Ruth Farlow Uyesugi
Mrs. "U"
50 Years Of Service At Paoli High School
Mrs. "U"
50 Years Of Service At Paoli High School
Indiana Journalism Hall of Famer Ruth Uyesugi receives a certificate marking her 50 years of service from Paoli Junior-Senior High School Principal Jerry Stroud.
May 26, 2005
Ruth Uyesugi received an award from Paoli High School Monday commemorating her 50 years of teaching.
She was quick to make a correction, saying, "Actually I have been teaching 50 and a half years," elaborating that she taught a half year in Oregon before beginning at Paoli.
Uyesugi earned her undergraduate degree from Earlham College in 1945 and majored in Latin and English. She also received a master's in journalism from Indiana University in 1964, which she managed to get the Wall Street Journal to pay for. "We wrote a letter [to the Wall Street Journal] one time asking for three of our teachers to go to a summer session at IU and I guess they liked us all," she said. "I stayed with them and they kept paying and paying. I think the Paolite helped me out a lot with that."
Uyesugi taught journalism and worked with her students on the Paolite, Paoli High School's newspaper, for 43 years. "The reason why I gave it [the Paolite] up is because computers hate me," she said. "I really have a terrible feud going with computers."
She was quick to make a correction, saying, "Actually I have been teaching 50 and a half years," elaborating that she taught a half year in Oregon before beginning at Paoli.
Uyesugi earned her undergraduate degree from Earlham College in 1945 and majored in Latin and English. She also received a master's in journalism from Indiana University in 1964, which she managed to get the Wall Street Journal to pay for. "We wrote a letter [to the Wall Street Journal] one time asking for three of our teachers to go to a summer session at IU and I guess they liked us all," she said. "I stayed with them and they kept paying and paying. I think the Paolite helped me out a lot with that."
Uyesugi taught journalism and worked with her students on the Paolite, Paoli High School's newspaper, for 43 years. "The reason why I gave it [the Paolite] up is because computers hate me," she said. "I really have a terrible feud going with computers."
After teaching Latin for one year, she thought, "These kids need to speak a language," so she went back to school and finished a minor in Spanish and began teaching it.
In all, Uyesugi has taught government, biology, English, Latin, Spanish, journalism and physical education, which she found rather amusing considering she couldn't even catch a ball.
Of all the classes she has taught, Uyesugi said, "I pride myself on the fact that my journalists, over these years, almost all of them are still writing for newspapers or magazines or are teachers." She added that it makes her smile to think that so many of them are still doing the things she taught them so many years ago.
Ever the journalist, at one point, Uyesugi was explaining her teaching method and said, "Well, that's not a good quote because I'm repeating a word here." She was then silent for a moment and produced what she thought would be a more print-worthy line, saying, "My main philosophy, I think, is to try to make a kid feel important. I want him to know that he is special. I work very hard at that."
Uyesugi said the greatest honor she has ever received was being inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 1999, an honor never before bestowed upon any other teacher. "My students did it as a surprise, my Paolite editors," she said. "They got it all together and they surprised me."
Her name now stands alongside such Hoosier journalism greats as Ernie Pyle, Kent Cooper, John Stempel and John P. Riley.
Uyesugi is very concerned about the state of journalism today. "I feel that journalists don't care as much about the truth as they do about filling up pages and making front-page stories," she said. "We've seen this over and over, particularly in the last few years."
More than 35 years ago, Uyesugi founded the Orange County Players. "We've done a play every year since then," she said. "Sometimes two, sometimes three." This year the players will be performing Grease.
In all, Uyesugi has taught government, biology, English, Latin, Spanish, journalism and physical education, which she found rather amusing considering she couldn't even catch a ball.
Of all the classes she has taught, Uyesugi said, "I pride myself on the fact that my journalists, over these years, almost all of them are still writing for newspapers or magazines or are teachers." She added that it makes her smile to think that so many of them are still doing the things she taught them so many years ago.
Ever the journalist, at one point, Uyesugi was explaining her teaching method and said, "Well, that's not a good quote because I'm repeating a word here." She was then silent for a moment and produced what she thought would be a more print-worthy line, saying, "My main philosophy, I think, is to try to make a kid feel important. I want him to know that he is special. I work very hard at that."
Uyesugi said the greatest honor she has ever received was being inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 1999, an honor never before bestowed upon any other teacher. "My students did it as a surprise, my Paolite editors," she said. "They got it all together and they surprised me."
Her name now stands alongside such Hoosier journalism greats as Ernie Pyle, Kent Cooper, John Stempel and John P. Riley.
Uyesugi is very concerned about the state of journalism today. "I feel that journalists don't care as much about the truth as they do about filling up pages and making front-page stories," she said. "We've seen this over and over, particularly in the last few years."
More than 35 years ago, Uyesugi founded the Orange County Players. "We've done a play every year since then," she said. "Sometimes two, sometimes three." This year the players will be performing Grease.
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