Carmelita Hinton
Encyclopedia
Carmelita Hinton was an American
progressive educator. She is best known as the founder in 1935 of The Putney School
, a progressive boarding school in Vermont
.
, Hinton was one of four children. Her father, Clement Chase, who owned a newspaper and a bookstore, was a women's rights advocate and encouraged Hinton's energetic nature and belief that she could do what she wished with her life. Her mother, Lula Belle Edwards, disagreed and tried unsuccessfully to mold Hinton into a more traditional woman's role. During her years at the Omaha's Episcopal School for Girls, Hinton found herself bored with the traditional education and turned to various extra curricular activities including working as an assistant in her father's store and playing tennis. At Bryn Mawr College
, where she trained as a teacher, Hinton found a greater love of reading and the type of education she had been seeking earlier in life. She graduated in 1912, then moved to Chicago
, where she lived at Hull House
in 1913 as secretary to Jane Addams
. At Hull House she enrolled in a two-year course on the playground, and soon after married Sebastian Hinton, a lawyer.
Shortly after the wedding, she opened a nursery school based in their house and a park nearby. The school was considered a success, seeing its enrollment numbers doubling annually. Sebastian aided in her work by inventing various bits of playground equipment, and is credited with patenting the first playground jungle gym
. During the first six years of their marriage, the Hintons had three children, all of whom attended their mother's school. The family later moved to Winnetka, Illinois
.
Having frequently struggled with depression, in 1923 Sebastian checked himself into a clinic for treatment, but while there he committed suicide
. Hinton was stunned by the events, and according to Susan McIntosh Lloyd, told only her siblings and her best friend, Jane Arms, the truth about Sebastian's death. His own children did not know how he really died until it was accidentally revealed to them by the same biographer. Hinton began teaching kindergarten at the North Shore Country Day School
to keep herself busy. Feeling Winnetka was becoming a "society suburb", she moved her children to Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1925 and began teaching at the Shady Hill School
. She later moved again to a farm in Weston, Massachusetts
.
for a reduced price for Hinton to found a school. There in 1935 she founded The Putney School
, the first coeducation
al New England boarding school, an experiment in progressive education, and a working farm
, which she was to direct until 1955. She based its structure on her belief in the value of manual labor, art and music, and scholarship as equally necessary components of a healthy adult life. At first it enrolled the children of wealthy progressives and liberals; and though all its students, staff, and faculty were heeded and treated as constituents by Hinton, she was the sole director of every aspect of the school.
The school's early success depended largely on her forceful personality; in the late 1940s and early 1950s, though, many of the school's teachers began to resent her complete authority over its running. Eventually Hinton was forced to compromise with a nascent teachers' union on matters of salary, conditions, and procedure. After 1955 she continued to attend the school's meetings, though she was officially retired, and travelled, led trips, founded other education projects and summer camps, and gave speeches.
and her son William H. Hinton
lived for decades in China
before and after the revolution. William H. Hinton was a Marxist Sinologist. William's daughter and Carmelita's granddaughter Carma Hinton
is a documentary filmmaker (The Gate of Heavenly Peace).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
progressive educator. She is best known as the founder in 1935 of The Putney School
The Putney School
The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. It was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton. It is a co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school, with a day-student component, located outside of Brattleboro, Vermont. Emily Jones is the director...
, a progressive boarding school in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Early life
Born in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Hinton was one of four children. Her father, Clement Chase, who owned a newspaper and a bookstore, was a women's rights advocate and encouraged Hinton's energetic nature and belief that she could do what she wished with her life. Her mother, Lula Belle Edwards, disagreed and tried unsuccessfully to mold Hinton into a more traditional woman's role. During her years at the Omaha's Episcopal School for Girls, Hinton found herself bored with the traditional education and turned to various extra curricular activities including working as an assistant in her father's store and playing tennis. At Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
, where she trained as a teacher, Hinton found a greater love of reading and the type of education she had been seeking earlier in life. She graduated in 1912, then moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where she lived at Hull House
Hull House
Hull House is a settlement house in the United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located in the Near West Side of , Hull House opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull...
in 1913 as secretary to Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
. At Hull House she enrolled in a two-year course on the playground, and soon after married Sebastian Hinton, a lawyer.
