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Twenty-ninth Job of Bob - College Student Part XIII - More favorite profs and teaching styles: Haney; Rosen; Harding; and, Newman
This entry was posted on 8/18/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
I am going to revisit a few more of my most influential college instructors and professors before I leave this odd job category I call, "Treating college like a job." Even then, I know I will probably not do their efforts justice, but considering many students seem to leave school and never talk about their experiences again, I hope my humble efforts are at least something.
I wrote about Professor Richard Haney from UW-Whitewater before and it was in the context of military veterans as students. By the time I left UW-Whitewater in graduate school, military veterans on campus were ubiquitous. Many were still in the military in some capacity as a National Guard member or a Reservist. Doctor Haney was an old savvy history professor who taught college during Vietnam. In those days back in the 1960s and early 1970s, students were slipping through deferment cracks and getting drafted. But in this new era, by the year 2004, student Reservists were a culture un and to themselves. Ol' Doctor Haney knew just what to do for his Veteran students of Iraq and Afghanistan. As a most thorough historian, he knew the dusty rules not used since the Vietnam War. Those rules allowed for Reservist students called away from school to duty in mid-semester to be graded on what they had accomplished - as if they finished the semester.
Doctor Haney is retired now I believe. He was also a dandy historian at large. And in his years at the University, he researched quite a bit of the Whitewater community history as well. In my case I took a Wisconsin History class with him. I took it even though I did not need the credits. I just wanted a good version of my home state's past.
Doctor Haney painstakingly dissected Wisconsin History going back before statehood. He especially parsed the "Fight'n Bob LaFollette" era of the Progessive Movement. It was worth the agony of studying history. Most people do not actually know what the Progessives were really all about; and, nowadays pundits will lump the old Progressives of the Teddy Roosevelt days, the current day Progressives, current Liberals, and current Democrats, all in together. In a nutshell, the Progressives rose up out of the era of the early 1900s during the days of child labor, sweat shops, 14 hour work days, and no compensation for on-the-job injuries. They preached a culture of fair play in business and government.
Professor Haney was old school. No PowerPoint presentations, no videos; only detailed lecture and book reading along with copious notes and hand-written essay exams. I got an "A," and learned a hell of a lot about the state I grew up in....and learned it at nearly 50 years old.
As far as his efforts with student Veterans, I hope I am qualified to say, "Thanks Doc, on behalf of Veteran students." Here's to you, Professor Haney.
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In the spirit of the aforementioned unneeded history class, I repeated the strategy with a class on Wisconsin Geography. At the helm of said class was one Professor Carol Rosen. She commuted quite a ways to teach at Whitewater. But, I am glad she did make the pilgrimage, as I learned another heap of information previously unknown to me, this time about my home state's intricate geography.
In contrast to Doctor Haney, Professor Rosen used every aspect of the new technology media system put in the class room we met in. We talked about the Native American Indian tribes that once lived across Wisconsin. Then we dissected the era of deforestation of Wisconsin. Some of those trees went to rebuild Chicago after the great "Chicago Fire." We talked about Wisconsin's famous Anitgo Silt Loam soil and the also famous Brown Stone that has helped build big cities in American for over a century.
And of course, we delved into Wisconsin's glaciated eras and areas, and all the terms that go with it. Then we talked "Structural and Human Geography." Doctor Rosen walked us around Whitewater to view all the old houses built by early settlers. All these houses I learned, had unique construction signatures of the ethnic groups who built them. I had grown up in the Whitewater area and never knew or noticed this nuance.
The main thing about Professor Rosen was, she presented her lessons as if she really loved the subject. I learned a great deal about my own beloved state; a great deal I will take with me for the rest of my life.
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Instructor Katherine Harding taught Office Technology and Medical Secretary back at Madison Area Technical College. That was the era of the 1990s and the term "Secretary" was being phased out - we were "Administrative Assistants" now.
It may sound like a simple thing, but life is filled with simple-thing fodder. We had a huge work book, and Instructor Harding encouraged us to use a blue highlighter to mark up important text. To this day I usually have a highlighter on my work desk or in my pocket. I look at one now on the night stand as I pound away at the keyboard writing this humble posting.
We poured through the nuance of English. After all, if you write a poor memo or business letter, why would anyone buy your product or believe you could provide them a service?
