Robert Bruce Raup (March 21, 1888 – April 13, 1976), was a Professor in the

Philosophy of Education The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments ...

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

. He was a well-known writer in the 1930s, whose writings were influenced by his own teacher and mentor, the American philosopher

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

. Like his mentor, Professor Raup is often associated with the

pedagogical Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and Developmental psychology, psychological development of le ...

concept of promoting practical (''i.e. pragmatic'') judgment as something appropriate and necessary within the context of a modern democratic society. He was best known for his criticism of the American public education system, which he claimed was inadequate and ineffective in its methods.

Life

R. Bruce Raup was born in Clark County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

to Gustavas Philip and Fanny Mitchell Raup on March 21, 1888. As a young man he attended public school first in

Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...

and later in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

. He earned a A.B. degree at from

Wittenberg College Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americ ...

in 1909. After earning a B.D. degree from

McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May 5 ...

in 1914, he served as minister of the American Presbyterian Church in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

from 1914 to 1915. From 1916 to 1918, Raup was an instructor in ethics and a college professor at

Bellevue College Bellevue College (BC) is a public college in Bellevue, Washington, United States. It is the largest of the 34 institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system and the third-largest institution of higher educati ...

in Nebraska. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a military chaplain in the U.S. Army. From 1919 ro 1921, he was an Asst. Professor of Psychology at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois. In 1921, he entered graduate studies at

where he was a student of

. It was there he met and married Clara Eliot on August 23, 1924. Raup earned a Ph.D. from Teachers College in 1926, and remained there until his retirement in 1953. Raup was actively involved in many professional associations, including: the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...

, the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

, the National Society of College Teachers of Education, and the

Progressive Education Association The Progressive Education Association was a group dedicated to the spread of progressive education in American public schools from 1919 to 1955. The group focused on pedagogy in elementary schools through the twenties. The group turned towards p ...

. He was President of the ''Philosophy of Education Society'' in 1941. He also served on the

Federal Council of Churches The Federal Council of Churches, officially the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, was an ecumenical association of Christian denominations in the United States in the early twentieth century. It represented the Anglican, Baptist, Ea ...

in America's Committee on Education and Research. Raup was instrumental in organizing and establishing several of the foundation courses in the Teachers College curriculum, including: ''Character and Moral Judgment in Education'', ''Education in American Culture'', and ''Education as Personal Development''. For his contribution to American educational theory, Raup received the

Nicholas Murray Butler Nicholas Murray Butler () was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the deceased Ja ...

Medal in Silver from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Robert and Clara Raup had four children: Joan Eliot Raup (b. 1926), Ruth Mitchell Raup (b. 1927), Robert Bruce Raup, Jr. (b. 1929), and Charlotte Cranch Raup (b. 1933). Joan became a noted statistician, and Charlotte married Columbia University historian

Lawrence A. Cremin Lawrence Arthur Cremin (October 31, 1925 – September 4, 1990) was an educational historian and administrator. Biography Cremin attended Townsend Harris High School in Queens, and then received his B.A. and M.A. from City College of New York. ...

. Raup lived most of his years at Teachers College at his nearby country residence in Kent Cliffs, New York. After he retired in 1953, he moved to

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

, California. He died in Palo Alto on April 13, 1976. He was, at that time, 88 years old. The

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, and

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Hugh M. Raup Hugh Miller Raup (February 4, 1901 – August 10, 1995) was an American botanist, ecologist and geographer working on natural history and natural resource management in diverse regions—from tropical and temperate to arctic. Biography He was born ...

(1901—1995) was his younger brother.

Bibliography

* ''Complacency: The Foundation of Human Behavior'' (1925) * ''Toward a New Education'' (1930) * ''Problems in Philosophy of Education'' (1932) * ''Education and Organized Interests in America'' (1936) * ''The Discipline of Practical Judgment'' (1943) * ''Method in Judgments of Practice'', ''The Journal of Philosophy'', Volume XLVI, No. 26 (1949) * ''The Improvement of Practical Intelligence: The Central Task of Education'' (1950).

References

* Obituary of Robert Raup, New York Times, April 15, 1976. * Ohles, F., Ohles, S. M., Ramsay, J. G. 1997. ''Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

External links

Biography of Robert Bruce Raup (1963)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raup, Robert Bruce 1888 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American philosophers Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Writers from Springfield, Ohio Columbia University faculty

Life

Bibliography

See also

References

External links