John U.

Michaelis, Education: Berkeley

1912-1996 Professor Emeritus John Michaelis, for so many years the brightest beacon for social studies teachers, died of pneumonia in Fresno on February 4, 1996. He was born in 1912 in Merino, Colorado. Before he began his teaching career, he earned his way through school by driving a bus through the mountains. His experiences from that time formed the basis of many of the wonderful stories he told students by way of teaching important ideas about life and education. He earned the respect of his students and colleagues through his impressive intellect and dedication to his field, but he won their hearts through his humility and deep care for the individual. He was a soft-spoken man who would not back down in the defense of a moral principle--something he was called upon to do more than once in his long and celebrated career. Michaelis was married to the late Elizabeth Ann Michaelis. They both attended teachers' college at what is now the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. A former teacher, she was a keen critic and final proofreader of his work as well as a part of the social support network for many of his students who came from all over the world to study with him at Berkeley. They had two children, the late John Barry Michaelis and Susan A. (Michaelis) Hrutky. Michaelis is also survived by two grandchildren, John B. Michaelis, Jr., and Elizabeth Ann Bowman; and a brother, Arnold R. Michaelis. Michaelis was first and foremost a teacher. Whether speaking in his capacity as head of the U.S. Delegation to UNESCO or as a Berkeley professor, he always introduced himself as a teacher. His daughter said of him, My father so believed in education as the key in opening the world to and for students--for only through education could one achieve understanding of one's self, others, and the world--that he dedicated his life and his work toward this.

127 He began his teaching career in Englewood, Colorado, and soon became principal of Lowell School. When he took leave to begin doctoral studies at the University of Maryland, the local newspaper commended him on his splendid record and his great popularity with students and their parents. His superintendent predicted that Michaelis has a brilliant future in education. He was so right. While in Maryland, Michaelis became assistant superintendent of schools in Prince George's County and in 1942 completed his doctoral studies. Upon graduation, he accepted appointment as director of teacher education at Fresno State College, where he and his family remained for three years. Then, in 1945 he accepted an appointment at Berkeley, where he began making contributions to education on an international scale, while at the same time providing leadership within the School of Education. Michaelis headed the U.S. Delegation to UNESCO In 1951. He served the United States Department of State in Lebanon, the Philippines, Burma, and Ecuador. With each posting, he enriched his own base of knowledge, broadened his perspective, and deepened his love for the richness and diversity of the cultures into which he had been invited. He of course brought this knowledge and broad perspective into his own work. People frequently look back at Michaelis's work from the 1950s and early 1960s and remark how far ahead of his time he was in the manner in which he presented the social studies from a multicultural view. He authored numerous scholarly articles and books, but his greatest pleasure came from the textbooks he created. He took particular delight that his Social Studies for Children, a textbook first published in 1950, went into its eleventh edition just a few months before his death. When he completed his work on the eleventh edition, he telephoned the Graduate School of Education to

announce gleefully to his colleagues, That's a record for a social studies text, you know. Any social studies teacher who has used the book during the past forty-six years can readily explain why. Some of his other textbooks included People: Cultures, Times, and Places; Quest for Liberty, for which he also served as co-director, a high school social studies text which became the National Education Association Outstanding Textbook for 1963; 20th Century Asia: An Anthology, which he co-authored with Robin McKeown in 1968; and Reducing Adolescent Prejudice, which he coauthored with Nina Gabelko in 1980. Always wanting to reach out to as many practitioners as possible, he also developed many correspondence courses that are offered throughout

128 the UC system. For his many contributions, he was named Outstanding Alumnus by the University of Northern Colorado in 1979, the year before his retirement here. Michaelis was an active member of the National Education Association, the American Educational Research Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the National Council of Geography Education. Michaelis established scholarships at Berkeley, at the division of education in social sciences at UC Riverside, and at the University of Northern Colorado. He also instilled in all who worked with him and learned from him a sense of how important one person can be in improving the quality of life for others. He taught us, and reminded us often that nothing has ever been written that cannot be improved. He held himself to that standard, as well. He believed in both the science and the art of teaching, and exemplified both. He believed that equity of educational outcome was a mandate not just a phrase. He carried that belief into his own mentoring of doctoral students and other education professionals. Today, looking at any list of prominent persons in the field of social studies education, one can point to many who are deeply indebted to him for setting them on the path and supporting their early professional efforts. John Michaelis will be sorely missed for his gentle humor, for his personal integrity, for his willingness to stay with a problem until it was solved--which went double for those problems that have no solution. Nina Hersch Gabelko Donald Hansen Lawrence Lowery