It was here that my love affair with the difference between a colon and a semi-colon began. You will notice, I use them often. Also, I remember a good deal of discussion and tests regarding the use of comas and poor word usage such as in sentences called dangling modifiers.
Had I never visited Instructor Harding's world of correct English usage and writing, I can guarantee you good readers that my Web site, blogs, and Vietnam and Iraq documentation would mostly consist of ....., pictures.
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Instructor Craig Newman taught Sociology back at Madison Area Technical College. I had already taken the introductory college transferable Sociology class. But, it was when I got to Instructor Newman's class called "Social Disorganization" that I realized Sociology and social studies is all around us. It would later aid in helping me focus on specific issues like mom and pop shops in Iraq or the culture of house cats in Vietnam.
Instructor Craig Newman was an amiable guy who also was one of the few teachers at MATC that actually had a Doctoral Degree. I remember he taught in a class room way back in the bowels of the catacombs in the giant building where the welders and machinists did there training. It seemed to compliment his insistence that society is intricately woven together with its "high culture" and "low culture" aspects. In other words, using us students for example, we college transfer types on our way to law school and other white collar endeavors elsewhere, needed to remember that the working class was always lurking in every aspect of our lives; often hiding in plain site at the core of every operation of society.
How well I know that working class. I learned a lot in that off-the-beaten-path classroom of Mr. Newman's.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin Service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army First Lieutenant Daren Miguel Hidalgo, 24, Waukesha, Wisconsin, was killed Sunday, February 20, 2011, near Mama Kiriz, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. He died of wounds he sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device (roadside bomb). Hidalgo was assigned to 3rd Platoon, Ghostrider Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, out of Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Daren was the youngest son in his family. He was a 2009 graduate of West Point and on was his first deployment in Afghanistan. Hidalgo had been wounded in an earlier bomb attack. Both his brothers also joined the military. Army Captain Miles Hidalgo, 26, also a West Point graduate had four tours in Afghanistan, and Marine Captain Jared Hidalgo, 28, served in Iraq. First Lieutenant Daren Hidalgo was serving as a platoon commander with his unit when he was killed. Early in his career he had completed Army Ranger School.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel went on to mention Daren's dad Jorge Hidalgo was a 1981 West Point graduate and had immigrated to America from the Dominican Republic when he was seven years old. Daren's family moved often due to Jorge's work. Daren Hidalgo was born at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He attended Wales Elementary School in Wisconsin and Kettle Moraine middle and high schools in Wisconsin and then finished high school in Pennsylvania. Daren Hidalgo was a high school wrestler, a trumpet player, and a racquetball player. His degree from West Point was in Spanish.
An article from the York Daily Record found on pennlive.com notes Daren was a 2005 graduate of Dallastown Area High School in south-central Pennsylvania.
The Huffington Post posted an Associated Press piece that explained that Hidalgo was the 81st West Point graduate to be killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The article added that Daren also liked rock climbing among his other aforementioned interests.
The Second Cavalry Association News Center posting on dragoons.org mentioned Daren had been a championship wrestler, National Honor Society member, and a trumpeter in the school marching band in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. He graduated near the top of his class at West Point. He was deployed to the Maiwand District of Afghanistan in October 2010.
First Lieutenant Daren Hidalgo was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He was laid to rest in West Point Cemetery in New York.
The Web site legacy.com posted an obituary from the Journal Sentinel Online which notes Daren is remembered for his assessment abilities, his positive attitude, his inspiration to others, a strength of character, an empathetic manor, "a winning smile, and engaging personality," and being, "a jokester and a prankster."
At the time of his death Daren Hidalgo was survived by: his parents Jorge and Andrea; brothers Jared (Jenny) Hidalgo, Miles (Caroline) Hidalgo; sister Carmen (Mike) Spellman; nephews Wade and Carson; and, his niece Lexie.
Army First Lieutenant Daren Hidalgo was the 28th Wisconsin military service person killed in Afghanistan since October 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
102,165 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003 (actually documented).
10,125 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,477 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1738 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
935 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011.
32,165 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
592 Wisconsin Service persons have been wounded in Iraq since Spring 2003.
13,164 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
192 Wisconsin Service persons have been wounded in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
34 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
3 Wisconsin Service persons have been killed in the U.S. related to "The War on Terror" since September, 2001.
149 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since September, 2001.
5 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org .
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