Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Franklin & Betty J. Parker, Christmas 2012 Thoughts....


Franklin  & Betty J. Parker, Christmas 2012 Thoughts,  63 Heritage Loop, Crossville, TN 38571. bfparker@frontiernet.net   
        
One Christmas 2012 surprise was to find Alabama-born Betty's biographical sketch in Alabama Authors (to access: copy, paste on browser, click on): http://www.lib.ua.edu/Alabama_Authors/?p=1861
         
Let's hope the last-minute end-of-2012 Obama/Republican-Congress fiscal-cutting compromise holds and improves, that in 2013 it will join such high liberal moments as: Lincoln's 13th Amendment salvaging the USA slavery sin, Teddy Roosevelt's first backing of  the income tax, women's voting act (1920), FDR-Frances Perkins Social Security Act (1935), and the Civil Rights Act (1964).  More insights on: 
        
Frank's unforgettable pre-Christmas 2012 moment came Oct. 5 when he was inducted into West Va. Univ.'s College of Human Resources & Education's (WVU-HRE) Hall of Fame, Morgantown, where he taught 18 years, 1968-86, before retiring at age 65.
        
The presenter said to a large audience  (in brief):  Parker  taught at WVU and several other universities for 44 years, wrote or edited more than 20 books, hundreds of articles and book reviews, and held office in national organizations including being president of the History of Education Society.  He studied cultures and schools on three continents and was a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar in Southern Africa. 
        
He has degrees from Berea College, Berea, KY; University of Illinois, and Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville.  Berea and Peabody of Vanderbilt gave him Distinguished Alumnus awards.  One colleague said of Parker that his professional life and human concerns exemplify values every                     university holds dear.  [End of presenter's remarks].
Frank's remarks of thanks, summarized below, brought thunderous applause:  "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this day's honor.  You have made this day a most memorable one….  Last year (2011) when my 84-year-old former WVU-HRE Dean was asked to suggest possible Hall of Fame nominees, he named me.  His death soon  after added sorrow to my surprise and feeling of humility.

"Compiling my requested life's work was a somber reminder of things done which I could have done better and people who helped along the way I should have thanked more.  

"Puzzling over life's strange turning points reminded me of Robert Frost's: 'Two roads diverged in a wood.   I took the one less traveled by and that made all the difference."
        
After thanking Betty, his wife of 62 years, as "co-researcher, co-author, co-everything," Frank said that in teaching History and Philosophy of Education he stressed its heroes: Socrates, Plato, Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, others, including Horace Mann (1796-1859), 19th century Massachusetts public school system creator, model for all other state public school systems.  He stressed that he always quoted Horace Mann's ringing challenge to students and teachers:  "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humankind."     
        
"The best teachers," Parker added, "uplift young lives, correct mistakes, help build a better future, student by student, class by class, generation by generation."  WVU-HRE, he said, "will long remain a place of magic, of knowledge, encouragement, inspiration; a place to dream and try, to hope and aspire."  "Here," he said, "those preparing to teach acquire skills that inform, lead, heal, lift lives, improve people, help create a better future, and enrich our country and the world..." 
        
A safe, healthy, happy Christmas for ALL.  We Parkers thank you for your friendship and shared concerns.  For Parker articles copy, paste on browser, click on:  hubpages.com/author/bfparker/hot 

On http://www.uplandsvillage.com    under Life Style, we Parkers are on left side of pool. 

For more about the Parkers: bfparker@frontiernet.net 

For Library of Congress and WorldCat listings of our publications (Frankln Parker, 1921, and Betty J. Parker, 1929-) copy on your browser and click on:

Access the Parkers' many articles through google.com, or bing.com, or any other search engine by typing as subject:  FranklinParker, or Betty J. Parker, or Franklin and Betty J. Parker, or Betty and Franklin Parker, or bfparker, or bfparker@frontiernet.net,or bandfparker@frontiernet.net 

For some 35 of authors' articles in blog form, copy and paste on your browser and click on:                        http://bfparker.hubpages.com/hubs/hot
The 35+ articles titles on 4 pages will appear.  Click on the one you want to open and read.  If this does not work let us know:  bfparker@frontiernet.net 

24 of authors' book titles are listed in:

For a funny skit on authors' 61st wedding anniversary, access:

For a Year's Eve Dec. 31, 2012,  version of above funny skit, access:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8967946846408369801#editor/target=post;postID=4052694467764754564 

END.