The Bright Boys - A History of Townsend Harris High School

Named for the man who brought free higher education to city youths unable to afford the two local private colleges, Townsend Harris High School reminded generations of New Yorkers of the city's debt to him. Its mission was to prepare young men for success at City College, where education was free to graduates of the city's public high schools. The school's three year course was tough and rigorous. Students learned to survive and perform, or they left.

By the 1930s, Townsend Harris was synonymous for bright boys, students who scored high on the yearly Regents examinations, but whose athletic ability, hard as they tried, was something of a joke. The author traces the development of the preparatory school from the first years of its beginning in 1849 to its 1942 closing by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia amid much controversy.

List of contents

A Look Back
Sub-Freshman Moves Up
Students and Theories
Change of Identity
Harris Observed
Perpendicular Learning
Educators' Dilemma
Ferment and Agitation
Clouds Over 23rd and Lexington
Troubles Abound
Sam's Boys
State of "Chasis"
Beginning of the End
To Plan or Not to Plan
Waiting It Out
Fatal Spring
Ave Atque Vale
Reference Sources
Bibliography
Index

About the author

EILEEN F. LEBOW was born and grew up in the Panama Canal Zone. After earning a Masters Degree from U.C.L.A., she taught for 30 years in the Maryland Public Schools. She is the author of Cal Rodgers and the Vin Fiz: The First Transcontinental Flight. She lives and writes in Washington, D.C.

Product details

• Authors: Eileen F. Lebow, Lebow Eileen
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2000
• EAN: 9780313314797
• ISBN: 978-0-313-31479-7
• No. of pages: 248
• Weight: 567 g
• Series: Contributions to the Study of Education
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > Education system; New York, 20th Century, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Secondary Schools, Social and cultural history, EDUCATION / Schools / Levels / Secondary, Current Events and Issues: Education