Morris Meister
Morris Meister | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1895 |
| Died | August 10, 1975 (aged 79) |
| Education | City College of New York Columbia University |
| Notable work | Science for a Better World series of textbooks |
| Spouse | Florence Suzi Glickstein Meister[1] |
| Children | 2, Anna Meister Burton, a psychoanalyst, and Alton Meister, noted bio-chemist |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | The Educational Value of Certain After-school Materials and Activities in Science (1921) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Bronx Community College, Bronx High School of Science, New York Hall of Science |
| Notes | |
Morris Meister (1895 - 1975) was a science educator and administrator who was the founder and first principal of the Bronx High School of Science as well as the first president of Bronx Community College.[3][4] He is noteworthy for his support and application of laboratory-based methods in science education as well as interdisciplinary study.
Early life and education
Morris Meister was born on October 20, 1895, in Gonietz, Poland to Harris Meister and Jennie (Kolovsky) Meister. The Meister family moved to Manhattan's Lower East Side when Morris was 7 years old.[4][2] He attended the City College of New York, where he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. His doctoral thesis at the Teachers College of Columbia University in 1921, The Educational Value of Certain After-school Materials and Activities in Science, focused on the role of science related toys in science education.[5][2][6]
Meister married Florence Suzi Glickstein, a music teacher, in 1921.[4] They had two children, Anna Meister Burton, a psychoanalyst, and Alton Meister, a noted biochemist.[1]
Career
Morris Meister worked as a science teacher in a number of schools in New York City including Stuyvesant High School (1916), The Speyer School (1916-1918), and Horace Mann School (1917-1922). He was instrumental in the creation of science fairs while working as a committee head of the American Institute of the City of New York in the 1932s.[5] He served as the second president of the National Science Teachers Association.[7][2] Meister wrote a series of science textbooks called Science for a Better World.[2] He was the founding principal of the Bronx High School of Science from 1938 to 1958,[2] followed by becoming the founding president of the Bronx Community College from 1959 to 1966.[8] After retirement he worked as the director of planning at the New York Hall of Science, in Corona, Queens. .[2][9][10]
Legacy
Meister Auditorium, the Auditorium of the Bronx High School of Science, is named after Dr. Meister. His portrait is displayed at its doors.
Meister Hall, a building on the campus of Bronx Community College, is named after Dr. Meister.
References
- ^ a b "Mrs. Morris Meister". The New York Times. March 12, 1974. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (August 11, 1975). "Dr. Morris Meister, Founder Of High School of Science, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ Bronx Community College (September 17, 2006). "History & Architecture". Bronx Community College. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Morris Meister". Science Education. 50 (5): 401–406. December 1966. Bibcode:1966SciEd..50..401.. doi:10.1002/sce.3730500502. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Grinnell, Frederick (May 26, 2020). "Reinventing Science Fairs | Issues in Science and Technology". Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ Meister, Morris. "The Educational Value of Certain After-school Materials and Activities in ... : Morris Meister : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming". Internet Archive. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "Morris Meister: portrait of a science educator". The Science Teacher. 43 (2): 43. 1976. JSTOR 24127703. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "History of the College". Bronx Community College. September 17, 2006. Archived from the original on February 7, 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ "Current Science: November 2, 1966". NYSCI. April 18, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Meister, Morris (December 1966). "A college program for the disadvantaged". Science Education. 50 (5): 406–408. Bibcode:1966SciEd..50..406M. doi:10.1002/sce.3730500503. Retrieved August 21, 2020.