Tiedt, Sidney W. (1927-2014)
Date Updated
8-8-2019
Department
Elementary Education
Academic Rank
Professor
Year Retired from SJSU
1999
Facebook or Website URL
Educational Background
Visiting Scholar:
Stanford, 1981-1982
University of California @ Berkeley, 1988-1989
University of Oregon, 1961 EdD
Northwestern University, 1952 MA
Northwestern University, 1950 BA
Teaching Experience
San Jose State University, 1961-1999
New College, San Jose State University, 1966-1967
University of Washington, Summer Session, School of Education, 1976
Teaching Assistant, School of Education, University of Oregon, 1957-1958
Anchorage, Alaska, Middle School, 1953-1955
Territorial School, Kenai, Alaska (Middle School/High School), 1951-1952
Middle School: Chicago, Illinois, 1950-1951
Administrative and Professional Experience
Commercial Fisherman and Organizer of Fisherman's Co-op
Anchorage, Alaska, School Principal: 1955-1957
Chairperson of Elementary Education, San Jose, State University 1978-1982
Director, NDEA English Institute, San Jose State University 1964
Selected Publications
Language Arts Activities for the Classroom. Allyn and Bacon, third edition, 2001
Elementary Teachers' Complete Idea Handbook. Prentice-Hall, second edition, 1985
Foundations of Education Series, co-edited, General Learning Press, Silver Burdett, 1976
-Social, Cultural Foundations of Education(21 booklets) -Psychological Foundations of Education(11 booklets)
Contemporary English in the Elementary School.Prentice-Hall, second edition, 1975
Readings on Contemporary English in the Elementary School. Prentice-Hall, 1975
"Status and Impact of Educational Finance Programs", Ch. 7, Historical Development of Federal Aid Programs. National Education Finance Project, 1971
Teaching the Disadvantaged Child (editor). Oxford University Press, 1968
Contemporary Curriculum in the Elementary School(co-editor). Harper & Row, 1967.
The Role of the Federal Government in Education. Oxford University Press, 1966
Imaginative Social Studies Activities for the Elementary School.Atherton Press, 1964.
Unrequired Reading, an annotated bibliography.Oregon State University Press, 1962.
Articles:
"The Whole Language School". The California Reader, 1968
"A Linguistic Library for Students". Elementary English, 1968
"Imaginative Books Stimulate Imaginative Writing". The Elementary School Journal,1965.
"Word Play". Elementary English,1965.
"Education and the Novel". Peabody Journal of Education, 1964.
Files
Personal Commentary
I was born on the South Side of Chicago in the shadow of the steel mills. Our family survived the Depression and I enlisted in the Navy after completing high school. After boot camp I was shipped out to Treasure Island where I picked up my ship, LST 446. We proceeded down the coast to Nicaragua and on to the Galapagos Islands, quite the adventure for a nineteen-year old kid. This tour of duty taught me that California, especially the Bay Area, is a beautiful place. After my discharge, I entered Wilson Community College in Chicago to prepare myself to enter a university. Next came the marvelous GI Bill which enabled me to enroll in Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where I graduated with a BA in 1950 and an MA in 1953.
My first teaching job was in a K-8 school in Chicago where I taught seventh grade and coached basketball. I still wanted to travel and I decided the try the Territory of Alaska where I found a teaching job in a K-12 school in Kenai, Alaska, a far cry from Chicago. During the summers I became a commercial salmon fisherman in hopes of gathering money to further my education. As a fisherman I organized a fisherman’s co-op to negotiate with the canneries. I served as their executive secretary traveling around the state to organize other groups of fishermen.
After leaving Kenai, I continued my teaching career in Anchorage where I taught junior high and became principal of the Mountain View Elementary School. I then sought new academic challenges and enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Oregon. I enjoyed the university life and decided that an academic life was my true calling.
Upon receiving my doctoral degree from the University of Oregon I was fortunate to find a position as Assistant Professor at San Jose State College. San Jose gave me many rich opportunities to teach at the university and to offer classes to teachers from San Mateo to Monterey Counties.
I also had the good fortune to work with the American School system in Isfahan, Iran. Iran was relatively peaceful during my time there, and Isfahan was a beautiful city. Teachers, however, were encouraged to take a different route to school each day! While in the Middle East, I had the opportunity to present workshops to a conference of American School teachers on the Island of Crete. To cap my travels, I had the opportunity to work in the Far East as part of San Jose State’s project in the Marianas Islands. I was invited to teach a graduate class on the island of Saipan.
The books and articles I have written have been nurtured by the experiences I have had as a teacher and learner in an exciting academic environment. These prompted me to apply to be a scholar in residence at Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley.
I would like to share one marvelous experience I had when we were traveling in Ireland. In the library in Trinity College, Dublin, they had a copy of my book, The Role of the Federal Government in Education.
Looking back, I feel that I have been extremely fortunate and I have greatly enjoyed my almost 40 years San Jose State University.
Sidney W. Tiedt
Date Completed:December 1, 2009