Press Release - 2001 Inductees
May 8, 2001/NTHF
CONTACT: Vicki Cummiskey, 740-282-35055
National Teachers Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2001 Inductees
May 8, National Teacher Day Brings Recognition to Five Stellar Teachers
Emporia, KS—“Never stop learning.” “Raise the bar.” “There’s nothing you can’t do!”
What teachers touched you with their enthusiasm, pushed you with their optimism?
Today, National Teacher Day, five teachers from around the country will learn they have been selected for induction into The National Teachers Hall of Fame. The teachers will be honored at surprise recognition ceremonies in their respective school districts. Representatives from The National Teachers Hall of Fame will join state and local educational leaders at an assembly or reception in each inductee’s school district to make the announcement and to congratulate the teachers, who represent the best in the teaching profession.
The National Teachers Hall of Fame Class of 2001 includes the following educators: Mitsuye Conover, social studies and English teacher at Bartlesville High School, Bartlesville, Okla.; Ronald F. Foreso, social studies teacher at Parsippany High School, Parsippany, N.J.; Dr. Emiel Hamberlin, biology and horticulture teacher at Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable High School, Chicago, Ill.; Ellen Kempler, freshmen English, senior ethics and leadership teacher at MAST Academy, Miami, Fla.; and James Quinlan, industrial arts teacher at Vernon Township High School, Vernon, N.J.
BIOS AND MORE INFO
Biographical sheets and photos of the inductees, a list of current Hall of Fame members, a fact sheet about the Hall of Fame, a list of nominees, and schedules for the induction may be obtained on the NTHF web site, www.nthf.org or by calling 1-800-96-TEACH or (620) 341-5660.
OF HUMAN INTEREST
The human element of their stories is equally as notable as their previous accomplishments, including State Teacher of the Year, Outstanding Secondary Educator of America, National Foundation for the Humanities Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, and Congressional Citation honors.
A tiny girl of Japanese descent Mitsuye Conover spent the first three years of her life in a World War II internment camp in California. She learned a greater appreciation for the rights of U.S. citizens, knowing first-hand the repercussions of losing those liberties. Today, through plays and portrayals of historical characters in costume, through a classroom which is a literal small museum of displays and documents, currency, clothing, newspapers, sheet music and artifacts, and through, in the words of a student, “giving her heart to students,” Conover infuses patriotism and a love of country into her students of American history.
A 24-game losing streak for the football team. No spirit club. No community service organizations. Minimal involvement in Homecoming dances or the marching band. Then a single teacher takes on the personal mission of building and maintaining school spirit, reversing the tide of apathy. Ronald F. Foreso’s voice has been heard for 26 years as the announcer at every home football game. More than 600 students attended last year’s Homecoming. This teacher advised or instituted an Institute for Political and Legal Education program, including a model congress…Students Against Destructive Decisions…A Books for Bosnia campaign, where 2,000 boxes of school supplies were sent by his students who, “worked tirelessly in support of children they will probably never meet, in a country they will probably never see.”
ABC’s 20/20 and Newsweek have featured the classroom of Dr. Emiel Hamberlin, who does not give up on any student. Student entrepreneurs manage all plant sales for a Chicago Sears store. Students work routinely with the City of Chicago’s Parks Department, redeveloping and beautifying vacant lots in their blighted community, developing wetlands, growing wild grasses, and establishing ecological parks. A former student who today enjoys a career in medical research said, “He believed in me and my classmates when we did not believe in ourselves. He spent countless hours telling what great things we would be doing and how much we were needed.” “Doc let me feed the gerbils.” “My boys had gone too far, they were going to be dropouts. But he saved them and for that I will always be thankful.” This teacher says his students’ achievements are the hallmarks of his achievement. “I want students to know that I care what they do with their lives,” said Hamberlin, “My fellow teachers and I put success on their minds, and then push, shake, cajole, shout and sometimes even force success into them.”
Described by a colleague as “the fizz on a coke,” Ellen Kempler effervesces as she guides students through literary projects well beyond their years. A colleague says, “Ellen has created scores of teachers and physicians who have come to know their best through the highest order thinking skills brought to their own shadow boxes and skits, their own surging writings and focused commentaries.” As she empowers students, so, too, she empowers community members. MicroBusiness USA, a minority microbank with more than a thousand borrowers, was founded on Kempler’s dining room table. The bank makes small loans to ordinary citizens who would never qualify for commercial loans, and in so doing, helps them become self-sufficient. A Miami-Dade County Public School Administrator was asked how he could deftly calm the waters in a contentious meeting about school boundary lines. The administrator credits the teacher he still calls Ms. Kempler. “She made me see that I was gifted in working with people. I’ll never forget how she jump-started my whole sense of me.”
Resentful of authority; capable of better work; likely to fail; doesn’t apply himself, indolent. This is how his high school teachers described James Quinlan nearly 30 years ago. “Who better than one who had once found school unchallenging, boring, and irrelevant would be more likely to seek out alternative approaches to students who are less than enamored with learning?” asked Quinlan. The industrial arts teacher strives to make learning cool for his students by teaching the culture of the Northwest Indian as students carve a full-sized replica of a Haida totem pole, explore the science of sound as they fine tune an Aztec drum or steam bend oak strips for a toboggan or set of snowshoes. This industrial arts teacher says, “Of course students are using their hands, but they are working with their minds.” Quinlan created the Roaring Lion Chair Company, an enterprise operated by neurologically impaired students, that manufactures Adirondack chairs and markets them throughout the a tri-state area. A large pavilion built by his students used for outdoor concerts, ceremonies and other civic events sits in the town’s center. Alternative education students have grown into human beings with purpose, now anxiously awaiting the maiden voyage this summer of a 19-foot plywood and fiberglass sailboat built from scratch in their classroom.
SELECTION
The selection committee, representing educational organizations and businesses from across the country, met March 6-8 in Kansas City to consider nominations from the United States. Nominees must be certified public or non-public schoolteachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades preK-12.
Over 8,000 nomination forms were distributed this year. The field was narrowed to 88 candidates and, from that, this year's five inductees were selected.
INDUCTION
The National Teachers Hall of Fame will welcome its newest five members during induction ceremonies June 21-24 in Emporia, KS. In addition to receiving an all-expense paid trip to the induction ceremony, inductees are immortalized at the NTHF in a gallery of plaques, photographs and teaching materials from the inductees’ careers. They also receive a $1,000 stipend from The Horace Mann Companies, a $1,000 college scholarship presented by ServiceMaster to a student in the inductee’s school district, $1,000 in educational materials from Scott Foresman, a signet ring presented by Herff Jones, and other gifts and mementos. Induction ceremonies are held the fourth weekend of June in Emporia. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 45 educators from 25 states have been inducted. This year’s class of inductees represents the 10-year anniversary of NTHF induction ceremonies.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL TEACHERS HALL OF FAME
The National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) was founded at Emporia, KS in 1989 to honor preK-12 teachers and the teaching profession through a recognition program, museum, and conference and resource center. The NTHF has been endorsed by every major professional education organization.
ABOUT NATIONAL TEACHER DAY
The National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA established National Teacher Appreciation Week as the first full week of May. National Teacher Day, a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives, is always the Tuesday of the first full week of May.