Meriam, Junius L. (1872- ), Papers, 1900-1944 (C965)

.4 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

The Junius L. Meriam Papers consist of photographs and a scrapbook primarily describing and depicting Meriam's views on elementary education. He was a professor at the University of Missouri School of Education and superintendent of the university laboratory schools from 1904 to 1924.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Junius L. Meriam Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Mrs. J.L. Meriam on 24 November 1962 (Accession No. 3527).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Junius Lathrop Meriam was born in Randolph, Ohio, in 1872 and received the A.B. at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1895. He graduated from the New York State Normal College at Albany in 1898 and received an A.M. from Harvard University in 1902. He was superintendent and high school principal in Wakeman, Ohio, from 1895 through 1897; principal of an elementary school in Akron, Ohio, from 1898 to 1899; supervisor of practice teaching in the New York State Normal College from 1899 through 1901; and Assistant in Philosophy at Harvard University from 1902 to 1903. He came to the University of Missouri School of Education in 1904. Meriam was a leading authority on elementary education and put his theories into practice at the university's elementary and high schools. He rejected the rote learning of facts and believed that children learned when they could relate what they were learning to their everyday lives. He left the university in 1924 and took a position at the University of California at Los Angeles.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Meriam Papers consist of thirty-seven photographs depicting the building, students, and activities of the University Elementary School and a scrapbook primarily documenting Merriam's work in elementary education at that school.

The photographs date from c.1917 and depict the interior and exterior of the school; student activities such as assemblies, playing games and dancing, working on crafts, and reading; and examples of the students' work including handcrafts, art, and writing.

The scrapbook, consisting of newsclippings, programs, brochures, and photographs, has been disassembled. The newsclippings have been photocopied and discarded. The programs, brochures, and photographs have been preserved and interfiled with the photocopied newsclippings in original order. The scrapbook dates from 1900 to 1944, with the bulk of the material from 1909 to 1923, and is divided into five sections: on the campus of the University of Missouri, off campus, writings, comments, and the 1923 Tiger Claw.

The "on the campus" section is the largest and includes newsclippings, photographs, programs, and brochures about new methods in education and the university's elementary and high schools. The "off campus" section highlights Merriam's work as a lecturer and speaker on new methods in education. The "writings" and "comments" sections deal with Merriam's books and publications and reviews of those works.

Included in the "comments" section is correspondence with former pupils; reports from other educators; an assessment by Elizabeth Bayles, who taught fifth and sixth grades at the elementary school during the 1910/1911 school year, on the implementation of Merriam's principles in the classroom; and outlines for the teaching of various courses. These items were fastened together and pasted onto one page of the scrapbook; they have been left in their original order.

The 1923 Tiger Claw was the first yearbook of the University High School.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1Photographs, #1-10
f. 2Photographs, #11-20
f. 3Photographs, #21-30
f. 4Photographs, #31-37
f. 5-6Scrapbook, On Campus, pp. 1-54
f. 7Scrapbook, Off Campus, pp. 55-74
Writings, pp. 75-80
f. 8-9Scrapbook, Comments, pp. 81-96
f. 10Scrapbook, Tiger Claw, 1923
Loose items

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • Children, 1910s
  • Children--Costume, 1910s
  • Children's art works
  • Drama in education
  • Education
  • Education--Elementary
  • Education--Elementary--Study and teaching
  • Education--Experimental methods
  • Education--Study and teaching
  • Gautier, Jean
  • School buildings
  • School classrooms
  • Teachers, Training
  • University Elementary School, Columbia, MO
  • University of Missouri, College of Education
  • University of Missouri, Department of Education
  • University of Missouri-Columbia