Influential Figures Lost in March 2022-- Part 4: Delgado, Gurt, Cavazos, Young and Albright

MARCH

EMILIO DELGADO, 81

**  Actor and singer who for 45 years was a warm and familiar presence in children's lives and a rare Latino face on American TV as fix-it shop owner Luis on "Sesame Street.  Died March 10.

WILLIAM HURT, 71

**  His laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of 1980s leading men in movies such as "Broadcast News," "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill."  Died March 13.

LAURO CAVAZOS, 95

A Texas ranch foreman's son who rose to become the first Latino to serve in a presidential cabinet as US Secretary of Education during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.  Died March 15.

DON YOUNG, 88

**  The Alaska congressman was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the US House.  Died March 18.

MADELINE ALBRIGHT, 84

**  A child refugee from Nazi and then Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe who rose to become the first female Secretary of State and a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women.  Died March 23.

11 Little-Known Facts About George Washington-- Part 1

From History.

This being what would have been his 290th birthday.

1.  He had only a grade school education.

2.  At age 22 , Washington led a disastrous military skirmish that sparked a world war.

As an officer in the Virginia militia, he led an attack on a French Army group that eventually led to the French and Indian War and the world-wide Seven Years' War.

3.  Washington's first love was  was the wife of one of his best friends.

4.  About those teeth.  No, they weren't wooden.

5.  He  wasn't always a great general, but he was an excellent spymaster.

If you want to know more about these, go to the site.

Happy Birthday and Thank You Mr. Washington.  We Would Not Have This Country Without You.  --Cooter

The Tulsa Race Massacre, 1921-- Part 5: Educating the Young About It

 After generations of determined public silence on the massacre -- long dismissed by white Tulsans dismissively as a race "riot" -- black and white  Tulsans are increasingly trying to tell the story of Black Wall Street, including its fiery and deadly ending.

Teaching about the massacre is being added by state and city school standards, so that this fall third graders will learn about it. (I think third grade is a bit young, though.)  Even preschoolers in some districts are being told about -- not about how it ended, but what it was, said Danielle Neves, deputy chief of academics for Tulsa public schools.

"Four-year-olds can understand that people like them once owned movie theaters and hotels and had a thriving community," Neves said.

After World War I, 1919: 100 Years Ago

From the March 20, 2019, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

**  "Prof. John Adee, who is well known here as a Sycamore boy, and as a former and popular superintendent of  the Sycamore schools, is one of 30 superintendents of schools selected by  the government to go to France to teach the American soldiers."

**  "Names of several returning heroines and heroes known in DeKalb were included in the lists today in the papers.  Miss Celeste Firkins of Shabbona Grove and Miss Nellie R. Satter of Leland, who were with the Red Cross nurses of the Presbyterian  unit, arrived on the Mauretania."

--Cooter

Zerna Sharp-- Mother of Dick and Jane-- Part 2

From the TagNWag site www.tagnwag.com/dick_jane/#.

Zerna Sharp deserves the credit for Dick and Jane as the series of books are based on her thoughts, beliefs, and skills.

She was born Charlotte E. Sharp in Hillsburg, Indiana (Clinton County), August 12, 1889. She was a reading consultant and elementary teacher and never married. I am not sure why she changed her name to Zerna.

It was her belief that children read and learn easier if they identified with children shown in the illustrations. She presented her ideas to Dr. William S. Gray, who hired her to develop a family.

She joined Scott Foresman Publishing Company in 1924 and worked with them until she retired in 1964.

More to Come. Coot

Zerna Sharp-- Mother of Dick and Jane-- Part 1

Yesterday, in Bits 'O History, I wrote about Zerna Sharp, probably one of the reasons I can read as well as I do. She is called the "Mother of Dick and Jane," the books that taught generations of children to read in school.

It is my belief that if we brought back this series, updated of course, this would solve a lot of the problems kids encounter today reading in school. The "Dick and Jane" books concentrated on short words and lots of repetition. Today's books are all about big words and lots of them. Also, the pace is much too fast.

Any engineer knows that to build a building that will stand, you need a solid foundation. Today's approach is to start with the upper stories.

This causes children to become confused and disheartened with all the big and difficult words. There is little repetition which is needed for a solid foundation in reading.

Bring Back Dick and Jane. --Cooter