• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 A Critical Examination of Milton Bradley's Contributions to Kindergarten and Art Eduction in the Context of His Time Jennifer Lee Snyder Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS AND DANCE A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF MILTON BRADLEY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO KINDERGARTEN AND ART EDUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS TIME By JENNIFER L. SNYDER A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Jennifer L. Snyder defended on June 27, 2005. ________________________ Tom Anderson Professor Directing Dissertation ________________________ Jeffrey Milligan Outside Committee Member ________________________ Pat Villeneuve Committee Member ________________________ Penny Orr Committee Member Approved: ____________________________________________________ Marcia Rosal, Head, Department of Art Education ____________________________________________________ Sally McRorie, Dean, School of Visual Arts and Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee member. ii For my parents… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this endeavor over the past three years. I am especially thankful for the support of my mother and father, Diane and Bob Snyder, who were both so enthusiastic about me continuing my education. Although my father was not able to finish the journey with me, I know he would be so proud of my accomplishment. To Carolyn Brown Treadon, I extend my deepest appreciation for the help and feedback you provided throughout the dissertation process. To the rest of my family and friends, I express my sincere gratitude. I am also extremely thankful for the help and support of my committee. I would especially like to thank Dr. Tom Anderson for guiding me through the dissertation process. His help has been invaluable to me and he was always very giving of his time and knowledge. Dr. Victoria Maria MacDonald, Dr. Pat Villenueve and Dr. Penny Orr all provided me with valuable insight and helped me focus my vision. I am also indebted to Dr. Jeffrey Milligan who graciously stepped in as my outside committee member when I was already three quarters of the way through the process. Thank you all. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ix ABSTRACT xi 1. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY 1 Focus of the Study 1 Guiding Questions 2 Supporting Questions 3 Rationale for the Study 3 Research Methodology 4 The Importance of a Question or Theme: Thin Spots or 6 Anomalies Primary and Secondary Sources 6 Using Primary Sources 7 External and Internal Criticism 7 Researcher Bias 8 Format of the Study 9 Processes and Segments of the Study 10 Obtaining Sources 11 Researcher Bias, Scope and Limitations of the Study 14 Definition of Terms 14 2. SETTING THE CONTEXT: AN OVERVIEW OF THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF MILTON BRADLEY’S LIFE 16 The Victorian Era 16 Migration and Immigration 16 Standard Time 17 v Mass Production 17 Housing 18 U.S. Postal Service and Mail Order Catalogs 18 Advertising and Consumerism 19 The Middle Class 20 Education 22 Growth of Interest in Schooling 22 Common School Reforms 22 Moral Education 23 Inside the Classroom 25 Schooling at the End of the Century 25 Progressive Education 26 Manual Training Schools 26 Kindergarten 27 Early Leaders of Progressive Education 27 Francis Wayland Parker 27 John Dewey 28 Art Education 29 Influential Early Drawing Advocates 30 Massachusetts Free Instruction Drawing Act of 1870 30 Industrial Drawing 31 Picture Study 32 Art Texts and Instructional Manuals 32 Leisure 33 Boardgames 34 3. MILTON BRADLEY’S LIFE AND WORK 35 Educational Beginnings 35 Birth of a Business 37 Introduction to the Kindergarten 39 Elizabeth Peabody and the kindergarten movement 40 Froebel and the kindergarten movement 42 vi Production of Kindergarten Supplies and Materials 43 Progressive Era Changes in Kindergarten 46 Color Theory and its Place in the Classroom 46 The Standard Colors 47 The Colored Papers 48 The Watercolors 49 Promotion and Advertisement 50 End of an Era 53 4. INTRODUCTION, THEMES AND CONCLUSIONS, AND 55 IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY Interpretation of Chapters 2 and 3 55 Bradley in Relation to the Victorian Era 55 Immigration and migration 55 The middle class 56 Bradley in Relation to Common Schools 57 Bradley in Relation to Moral Education 58 Bradley in Relation to Progressive Education 59 Bradley in Relation to Kindergarten 60 Progressive changes in kindergarten 62 Bradley in Relation to Art Education 63 Kindergarten and art education 64 Color theory 65 Bradley in Relation to Business 66 Themes and Conclusions 68 vii Bradley’s Social Circumstances 68 Influences on Bradley’s Educational Philosophy 69 Bradley’s Connection to Kindergarten and Art 70 Education Bradley’s Influence on Art Education and Color 71 Theory Color theory 72 Conclusions 73 Areas for Further Study 75 APPENDIX A: Letters Pertaining to Obtaining Information for this Study 78 APPENDIX B: Milton Bradley’s Educational Records from the Lowell 86 Historical Society and Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard University APPENDIX C: Color Definitions and Classifications based on Milton 109 Bradley’s Color Theory System References 113 Biographical Sketch 118 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Milton Bradley. Shea, J.J. (1973). The Milton Bradley story. New York: The Newcomen Society. xii. Figure 2. Sketch of Viceroy’s Railroad Car. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 38. Figure 3. Bradley’s Lincoln Print. Shea, J.J. (1973). The Milton Bradley story. New York: The Newcomen Society. 38. Figure 4. The Checkered Game of Life. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 39. Figure 5. Paradise of Childhood. Collection of the author. 40. Figure 6. Elizabeth Peabody. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 40. Figure 7. Second Gift. Milton Bradley catalog, 1913. 42. Figure 8/9. Milton Bradley Company Paper Cutters. Milton Bradley Company (Ed.). (1917). The Little Acorn and the Great Oak. Springfield, MA: Milton Bradley Company. 44. Figure 10. Bradley Color Wheel. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 47. Figure 11. Milton Bradley Company Crayons. Collection of the author. 49. Figure 12. Bradley Watercolor Set. Milton Bradley catalog, 1910. 49. Figure 13. Milton Bradley Catalog, 1910. Collection of the author. 50. Figure 14. Milton Bradley Company Ads. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 51. ix Figure 15. Milton Bradley Company Ad. Shea, J.J. (1960). Its all in the game. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 51. Figure 16. Big Ben Puzzle, Milton Bradley Company. Shea, J.J. (1973). The Milton Bradley story. New York: The Newcomen Society. 53. Figure 17. Milton Bradley Company facilities, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Shea, J.J. (1973). The Milton Bradley story. New York: The Newcomen Society. 54. Figure 18. Milton Bradley Company Educational Games. Shea, J.J. (1973). The Milton Bradley story. New York: The Newcomen Society. 54. x ABSTRACT This historical study examines the life of Milton Bradley in the context of his time. The primary question being asked in this study is: What contributions did Milton Bradley make to education during his lifetime, what, if any, affect did that have on art education, and how was that influenced by the circumstances of his life? Factors that influenced Milton Bradley include: the Victorian era, common schooling, moral education, progressive education, kindergarten, art education and business. Bradley’s connection to both kindergarten and art education are explored in depth, and his contributions to both are examined. The information in this study is presented using the contextual approach to art history advocated by Tom Anderson and Melody Milbrandt (2005). Anderson and Milbrandt’s contextual approach incorporates the use of social setting, mood, economic conditions, and other circumstances to interpret and evaluate the work in question. For the purposes of this study, Anderson and Milbrandt’s contextual approach has been adapted to historical inquiry. Milton Bradley straddled the Victorian and Progressive era and was a product of his times. Findings indicate that while Milton Bradley held an important role in the kindergarten movement, his role in the field of art education is of a secondary nature. Milton Bradley helped facilitate the entrance of art education into the public schools with his production of art supplies and materials intended for the kindergarten classroom. Bradley’s materials were designed for kindergarten first, and art education second, so ultimately, his contributions to art education were secondary in nature to his interest in the kindergarten xi Figure 1. Milton Bradley, The Milton Bradley Story, James J. Shea, 1973 xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY In Meditation XVII, John Donne states, “No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” His point, that no one exists in a vacuum, is an important one. The people, places and experiences we encounter help shape us, making us who we are. We are, in many ways, products of our time. We are influenced by the people around us, our educational experiences, the places and communities in which we live, the circumstances in which we find ourselves. When you meet a person who embodies a particular set of moral values and who seems representative of a particular time and place you remember them, sometimes for years afterward. If you are studying a person who lived in the past, who embodies the ideals of their age, you wonder what experiences they had that caused them to behave in a certain way.

Load more

  131

Copy Link