Louis P. Bénézet
Encyclopedia
Louis Paul Bénézet was an American educator and writer who pioneered the reform of school education in the early twentieth century.
and, from 1924 to 1938, in Manchester, New Hampshire
.
In 1918 he published The World War and What was Behind It, an account of the events leading up to World War I
, which he blamed on German aggression combined with perceived threats to the traditional social order from radicals and ethnic nationalists. The book was based on a series of talks he had given about how European history had led to the creation of unstable nation-states. He included a map of "Europe As It Should Be", a template for avoiding ethnic rivalry by creating "the boundaries of the various nations as they would look if the bulk of the people of each nationality were included in a single political division."
, which were "to read", "to reason", "to recite". He explained, "by reciting I did not mean giving back, verbatim, the words of the teacher or of the textbook. I meant speaking the English language. I picked out five rooms - three third grades, one combining the third and fourth grades, and one fifth grade." The intention was to ensure that students grasped the meaning of what they were learning, rather than simply memorise it.
He intentionally chose schools with a high number of immigrants, without good English language skills, arguing that in the absence of rigid mathematics teaching, the students could concentrate on developing language skills and thus assimilate more easily into the new country, promoting both integration and more rapid learning at higher levels of schooling. Such students would catch up on the mathematics, once they had learned to understand problems in English. His theory was very controversial.
, from which he retired in 1948 when he was in his 70s. However, he then taught for ten more years at three universities: the Bradley University
, Peoria, Illinois (his childhood home), from 1948 to 1950; at Evansville College, Indiana
, from 1950 to 1952; and at Jackson College, a short-lived post-War college in Honolulu, from 1956 to 1960. In 1960 he suffered a stroke, which forced him to give up teaching. He died in Honolulu following a second stroke in May 1961.
His hobby was the study of the so-called Shakespeare authorship question
. He became an advocate for Oxfordian theory
. In his book Shakespeare and de Vere (1937) he propounded a modified version of Percy Allen
's Prince tudor
theory, but did not accept Allen's belief that Oxford had a son by Queen Elizabeth I. However, he argued that the sonnets were written to an actor son of the Earl's, who performed under the name "William Shakespeare". In The Six Loves of Shake-Speare (1959), he argued that the sonnets were addressed to six different individuals. He also devised the "Bénézet test" of conjoining lines from Oxford's and Shakespeare's verse to see whether the difference was noticeable to the reader.
His son, Louis T. Benezet
was an influential U.S. educational administrator.
Early Career
From 1916 to 1924 Bénézet was head of colleges in Evansville, IndianaEvansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and, from 1924 to 1938, in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
.
In 1918 he published The World War and What was Behind It, an account of the events leading up to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which he blamed on German aggression combined with perceived threats to the traditional social order from radicals and ethnic nationalists. The book was based on a series of talks he had given about how European history had led to the creation of unstable nation-states. He included a map of "Europe As It Should Be", a template for avoiding ethnic rivalry by creating "the boundaries of the various nations as they would look if the bulk of the people of each nationality were included in a single political division."
Innovations
In the late 1920s he became a pioneer of new teaching techniques, when he initiated pilot schemes in selected schools, the results of which he published 1935/36. These schemes aimed at eliminating "meaningless drills" and abolished the ritualized formal mathematics instruction to seventh grade students. He introduced what he called the new three RsThe three Rs
The three Rs are the foundations of a basic skills-orientated education program within schools: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.The phrase is attributed to a toast given by Sir William Curtis around 1825...
, which were "to read", "to reason", "to recite". He explained, "by reciting I did not mean giving back, verbatim, the words of the teacher or of the textbook. I meant speaking the English language. I picked out five rooms - three third grades, one combining the third and fourth grades, and one fifth grade." The intention was to ensure that students grasped the meaning of what they were learning, rather than simply memorise it.
He intentionally chose schools with a high number of immigrants, without good English language skills, arguing that in the absence of rigid mathematics teaching, the students could concentrate on developing language skills and thus assimilate more easily into the new country, promoting both integration and more rapid learning at higher levels of schooling. Such students would catch up on the mathematics, once they had learned to understand problems in English. His theory was very controversial.
Later career
From 1938 to 1948 he was a professor at Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, from which he retired in 1948 when he was in his 70s. However, he then taught for ten more years at three universities: the Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
, Peoria, Illinois (his childhood home), from 1948 to 1950; at Evansville College, Indiana
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
, from 1950 to 1952; and at Jackson College, a short-lived post-War college in Honolulu, from 1956 to 1960. In 1960 he suffered a stroke, which forced him to give up teaching. He died in Honolulu following a second stroke in May 1961.
His hobby was the study of the so-called Shakespeare authorship question
Shakespeare authorship question
Image:ShakespeareCandidates1.jpg|thumb|alt=Portraits of Shakespeare and four proposed alternative authors.|Oxford, Bacon, Derby, and Marlowe have each been proposed as the true author...
. He became an advocate for Oxfordian theory
Oxfordian theory
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship proposes that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford , wrote the plays and poems traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. While a large majority of scholars reject all alternative candidates for authorship, popular...
. In his book Shakespeare and de Vere (1937) he propounded a modified version of Percy Allen
Percy Allen (writer)
Percy Allen was an English journalist, writer and lecturer most notable for his advocacy of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, and particularly for his creation of Prince Tudor theory, which claimed that the Earl of Oxford fathered a child with Queen Elizabeth I.-Early writings:Allen...
's Prince tudor
Prince Tudor theory
The Prince Tudor theory is a variant of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, which asserts that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was the true author of the works published under the name of William Shakespeare...
theory, but did not accept Allen's belief that Oxford had a son by Queen Elizabeth I. However, he argued that the sonnets were written to an actor son of the Earl's, who performed under the name "William Shakespeare". In The Six Loves of Shake-Speare (1959), he argued that the sonnets were addressed to six different individuals. He also devised the "Bénézet test" of conjoining lines from Oxford's and Shakespeare's verse to see whether the difference was noticeable to the reader.
His son, Louis T. Benezet
Louis T. Benezet
Louis Tomlinson Benezet was an American educator, education administrator and multiple U.S. university president....
was an influential U.S. educational administrator.
Publications
- The teaching of arithmetic I, II, III: The story of an experiment, "Journal of the National Education Association" 24(8), 241-244 (1935); 24(9), 301-303 (1935); 25(1), 7-8, (1936).
- The teaching of arithmetic I, II, III: The story of an experiment, "Journal of the National Education Association 24 (8), 241-244 (1935), 24 (9), 301-303 (1935), 25 ( 1), 7-8, (1936).
- The teaching of arithmetic I, II, III, in "Humanistic Mathematics Newsletter" 6: 1991
- The World War And What Was Behind It, (2004 reprint) ISBN 1419188720
- "Look in the Chronicles", Shakespeare Fellowship Newsletter (US) 4:3, (1943) 28
- Shakspere, Shakespeare and de Vere, Granite State Press, January 1, 1937
- The Six Loves of Shake-speare, Pageant Press, Inc., New York, 1959
- "A Hoax Three Centuries Old", American Bar Association Journal, May 1960, pp.519-22