Oct 6, 2009 5:33 pm US/Central
Someone You Should Know: Educator Hazel Bauman
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Hazel Bauman has been an educator in the Chicago Public Schools system for 65 years.
CBS
She went to the head of the class back in 1941 just after the start of World War II. Hazel Bauman has shared so much with her students, from watching man walk on the moon to surfing the Internet. CBS 2's Harry Porterfield reports Bauman is someone you should know.
Hers is a devotion to kids and their education that may be difficult to equal.
In 1941, Hazel Bauman stepped into a public school classroom for the first time. It had been her dream since high school.
"Way back then, I thought, I want to be a teacher. I just love to be in school. That's where it all started. I thought of nothing else but," Bauman said.
Three days a week, Bauman volunteers at the Decatur Classical School in Chicago. She started there 15 years ago after she retired as a classroom teacher. This year, 2009, marks Bauman's 65th year in the school system.
Students interviewing her for a composition project asked what changes she has seen in Chicago Public Schools over 65 years.
"The only difference was we didn't have computers, and it wasn't fun like it is now," Bauman said.
Last year, Bauman had triple bypass surgery. But that bump in the road didn't keep her from her students for very long.
"I said to the doctor, 'how long before I can go back to school?' He said, 'what are you doing here? Get back to school.' That was just about a month and a half after I had it," Bauman said.
There are 283 students enrolled at Decatur Classical School, and every one of them knows Hazel Bauman.
They also know her as a dancer. In 1950, she won a Charleston contest during the Harvest Moon Festival at the old Chicago Stadium.
But there's no generation gap here.
"She's touched so many lives, and again, we should all be so blessed as educators," said Decatur Principal Susan Kukielka.
In January, Hazel Bauman will be 90 years old, and she still loves being in school.
When asked what's kept her in school for so long, Bauman said, "Being interested in life and being with kids, and seeing just how wonderful they are and what they can turn out to be. It's just been fun."
Bauman says she has been a Cubs fan "for as long as they've been losing." And we know that's a lot of years. She also says she'll stay at Decatur school as long as they'll have her, and we're sure that's a long, long time.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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