Erle Elsworth Clippinger (1875–1939) was an emeritus professor of English and a scholar of children's literature in early 20th-century Indiana. He was one of the founding faculty members at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

, where he chaired the English department for many years.

Early life and education

Clippinger was born on September 27, 1875 in Eau Claire, Michigan to mother Mary Edna and father Henry G. Clippinger, who worked as a medical doctor. He graduated from Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in 1900, and went on to the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1903 and a master's degree in 1904. He also briefly attended graduate school at Harvard University.

Career and later life

He became an assistant professor at the Indiana State Normal School (now Indiana State University) in 1904. He moved to Ball State College in 1918, newly reopened after a previous school on the same site closed and the site was donated to the state of Indiana. He was the first teacher hired at the new school, and became head of its English department. He wrote the first catalog of the school's curriculum and, ignoring the Indiana government's requirement that the newly founded school focus only on preparing students to become primary-school teachers, developed a curriculum that covered both primary and secondary-level education. At Ball State, Clippinger was "an effective, challenging instructor" but had difficult relations with some other faculty members. He stepped down as department chair in 1932. He retired in 1937 and was awarded emeritus professor the same year. Clippinger died on January 7, 1939, in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the county seat, seat of Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs ...

Books

Clippinger's published works include ''Children's Literature: A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes'' (with

Charles Madison Curry Charles Madison Curry (1869–1944) was an English literature professor and an author and reviewer of children's literature in the late 19th century and early 20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ende ...

, Rand McNally 1921), ''Illustrated Lessons in Composition and Rhetoric'' (Silver, Burdett, and Co. 1912), and the two volume text ''Written and Spoken English: A Course in Composition and Rhetoric'' (Silver, Burdett, and Co. 1917). ''Written and Spoken English'' was widely used as a high school textbook, and ''Children's Literature'' enjoyed a second edition in 1932.

Reception

Author Michael Carter, in his 2003 book ''Where Writing Begins: A PostModern Reconstruction'', described Clippinger’s ''Written and Spoken English'' as a "classic" that is "an early example" of writing textbooks centered on "correct written presentation and correct grammar". Clippinger's book ''Written and Spoken English'' was "widely used in Chinese junior and senior colleges," wrote Xiaoye You in his book ''Writing in the Devil's Tongue: A History of English Composition in China''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clippinger, Erle Elsworth 1875 births 1933 deaths American children's writers Ball State University faculty University of Michigan alumni Eastern Michigan University alumni Indiana State University faculty Educators from Michigan 19th-century American male writers