Dr. Richard Thomas Alexander
| Richard Thomas Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 3, 1887 Smicksburg, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 16, 1971 (aged 84) Waynesville, North Carolina |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School | Pragmatism |
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Main interests
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Comparative Education, Philosophy of education, epistemology, social reconstruction, ethics, German progressivism, critical pedagogy |
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Notable ideas
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Educational progressivism, concept of community |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Richard Thomas Alexander (1887-1971) was an American educator and influential education theorist. An early proponent of the progressive education movement of John Dewey, Alexander was the driving force behind the creation of the New College, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. He was its chairman from 1932-1938. Alexander was described by his contemporaries as a hard-working, pragmatic man and a common sense academic with a genius for organization and a love of education.
Richard Alexander was born on July 3, 1887, in Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, to Mary Elizabeth Wilhelm Alexander and William John Alexander, one of four children. He had two older brothers, John Wilhelm Alexander and Wallace P. Alexander, and a younger sister, Ethel M. Alexander. A move to Kirksville, Missouri was precipitated by a tenuous family situation that led to the separation of young Thomas's parents when he was very young. William John Alexander, who was at one time President of Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in Beaver, Pennsylvania, ended up in San Francisco, California, where he died in 1926. The relationship Richard Alexander had with is father is not known, as there was little contact between them. By the age of 14, he was enrolled in the Kirksville Public School system graduating from Kirksville Public High School at the age of 16 in 1903. He attended the First District Normal School (later, Truman State University) in Kirksville, graduating with a Bachelor of Pedagogy (Pd.B.) in 1905 and later receiving a Master of Pedagogy (M.Pd) in 1907. While working on his master's degree, he taught in Kirksville, rising to the role of principal by 1906. Alexander applied to the University of Missouri only to find disappointment when he was told he would not be given credit for the work he had done at the normal school. Alexander started Columbia University studying German on September 25, 1907 on a trial basis.
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