Nathaniel Topliff Allen, 1823-72 : a Case Study in the Professionalization of Nineteenth Century Teaching
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1983 Nathaniel Topliff Allen, 1823-72 : a case study in the professionalization of nineteenth century teaching. Lynn J. Cadwallader University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Cadwallader, Lynn J., "Nathaniel Topliff Allen, 1823-72 : a case study in the professionalization of nineteenth century teaching." (1983). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3866. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3866 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UMASS/AMHERST 31EDbbD 135^4 4bl NATHANIEL TOPLIFF ALLEN, 1823-72, A CASE STUDY IN THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF NINETEENTH CENTURY TEACHI A Dissertation Presented By LYNN J. CADWALLADER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION February 1983 School of Education Lynn J . Cadwal lader All Rights Reserved Partial support provided by: National Institute of Education Grant #G-80-0150 1 NATHANIEL TOPLIFF ALLEN, 1823-72, A CASE STUDY IN THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF NINETEENTH CENTURY TEACHING A Dissertation Presented By LYNN J. CADWALLADER Approved as to style and content by: / '-Y William Kornegay, Chairperson Louis Fischer, Member Stephen Nissenbaum, Member H LvS' Mark) Fantini J Dean School of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people offered me assistance and support during the course of this work. I would like especially to thank the Allen School and House Preservation Corporation, Henry Bolter, Paul Boyer, William and Jean Cadwallader, Richard Clark, Geraldine Joncich Clifford, Sharlene Cochrane, Serel Eimerl, Katherine Emerson, Paula Evans, Elizabeth Gerber, The Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society, Mario Fantini, Louis Fischer, Newell Flather, Nicholas Hawes, Ronald Goodenow, Jurgen Herbst, Richard Hocking, Michael B. Katz, Judith Kerr, William Kornegay, Mark Kramer, Paul Mattingly, Bernadette McDonald, Jonathan Messerli, Stephen Nissenbaum, Margaret Neussendorfer , Stephen Oates, Elizabeth Plimpton, Mary Quilling, Rebecca Allen Renear, Neal Salisbury, Gary Sykes, and George Urch. IV ABSTRACT Nathaniel Topliff Allen, 1823-72, A Case Study in the Professionalization of Nineteenth Century Teaching (February 1983) Lynn J. Cadwallader, A.B., University of California, Berkeley M.Ed., Ed.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst Directed by: Professor William Kornegay Nathaniel Topliff Allen (1823-1903) was one of the best known and most influential teachers of his time in New England. His career paralleled and manifested the early professionalization of teaching in this country. Allen began his teaching career in Massachusetts district schools before working with Cyrus Peirce in the first public normal school for teacher training in America. Later, with Peirce, he founded the West Newton English and Classical School which operated for nearly fifty years, attracting over 3000 students from nearly every state and thirty-two foreign countries. He pioneered or sup- ported numerous pedagogical innovations, such as physical education, nature studies, kindergartens, object lessons, and vocational training. Much of Allen's experience illuminates typical situations en- countered by nineteenth century American teachers in their increasing efforts at professionalism. From the beginning of his teaching in sense of 1842, Allen's correspondence with other teachers created a v . professional kinship while sharing information about the work of teaching. His experiences at Bridgewater Normal School give a de- tailed overall view of early organized attempts at teacher training. In the model school at West Newton, Allen demonstrated innovative methods to hundreds of prospective teachers. He continued to train teachers in his West Newton English and Classical School. Allen himself took a leadership role in the Bridgewater Normal Association, was an early vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Associa- tion, and studied European pedagogy (1869-71) for Henry Barnard. Allen is also of special interest because he maintained a life- long interest in the reforms of his era — abolitionism, women's rights, and the peace movement. This dissertation draws on and describes a major new collection of historical documents recently discovered in Allen's West Newton home, including correspondence with Horace Mann, other prominent educators, politicans, and literary figures vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT v CHAPTER I PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION 1 Summary of Nathaniel Allen's Life and Work 2 Major Areas to be Examined 5 Review of Literature 6 Methodology 10 II FROM FARM TO DISTRICT SCHOOL, 1823-1844 14 Introduction 14 Family Background 18 Allen's Early Education 24 Rev. Joseph Allen's Home School 26 District School Teaching 32 Teachers' Perceptions of Their Work 35 Working and Living Conditions 37 Teachers or Disciplinarians 38 Interaction with School Committees and Communities 40 Decision to Enter the Normal School 43 III TRAINING AT THE BRIDGEWATER NORMAL SCHOOL, 1845-1847 46 Introduction 46 Educational Theory and Curriculum at Bridgewater . 