2008 Woodie Awards
Prof. Ward Weldon, a worldly well-versed man
Behind the Podium
Alex Mariscal
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Features
"I always wanted to be a teacher and also to 'see the world'," said Prof. Ward Weldon. "But even more than these desires, I wanted to be a good husband, father and (now) a grandfather."
In his 38 years of service to the University of Illinois at Chicago, Weldon has been able to achieve all of his aspirations, being named a favorite among students and colleagues alike all over campus.
Sara Tyska, a UIC graduate student and teacher at Von Occupational, is both a former and current student of Weldon's, having taken a class with him six years ago. She names Weldon as one of the most engaging and interesting professors she has ever had, and on starting classes for her second Masters degree, signed on to another one of his classes when she saw his name on the roster.
"He's really engaging and knowledgeable, and brings into the class the many experiences he's had," said Tyska. "You're never just sitting there listening; it's always tying into what you're doing."
Weldon teaches philosophy of education, history of education, economics of education, school finance, collective bargaining in education, school administration, supervision and coaching of school administration internships. He has also served on a number of doctoral dissertation committees, and a recent survey has shown that he has served on the committees for one-third of doctor's degrees awarded in recent years by the College of Education.
"I like to put an emphasis on group activities and a wide choice of topics for students to use in reports and term papers, use of mottos, poems, quotations and foreign-language phrases," said Weldon.
Standing up at his podium speaking to his Wednesday night class, Weldon speaks modestly of himself, letting on to the secret of being noticed: getting old.
"If you work in the same place for a really long time, eventually someone will say 'Gee wiz, we need to do an article on you,'" said Weldon, joking around with his students.
Before starting his work at UIC, Weldon had spent six years in the Marine Corps as a reservist and teacher, after the Korean War and just before the Vietnam War. Weldon likes to bring up a lot of his experiences in the Marine Corps and incorporate them into his lessons, showing how you need to have a "military type commitment" in education.
"I talk about the need to use a lot of repetition with skill building, just as in the Marines, we needed a lot of repetition in our learning, because when we were under the stress in combat, the lessons became automatic to us," said Weldon. "When a basketball player is out on the court, making his moves and in the zone, he's not thinking about how to do it, he's just doing it, and there is a part of education that's automatic just like that."
Weldon started his teaching here in 1969, where he was working on a teacher-training program funded by the Federal Government to make more Spanish-speaking teachers and administrators available for K-12 schools to hire, and also finishing the writing of his doctoral dissertation. Throughout his past 38 years at UIC, Weldon says he still sees the "same hard-working, practical students" and has seen the University develop more of an emphasis on graduate programs and on the preparation of school principals.
"The University has expanded and diversified a great deal, offering many more programs and providing many more opportunities for graduate study," said Weldon. "I have learned a lot about how hard it is for my students to be good K-12 teachers or administrators. I have also become aware that there are many different cultural ways to behave and to solve problems and that people from different cultures can learn a lot from each other."
Beyond his own Department and College, he wishes to have more connections with the University, and is currently in consistent participation in medical research studies and participation in dispute resolution services of the Office of Access and Equity. Weldon also works on education development projects in several other countries, trying to "help educators there, or in some cases, to be a good educator himself there." He feels that these international and cross-cultural education projects are important in overcoming isolation and parochialism in his self and his students.
Weldon has worked in Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Korea, Russia, Germany, Ethiopia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Navajo Reservation and Alaska.
"I learned from every project, but two stand out," said Weldon. "In New Zealand, I was impressed by how hard-working and how skillful the educators there are. In Russia, I had to admit, that the changes going on at that time [1997] was so great and so complex, that I never felt that I understood exactly what was happening. I would like to go back there to learn more and get a clearer picture; my work in Russia is not finished."
"He's been all over the world, Europe, South America, he is extremely intelligent, worldly and well-versed," said current graduate student Clay Walker. "People here have thrown him some hardball questions, and he fields them perfectly."
Weldon says that his greatest accomplishments have been completing his graduate study in 1971 and getting married in 1960. Over his 38 years at UIC, Weldon credits his wife Rosalynne with enabling him to be productive.
"My wife provided financial and psychological support while I earned the three graduate degrees that made me eligible for this type of work, she is the key factor in my on-going efforts," said Weldon.
The one thing he wants to say to his colleagues is to listen to students and to the students of UIC, to speak up and let instructors (and other University personnel) know what you want and need.
"The most important lesson is to listen closely to what students say," said Weldon. "Use their thoughts in an introductory way in giving the students good experiences with additional facts, skills and concepts."
