He became the superintendent of schools in North Carolina (1883–93) and subsequently he became professor of pedagogy and German at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College from 1893 to 1902, and in 1896 director of that institution's Practice and Observation School. Professor Claxton was also editor of the North Carolina Journal of Education (1897-1901) and of the Atlantic Educational Journal (1901–03). He then moved back to his home state of Tennessee in 1902 to take up the post of Professor of Education at the University of Tennessee, where he taught until 1911.
Claxton was a member of the Southern Education Board, which during the early years of the twentieth century worked assiduously to promote interest in public schooling in the South. At the University of Tennessee, he organized and headed the first Department of Education and served as the superintendent (1902–11) of the Summer School of the South which, during a sixteen-year existence, improved the education of over 32,000 teachers in southern schools.
He had a distinguished career as the United States Commissioner of Education. The United States Bureau of Education became an important branch of the government as under his guidance its role and activities were substantially expanded. As Commissioner of Education under three presidents, Claxton labored through writings and addresses to raise in the public consciousness the connection between improved education and a vigorous and prosperous democracy. He also helped to write the legislation authorizing rehabilitative education for World War Iveterans and developed the first plan for federal aid for vocational education.
Claxton continued in the academic education world after he retired from the Commission in 1921. He was provost of the University of Alabama until 1923 when he moved to Oklahoma to become Superintendent of Schools in Tulsa. He held that latter post from 1923 to 1929. In 1930, he returned once more to Tennessee where he again became involved in academic education as the President of the Austin Peay Normal School in Clarksville until he retired in 1946.
While his role was more directly focused on the improvement of schools at the lower levels — for which he has been hailed as the Horace Mann of the South — he exercised considerable influence on higher education. Two of his public pronouncements perhaps best sum up his concern for issues surrounding teacher education:
The state must give the University wise direction, keeping it free from all influences of partisan politics, sectarian bias, social caste, and unrighteous personal ambitions.
— Philander Claxton
and
"The most important work of a college president ... is the selection of teachers, relieving them of all unnecessary duties that may interfere with teaching."
— Philander Claxton
Legacyedit
The Philander P. Claxton Award was initiated by the Tennessee Conference of the American Association of University Professors in 1986 to honor an individual who had made significant contributions to higher education in Tennessee. The recipient is to embody the highest ideals of the academic profession and of the Association.
Claxton also has an elementary school named for him. P.P. Claxton elementary school in Asheville, North Carolina is named for him.[2]
Claxton, Georgia is reputed, by some historians, to be named for Claxton.[3]
Claxton Elementary School in Claxton, Anderson County, Tennessee in 1915 was named in his honor. Still an active school.
philander, claxton, philander, priestly, claxton, september, 1862, january, 1957, american, educator, administrator, united, states, commissioner, educationin, office, june, 1911, june, 1921presidentwilliam, taftwoodrow, wilsonwarren, hardingpreceded, byelmer,. Philander Priestly Claxton September 28 1862 January 12 1957 was an American educator and administrator 1 Philander ClaxtonUnited States Commissioner of EducationIn office June 30 1911 June 2 1921PresidentWilliam TaftWoodrow WilsonWarren HardingPreceded byElmer BrownSucceeded byJohn TigertPersonal detailsBorn 1862 09 28 September 28 1862Shelbyville Tennessee U S DiedJanuary 12 1957 1957 01 12 aged 94 Knoxville Tennessee U S EducationUniversity of Tennessee Knoxville BA MA Johns Hopkins University Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography editPhilander Claxton was born in Bedford County Tennessee He was educated at the University of Tennessee where he obtained both his Bachelor 1882 and Masters of Arts 1887 He continued his studies at Johns Hopkins University as well as in Germany Claxton received an honorary Litt D from Bates College in 1906 He became the superintendent of schools in North Carolina 1883 93 and subsequently he became professor of pedagogy and German at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College from 1893 to 1902 and in 1896 director of that institution s Practice and Observation School Professor Claxton was also editor of the North Carolina Journal of Education 1897 1901 and of the Atlantic Educational Journal 1901 03 He then moved back to his home state of Tennessee in 1902 to take up the post of Professor of Education at the University of Tennessee where he taught until 1911 Claxton was a member of the Southern Education Board which during the early years of the twentieth century worked assiduously to promote interest in public schooling in the South At the University of Tennessee he organized and headed the first Department of Education and served as the superintendent 1902 11 of the Summer School of the South which during a sixteen year existence improved the education of over 32 000 teachers in southern schools He had a distinguished career as the United States Commissioner of Education The United States Bureau of Education became an important branch of the government as under his guidance its role and activities were substantially expanded As Commissioner of Education under three presidents Claxton labored through writings and addresses to raise in the public consciousness the connection between improved education and a vigorous and prosperous democracy He also helped to write the legislation authorizing rehabilitative education for World War I veterans and developed the first plan for federal aid for vocational education Claxton continued in the academic education world after he retired from the Commission in 1921 He was provost of the University of Alabama until 1923 when he moved to Oklahoma to become Superintendent of Schools in Tulsa He held that latter post from 1923 to 1929 In 1930 he returned once more to Tennessee where he again became involved in academic education as the President of the Austin Peay Normal School in Clarksville until he retired in 1946 While his role was more directly focused on the improvement of schools at the lower levels for which he has been hailed as the Horace Mann of the South he exercised considerable influence on higher education Two of his public pronouncements perhaps best sum up his concern for issues surrounding teacher education The state must give the University wise direction keeping it free from all influences of partisan politics sectarian bias social caste and unrighteous personal ambitions Philander Claxton and The most important work of a college president is the selection of teachers relieving them of all unnecessary duties that may interfere with teaching Philander ClaxtonLegacy editThe Philander P Claxton Award was initiated by the Tennessee Conference of the American Association of University Professors in 1986 to honor an individual who had made significant contributions to higher education in Tennessee The recipient is to embody the highest ideals of the academic profession and of the Association Claxton also has an elementary school named for him P P Claxton elementary school in Asheville North Carolina is named for him 2 Claxton Georgia is reputed by some historians to be named for Claxton 3 Claxton Elementary School in Claxton Anderson County Tennessee in 1915 was named in his honor Still an active school References edit Lewis 1948 Arnett Ethel Stephens 1973 For Whom Our Public Schools Were Named Greensboro North Carolina Piedmont Press p 259 Claxton Enterprise Archived 2013 01 28 at the Wayback Machine Accessed May 23 2013 Further reading editLewis Charles Lee Philander Priestley Claxton Crusader For Public Education 1948 online a major scholarly biographyExternal links editAustin Peay State University in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture Claxton Family Papers 1942 1954 Tennessee State Library and Archives Philander Priestly Claxton in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture Summer School of the South in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and CulturePolitical officesPreceded byElmer Brown United States Commissioner of Education1911 1921 Succeeded byJohn Tigert Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Philander Claxton amp oldid 1180138881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
