Harold Raymond Wayne Benjamin (1893–1969) was an American educator and writer; known for his publications ''The Saber-Tooth Curriculum'' (1939) and ''Higher Education in the American Republics'' (1965) (Guthrie 168).

Biography

Early life and education

Harold Raymond Wayne Benjamin was born March 27, 1893, in Gilmanton, Wisconsin, to Harold and Harriet Benjamin. He moved to Oregon with his family in 1904, and graduated from

Tualatin Academy Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the acade ...

in 1910. Benjamin earned degrees from both the Oregon Normal School and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He later received a Ph.D. from the

Stanford Graduate School of Education The Stanford University Graduate School of Education (Stanford GSE or GSE) is one of the top education schools in the United States. It offers master's and doctoral programs in more than 25 areas of specialization, along with joint degrees with ...

in 1927 (Ohles 112).

Career

Benjamin’s professional career was extremely long and illustrious. He began his teaching career at Salem Heights Elementary School in 1915. Benjamin then became the superintendent of schools in

Umatilla, Oregon Umatilla (, ) is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population in 2010 was 6,906, but the city's population includes approximately 2,000 inmates incarcerated at Two Rivers Correctional Institution. Umatilla is part of the ...

, until 1922. He moved on to become an assistant professor of education at the

until 1925. Benjamin decided to take a job at Stanford University as a teaching fellow before deciding to enroll in their student teaching program in 1927. After completion of the program in 1931, he moved on to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

where he was a professor of education and the assistant dean of the college of education until 1936. Benjamin decided to take a job at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

as the director of the college of education for two years. After two years in Colorado, he took a position as the dean of the college of education at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

where he served for twelve years. In 1951, Benjamin became the chairman of social foundations of education at

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

in Tennessee where he ended his career in education in 1958 (Ohles 112). In his career, Benjamin was also a noted figure in comparative international education. He traveled to many Latin countries comparing the way the U.S. and other countries ran their higher education systems, which led him to writing a well-known book ''Higher Education in the American Republic'' (Guthrie 169). Harold R.W. Benjamin’s main purpose in his work was to preserve the democratic processes in American schooling and for an awakening of instructional consciousness toward individual differences. This belief led him to writing another well known book, ''The Saber-Tooth Curriculum''. ''The Saber-Tooth Curriculum'' was written by Benjamin under the pseudonym J. Abner Peddiwell. Published in 1939, ''The Saber-Tooth Curriculum'' is a satirical commentary explaining how unexamined traditions of schooling can result in resisting needed changes (Guthrie 169). He believed education needs to be responsive to the emerging needs of the life experience and he felt education in his time was sticking to teachings of old rather than of present times.

Personal life

Benjamin married Dr. Georgia Kessi, a researcher and leading voice of global educational systems, in 1920. Together they had three children.

References

*Guthrie, James W., ed. Encyclopedia of Education. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 168-69. *Ohles, John F., ed. Biographical Dictionary of American Educators. Vol. 1. 112-13. *Benjamin, Harold. The Saber-Tooth Curriculum. 141-41 {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Harold R.W. 1893 births 1969 deaths University of Oregon alumni Western Oregon University alumni Educators from Oregon University of Oregon faculty Stanford Graduate School of Education alumni People from Gilmanton, Wisconsin People from Umatilla, Oregon