Lou L. LaBrant (May 28, 1888 – February 25, 1991) was an American

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and writer. She was president of the

National Council of Teachers of English The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts English studies (or simply, English) is an academic discip ...

in 1954 and a pioneer in English education, championing holistic and child-centered approaches to the teaching of reading and writing.

Biography

LaBrant was born in

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and started teaching in public high schools and experimental schools in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. She received her bachelor's degree in Latin at

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

in 1911. She completed an M.A. at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1925, and received her Ph.D. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1932. She created free reading programs and worked as a founding staff member at the University School of the Ohio State University from 1932 until 1942. She taught at

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 ...

from 1942 until 1953. From 1939 until 1943 she was a writer and editor of

Journal of Educational Method A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

, where she supported different methodological approaches. She was president of the National Council of Teachers of English from 1953 until 1954. She was a head of the humanities division at Dillard University from 1958 until 1971, where she put into practice a pre-freshman program for African-American students. She eventually taught in nearly every state and was the first female professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. With Frieda M. Heller, she started a series for cooperation between teachers and students called Experimenting Together — The Librarian and the Teacher of English. After retiring, she taught at

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

and

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

and, in 1988, she was honored by

for her 100th birthday. In 1962, she received the W. Wilbur Hatfield Award for excellence. In 1951, her book ''We Teach English'' was published. She died at the age of 102 in 1991 and was cremated.

Writings

* ''Study of Certain Language Developments of Children in Grades 4-12 Inclusive'', L LaBrant - Genetic Psychology Monographs, 1933 * "The Goals for Culturally Different Youth", L LaBrant - Improving English Skills of Culturally Different Youth * "The Psychological Basis for Creative Writing", L LaBrant - ''English Journal'', 1936 - JSTOR * "Changing sentence structure of children", L LaBrant - ''The Elementary English Review'', 1934 * "Teaching High-School Students to Write", L LaBrant - ''English Journal'', 1946 - JSTOR * ''The uses of communication media'', LL LaBrant - M. Willis, 1961 * "An Evaluation of the Free Reading in Grades Ten, Eleven, and Twelve", LL LaBrant - 1936 - Ohio State Univ. * "An Evaluation of Free Reading in Grades Seven to Twelve, Inclusive", LL LaBrant, FM Heller - ''Contributions in Education'' * "The Content of a Free Reading Program", LL Labrant - 2007 - jstor.org * "Mental-Health Practices in High-School Grades", L LaBrant - ''Mental Health in Modern Education''

References

* "Blueprints or Houses? Lou LaBrant and the Writing Debate",P. L. Thomas, ''The English Journal'', Vol. 89, No. 3 * ''Our History, Ourselves'' (Jan., 2000), pp. 85–89, Published by: National Council of Teachers of English * "Encyclopedia of Education"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labrant, Lou L. 1888 births 1991 deaths