Samuel Thurber (1837-1913) and the secondary English curriculum in the United States

Samuel Thurber chaired the Conference on English of the Committee of Ten which established English as a central subject in the secondary schools of the United States. As one of the founders of a discipline and one of the leaders in English education, Thurber wrote extensively in professional journals at the turn of the century. His writings, published between 1875 and 1913, were searched for, collected, organized, and examined, using conventional historical methods, to elucidate his contributions to the development of the secondary English curriculum in the United States. The analysis of Thurber's writings showed that he influenced the development of the secondary English curriculum in a number of significant ways. First, examination of key recommendations of the Committee of Tent's English Report in light of Thurber's earlier writings found that a number of Conference proposals echoed Thurber's views. Sufficient areas of agreement existed to support the position that Thurber's concepts helped shape this important document. Second, exploration of Thurber's writings about the structure of English showed that he delineated a tripartite division of English, which included literature, language, and composition. His concept of the nature of English not only preceded the similar one proposed by the English Conference Report but is still the dominant one among English educators. Third, the analysis of the writings showed that Thurber anticipated several modern developments in English education and that he was forward-looking in his approaches to many issues relating to the secondary curriculum. Next, examination of Thurber's views concerning the training, qualifications, and self-study of English teachers determined that his work as a teacher educator was influential in helping to establish the profession when it was in its infancy. Fifth, Thurber's approaches to teaching English were found to be frequently addressed in his writings, discussed among educators of his day, and ahead of his time in many respects. Finally, the results of the exploration of his work showed not only that Thurber was one of the most forward-looking educators of his time but that his contributions to English education and the development of the English curriculum in the United States were extensive.