mallory Vestal and Isabella Wood Vestal. Shortly after the young Stanley's birth his father passed away and his mother re-married. From his new stepfather, James Robert Campbell, Stanley adopted the surname Campbell.

In 1889, the Campbell family moved to Guthrie in the newly-established Oklahoma Territory. In 1903, the family moved to Weatherford, where Stanley's stepfather had accepted a position as the first president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, a newly established institution of higher learning.While growing up in Guthrie and Weatherford, young Stanley counted many Cheyenne as his playmates and companions. He learned much about their culture and Plains Indian cultures in general, knowledge that aided his field work among the Lakota and served as the basis for three historical studies he produced later in his life.

In 1908, Stanley graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State, and later he became the school's first Rhodes Scholar. The young man then attended Oxford University in England, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1911 and his master's degree in 1915. His field of study was English language and literature.

When Stanley returned to the United States, he taught for three years at the prestigious Male High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Then he became a professor of English at the University of Oklahoma at Norma, where he became known for his excellent courses in creative writing. His students regularly sold their work to reputable magazines and journals.

Stanley's tenure at the university was temporarily interrupted when he left the university to serve as a captain in an artillery regiment during World War I from 1917 to 1919, and again when he left to serve as a Guggenheim Fellow from 1930 to 1931, and yet again when he left to serve a Rockefeller Fellowship in 1946. Between 1927 and 1957, Stanley wrote more than twenty books, some novels and poems, and as many as one hundred articles about the Old West. In his writing, the former teacher worked diligently to change negative perceptions of the Plains Indians.

Stanley passed away in Oklahoma City from a heart attack on Christmas Day in 1957. He is interred as Walter S. Campbell at the Custer National Cemetery in Big Horn County, Montana.