51 Training in School keepi ng 55 Student Life 57 External Problems 51 Teaching Jobs after Bridgewater Training 63 IV THE MODEL SCHOOL, 1848-1853 71 Introduction 71 Allen's Teaching Methods at the Model School .... 74 Letters to the Teacher 79 Normal ites in the Model School 82 Life in Horace Mann's Household 86 Allen's Political Activities and Travel South ... 88 Developing a Professional Consciousness 95 vi i CHAPTER V THE WEST NEWTON ENGLISH AND CLASSICAL SCHOOL 1854-1872 ’ 99 Introduction 99 ’ School Curriculum -j qo Allen's Students 104 Teachers in the Allen School ! . ! 108 The Allen School as a Training Ground for Teachers HI The Professional Teacher as a Public Figure .... 113 Commonwealth v. Nathaniel T. Allen 115 European Travel and Continuing Work 121 VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 131 Allen as a Transitional Figure 131 Further Study 134 Conclusions 136 FOOTNOTES . 137 BIBLIOGRAPHY 155 APPENDICES A PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF PAPERS IN NATHANIEL TOPLIFF ALLEN COLLECTION 163 B LIBRARY HOLDINGS AT BRIDGEWATER NORMAL SCHOOL AT ITS FOUNDING, 1840 CLASS BOOKS ON HAND AT BRIDGEWATER WHEN ALLEN ENTERED, 1845 APPARATUS PURCHASED AT THE OPENING OF BRIDGEWATER NORMAL SCHOOL, 1840 167 C BOOKS AND APPARATUS OF THE WEST NEWTON MODEL SCHOOL, 1853, ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO ITEMS OWNED BY THE STATE, BY NATHANIEL ALLEN, AND BY THE LOCAL DISTRICT 175 D A TERSE VERSE ON CYRUS PEIRCE 182 v i i i CHAPTER I PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION The chief purpose of this dissertation is to set forth the educational theories and practice of a significant educator whose career paralleled and manifested the early professionalization of teaching in this country. Nathaniel Allen (1823-1903) was one of the best known and most influential teachers of his time in New England, but educational historians have almost entirely ignored him. Allen's importance becomes clear through research in manuscript papers only recently discovered in his nineteenth century home and previously inaccessible to scholars. This study makes public this vast new collection of primary source materials in educational history and applies a conceptual framework to a portion of these documents. A second purpose of this dissertation is to extend current knowledge about the early professionalization of education in this country. Leaders of American teachers have long been concerned with achieving professional status. This study examines teachers' perceptions of their emerging profession from approximately 1840 to large group of 1870, a period when normal schools blossomed and a non-clerics emerged as teachers and educational leaders. I have used In examining the professionalization of teaching, Myron Lieberman in the characteristics of a profession as defined by 1 2 Education as a Profession (1956) and Burton Bledstein in The Culture of Professionalism (1976): a profession should be a full-time occu- pation providing an essential social service. Those entering a profession must go through a period of specialized training--primari ly intellectual — in a specific body of knowledge. They have autonomy in their work, assume responsi bi 1 ity for their judgements, and adhere to a generally agreed upon code of ethics. They emphasize service over economic gain. Finally, occupational groups achieve professional status when they form organizations to govern themselves. All of these characteristics just began to apply to teaching during the mid-nineteenth century. The occupation of teaching gradually showed the embryonic signs of a profession. The first compulsory schooling laws during this time indicated society's belief in the importance of schooling. There was a gradual shift from seasonal, part-time teachers to those who made a full-time commitment to the work. Teachers' institutes and the new normal schools aimed to provide training in a specific body of knowledge and to establish minimum qualifications for teachers. Professional organizations such as the American Institute of Instruction and the Massachusetts Teachers Association were formed and new journals