Selma Wassermann (born 1929) is a Canadian-American author, educator, and researcher. She is a Professor Emerita at
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
, where she led the creation of the teacher education program.
Education and career
Wassermann was born in 1929 in New York City
and grew up in public schools in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. She attended
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
, where she received a Bachelor of Science in 1950, and a Master of Science in 1956.
She earned a Doctorate of Education in 1962 from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
.
Wassermann's first year of teaching was in San Francisco,
and then she returned to New York where she taught until 1966 at which point she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to begin the teacher education program at Simon Fraser University.
Wassermann retired from teaching in 2000.
Work
Wassermann is known for her work on child-centered education and children's books. In education, she has written on play in the classroom, case method teaching, and how to work within a K-8 classroom. Wasserman has also published children's books, including books about a chimpanzee named Moonbeam and a submariner named Sailor Jack,
and an app to help children learn to read. Her book on maintaining relationships with grandchildren from afar, ''The Long Distance Grandmother'', had its fourth edition released in 2001.
[Reviews for ''The Long Distance Grandmother''
*
*
* ]
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
*
Awards and honors
In 1988 Wasserman was elected to the National Humanities Faculty in the United States.
In 1989 she received the award for teaching excellence from Simon Fraser University.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wassermann, Selma
Living people
1929 births
City College of New York alumni
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni
Academic staff of Simon Fraser University
Canadian children's writers
American children's writers