Shortly after the wedding, she opened a nursery school based in their house and a park nearby. The school was considered a success, seeing its enrollment numbers doubling annually. Sebastian aided in her work by inventing various bits of playground equipment, and is credited with patenting the first playground jungle gym
Jungle gym
The jungle gym, monkey bars, or climbing frame, is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of material, such as metal pipe or rope, on which children can climb, hang, or sit. The monkey bar designation refers to the rambunctious, climbing play of monkeys.-History:The first jungle gym...
. During the first six years of their marriage, the Hintons had three children, all of whom attended their mother's school. The family later moved to Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
.
Having frequently struggled with depression, in 1923 Sebastian checked himself into a clinic for treatment, but while there he committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Hinton was stunned by the events, and according to Susan McIntosh Lloyd, told only her siblings and her best friend, Jane Arms, the truth about Sebastian's death. His own children did not know how he really died until it was accidentally revealed to them by the same biographer. Hinton began teaching kindergarten at the North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School, is a small private school founded in 1919 and located in Winnetka, Illinois. It consists of a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.-History:...
to keep herself busy. Feeling Winnetka was becoming a "society suburb", she moved her children to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1925 and began teaching at the Shady Hill School
Shady Hill School
Shady Hill School is an independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, Shady Hill serves students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. The school has an enrollment of approximately 500 students.Current Shady Hill Head of School Mark Stanek became the...
. She later moved again to a farm in Weston, Massachusetts
Weston, Massachusetts
Weston is a suburb of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Boston metro area. The population of Weston, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is 11,261....
.
The Putney School
In 1934 a Hull House friend arranged the sale of Elm Lea Farm in Putney, VermontPutney, Vermont
Putney is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,634 at the 2000 census.On December 26, 1753 Col.Josiah Willard led a proprietors' petition for a Putney charter which was issued by Governor Benning Wentworth of the New Hampshire Grants under King George II of England...
for a reduced price for Hinton to found a school. There in 1935 she founded The Putney School
The Putney School
The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. It was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton. It is a co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school, with a day-student component, located outside of Brattleboro, Vermont. Emily Jones is the director...
, the first coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al New England boarding school, an experiment in progressive education, and a working farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
, which she was to direct until 1955. She based its structure on her belief in the value of manual labor, art and music, and scholarship as equally necessary components of a healthy adult life. At first it enrolled the children of wealthy progressives and liberals; and though all its students, staff, and faculty were heeded and treated as constituents by Hinton, she was the sole director of every aspect of the school.
The school's early success depended largely on her forceful personality; in the late 1940s and early 1950s, though, many of the school's teachers began to resent her complete authority over its running. Eventually Hinton was forced to compromise with a nascent teachers' union on matters of salary, conditions, and procedure. After 1955 she continued to attend the school's meetings, though she was officially retired, and travelled, led trips, founded other education projects and summer camps, and gave speeches.
Personal life
Hinton had three children. Her daughter Jean Hinton Rosner (1917-2002) was a civil rights and peace activist. Her daughter JoanJoan Hinton
Joan Hinton was a nuclear physicist and one of the few women who worked for the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. She lived in the People's Republic of China after 1949, where she and her husband Erwin Engst participated in China’s efforts at developing a socialist economy, working extensively in...
and her son William H. Hinton
William H. Hinton
William Howard Hinton was an American farmer and prolific writer. A Marxist, he is best known for his book Fanshen, published in 1966, a "documentary of revolution" which chronicled the land reform conducted by the Chinese Communist Party in the 1940s in Zhangzhuangcun , sometimes translated as...
lived for decades in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
before and after the revolution. William H. Hinton was a Marxist Sinologist. William's daughter and Carmelita's granddaughter Carma Hinton
Carma Hinton
Carma Hinton is a documentary filmmaker and Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, United States. She was born and raised in Beijing, China, by American parents, and lived there until she was twenty-one. Chinese is...
is a documentary filmmaker (The Gate of Heavenly Peace).
Further reading
- Kennedy, Shawn G.. "Carmelita Hinton, Educator Who Founded Putney School" (obituary). The New York Times January 23, 1983: Section 1, page 28.