James Merriam Howard Jr. (1922–2002) was an American teacher, educational advocate, and national expert on the use of writing to enhance learning and improve
critical thinking
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
. Howard served as the headmaster of
Blair Academy
Blair Academy is a coeducational, boarding and day school for students in high school. The school serves students from ninth through twelfth grades as well as a small post-graduate class. The school's campus is located on a campus in Blairs ...
, a private
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
in
Blairstown, New Jersey
Blairstown is a township in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Blairstown's population was 5,704. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,967 Blair Academy awarded Howard their Citation of Merit, the school's highest honor, in 1994.
Early life, education, and career launch
Howard was born in
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
in 1922. He graduated from Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in 1938 and then completed a post-graduate year at All Saints School in
Bloxham
Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire several miles from the Cotswolds, about southwest of Banbury. It is on the edge of a valley and overlooked by Hobb Hill. The village is on the A361 road. The 2011 Census recorded ...
, England. Howard received his bachelor's degree from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
in 1943. During his time at the school, Howard sang in The Whiffenpoofs, an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
group. He was the first second-generation member of the group, which his father co-founded in 1919. Howard graduated from Yale after receiving election to
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
.
In 1953, Howard completed his master's degree at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Launching his educational career, he worked as a
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
Basic Education
According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), basic education comprises the two stages primary education and lower secondary education.
Universal basic education
Basic education featured heavily in the 1997 ISCED ...
in Washington D.C. from 1976 to 1982. During this period, he co-authored ''Empty Pages: A Search for Writing Competence in School and Society''. The 1979 text analyzed the writing instruction crisis in America. Howard's second book, ''Writing to Learn'', achieved national recognition as a handbook on how to teach writing and helped launch his consulting career.
During the 1980s, Howard ran writing
seminars
A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...
for staff members at the
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
, and the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
. He also led writing seminars for public school systems around the U.S. and promoting writing instruction by teachers of all subjects. While consulting for governmental and private organizations, Howard penned articles and book reviews for Federal Bar News & Journal (the
Federal Bar Association
The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Fede ...
's journal) and other periodicals.
Military service
Howard enlisted with the
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
as a private in December 1943. Three months later, he received a commission of second lieutenant. Howard served overseas in the Pacific Theatre of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
until returning to the U.S. for the birth his first son on March 19, 1944.Seymour Family Papers MS 440: Series XVI. Howard Family "Sarah (Seymour) Howard, the youngest of Charles and Gladys Seymour's three children, was born July 4, 1920. Like her sister Betsey, Sarah, known as Sally, attended Le Cours Maintenon, Cannes, France. ... On September 25, 1942, Sally married James Merriam Howard Jr., a senior at Yale. Three months later Jim Howard enlisted as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps. In March of 1943 he was commissioned a second lieutenant. ... He was eventually sent overseas to the South Pacific but returned to the United States in time for the birth of their son James M. Howard, III (Jerry) on March 19, 1944. ... Early in December, 1945, Sally contracted infantile paralysis and died. Jerry Howard lived with his maternal grandparents until his father's marriage in 1949 to Selena Tatlock."
Recognition and legacy
During his career, Howard received multiple honors for his educational advocacy. The Educational Press Association (now the Association of Educational Publishers) awarded him their Distinguished Service Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism in 1985. Lafayette College in
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...
awarded Howard an honorary doctorate in literature in 1963. Following his death in 2002, the
Westport River
The Westport River lies between Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay in Westport, Massachusetts.
Description
The Westport River has two branches. The smaller West Branch is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset ...
Watershed Alliance in
Westport, Massachusetts
Westport (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,339 at the 2020 census.
The village of North Westport lies in the town. Other named areas of the town are "Westport Point," which has a do ...
named their book award for significant improvement in writing after Howard. Howard had served as editor-in-chief of the watershed alliance's newsletter and assisted students who worked on the student insert to the newsletter.
Family
James Howard married Sarah Seymour Howard on September 25, 1942. They had one child together, James M. Howard, III. Sally Howard died in 1945 after she contracted
poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...
. Four years later, James Howard married Selena Tatlock Howard. They had three children together: Alida Howard Woods, Mollie Howard Conklin, and Eleanor Howard.