class notes

 

Robert Rice

Robert Rice (B.A., ’34; Credential, ’35), who is 92 years old, was asked at a recent campus event what his current interests are. “Staying alive!” he joked. When he was at Berkeley High, where he taught science for 34 years, Rice had future UC President David Pierpont Gardner in his class. “Gardner talked his way into a ‘C,’” Rice quipped. Rice also served as president of the National Science Teachers Association in 1960, traveling to every region to visit local chapters. “It was during the Kennedy-Nixon campaign,” he said, “and I kept running into them all over the country.” Rice currently lives in Danville.

 

 

 

 

 

Agnes Labadie Blonski (B.A., ’38; M.A., ’68) writes from her home in El Cerrito that, “Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education accepted me as a student at age 38, although I had not attended college in the 17 years since I graduated. I was able to contribute to the groundbreaking programs in the Berkeley public schools in large part because of the education I received at UC Berkeley.” She served as a teacher and administrator in the Berkeley Unified School District during the years when it was breaking new ground in school integration. She worked in the schools 26 years before retiring. Her e-mail is agnesblonski@mymailstation.com.

Kenneth Peterson (B.A., ’66; Ph.D. ’76) is a professor of education at Portland State University. His book on Teacher Hiring (ASCD) appeared in 2002. He maintains a web site: www.teacherhiring.net. His book on Teacher Evaluation (Corwin Press) was published in 2000; web site: www.teacherevaluation.net.

Susan Danoff

Susan Danoff (English Credential, ’79) founded a non-profit corporation called Storytelling Arts, Inc. The organization works with low-income and special needs children in New Jersey, using storytelling to teach and to build community. The group’s other goal is to train teachers in the art of storytelling. Susan Danoff writes, “Without the foundation I received at Berkeley, I don’t think I would be doing this work. My year at the School of Education gave me the tools I needed to experience learning as process.” She can be reached at www.storytellingarts.net.

 

 

 

 

 

Holly Shewbridge (Life Sciences Credential, ’85) has taught Biology and Oceanography at Seaside High School in Fort Ord, Monterey County, since 1985. Since 1987 she has been an instructor for Educator Programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “Science teachers are fun!” she writes.

Shawn Parkhurst

Shawn Parkhurst (M.A. in Education, ’91, Interdisciplinary Ph.D. ’00) is now Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Director of Programs in Portugal at the University of Louisville, building on his experience at Berkeley working in Jean Lave’s Portugal Project.

 

 

 

Diane Sharken Taboada

Diane Sharken Taboada (M.A., ’89; Ph.D., ’01) writes from her home in Albany CA that her current interests are literacy, language development, teacher education, and bilinguality. Her e-mail is: tabshark@ix.netcom.com.

 

 

 

 

Lisa Kirtman (Ph.D., ’00) and Brad Olsen (Ph.D., ’02) were co-authors of the featured article in the online edition of the Teachers College Record in September. The article was based on a paper they wrote that came out of a three-year study led by Professor Judith Warren Little on California’s School Restructuring Demonstration Program. Kirtman is on the faculty at CSU Fullerton and Olsen is completing a post-doc at UCLA.

 

Elena Silva and Beth Rubin

Beth Rubin (PhD., ’01) and Elena Silva (Ph.D., ’02) have co-edited a book on Critical Voices in School Reform: Students Living through Change, published by RoutledgeFalmer. The book includes chapters by a number of Cal alums, including Ilana Horn (Ph.D., ’02), David Keiser (Ph.D., ’01), Ernest Morrell (Ph.D., ’01), Jean Yonemura Wing (Ph.D., ’02); and current student Betsey Woody. From the publisher: “School reform…is a priority for education systems the world over. Yet the voices of students—those most affected by, and pivotal to, the success or failure of any school reform—are rarely heard on this topic. This is the first book to look at school reform from the perspective of the students.”

 

 

In Memoriam

James Robert Squire (English Credential, ’49; Ph.D. ’56) died on June 9, 2003 in Texas after a brief illness. He earned his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in English Education, and taught as a lecturer on campus until 1959. He then became the executive secretary of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and went on to join the faculty at the University of Illinois. At Harvard Graduate School of Education he was a lecturer. Squire was named to the National Reading Association Reading Hall of Fame. His other awards included the NCTE Distinguished Service Award, and the Lifetime Research Award from the National Conference on Research in English. He is survived by wife Barbara Squire, a daughter, two sons, and two grandchildren.

 

 

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