Do you have an awesome professor? Is there an administrator that made your day? Tell The Chicago Flame! E-mail your story to editor@chicagoflame.com
In his 38 years of service to the University of Illinois at Chicago, Weldon has been able to achieve all of his aspirations, being named a favorite among students and colleagues alike all over campus.
Sara Tyska, a UIC graduate student and teacher at Von Occupational, is both a former and current student of Weldon's, having taken a class with him six years ago. She names Weldon as one of the most engaging and interesting professors she has ever had, and on starting classes for her second Masters degree, signed on to another one of his classes when she saw his name on the roster.
"He's really engaging and knowledgeable, and brings into the class the many experiences he's had," said Tyska. "You're never just sitting there listening; it's always tying into what you're doing."
Weldon teaches philosophy of education, history of education, economics of education, school finance, collective bargaining in education, school administration, supervision and coaching of school administration internships. He has also served on a number of doctoral dissertation committees, and a recent survey has shown that he has served on the committees for one-third of doctor's degrees awarded in recent years by the College of Education.
"I like to put an emphasis on group activities and a wide choice of topics for students to use in reports and term papers, use of mottos, poems, quotations and foreign-language phrases," said Weldon.
Standing up at his podium speaking to his Wednesday night class, Weldon speaks modestly of himself, letting on to the secret of being noticed: getting old.
"If you work in the same place for a really long time, eventually someone will say 'Gee wiz, we need to do an article on you,'" said Weldon, joking around with his students.
Before starting his work at UIC, Weldon had spent six years in the Marine Corps as a reservist and teacher, after the Korean War and just before the Vietnam War. Weldon likes to bring up a lot of his experiences in the Marine Corps and incorporate them into his lessons, showing how you need to have a "military type commitment" in education.
"I talk about the need to use a lot of repetition with skill building, just as in the Marines, we needed a lot of repetition in our learning, because when we were under the stress in combat, the lessons became automatic to us," said Weldon. "When a basketball player is out on the court, making his moves and in the zone, he's not thinking about how to do it, he's just doing it, and there is a part of education that's automatic just like that."
Weldon started his teaching here in 1969, where he was working on a teacher-training program funded by the Federal Government to make more Spanish-speaking teachers and administrators available for K-12 schools to hire, and also finishing the writing of his doctoral dissertation. Throughout his past 38 years at UIC, Weldon says he still sees the "same hard-working, practical students" and has seen the University develop more of an emphasis on graduate programs and on the preparation of school principals.
"The University has expanded and diversified a great deal, offering many more programs and providing many more opportunities for graduate study," said Weldon. "I have learned a lot about how hard it is for my students to be good K-12 teachers or administrators. I have also become aware that there are many different cultural ways to behave and to solve problems and that people from different cultures can learn a lot from each other."
Beyond his own Department and College, he wishes to have more connections with the University, and is currently in consistent participation in medical research studies and participation in dispute resolution services of the Office of Access and Equity. Weldon also works on education development projects in several other countries, trying to "help educators there, or in some cases, to be a good educator himself there." He feels that these international and cross-cultural education projects are important in overcoming isolation and parochialism in his self and his students.
Weldon has worked in Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cook Islands, New Zealand, Korea, Russia, Germany, Ethiopia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Navajo Reservation and Alaska.
"I learned from every project, but two stand out," said Weldon. "In New Zealand, I was impressed by how hard-working and how skillful the educators there are. In Russia, I had to admit, that the changes going on at that time [1997] was so great and so complex, that I never felt that I understood exactly what was happening. I would like to go back there to learn more and get a clearer picture; my work in Russia is not finished."
"He's been all over the world, Europe, South America, he is extremely intelligent, worldly and well-versed," said current graduate student Clay Walker. "People here have thrown him some hardball questions, and he fields them perfectly."
Weldon says that his greatest accomplishments have been completing his graduate study in 1971 and getting married in 1960. Over his 38 years at UIC, Weldon credits his wife Rosalynne with enabling him to be productive.
"My wife provided financial and psychological support while I earned the three graduate degrees that made me eligible for this type of work, she is the key factor in my on-going efforts," said Weldon.
The one thing he wants to say to his colleagues is to listen to students and to the students of UIC, to speak up and let instructors (and other University personnel) know what you want and need.
"The most important lesson is to listen closely to what students say," said Weldon. "Use their thoughts in an introductory way in giving the students good experiences with additional facts, skills and concepts."
Do you have an awesome professor? Is there an administrator that made your day? Tell The Chicago Flame! E-mail your story to editor@chicagoflame.com
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