SPURRED by patriotic interest and devotion to the cause of young America’s war effort, Dr. Reuben T. Shaw, Ohio Wesleyan ’05, is playing a dominant role in the nation-wide program of adapting the public schools to war time training and planning for postwar education. To Betas in the educational world, Dr. Shaw’s name and his works are not new, for he was president of the National association in 1938-39 ,the only Beta ever to lead America’s one million teachers.
From his desk at Northeast high school in Philadelphia, Pa., have come new ideas for the readjustment of public school curricula to meet war time needs. Although his official capacity is that of science department head at Northeast high school. Dr. Shaw has devoted a large share of his time to the developing of war time curricula, to insure that the school systems of the United States do their full share in the war effort.
Perhaps the foremost of Dr. Shaw’s many interests is the World Federation of Teacher Associations, which he believes will be of Great benefit to all nations in bringing about greater understanding once the war is over. During his term as president of the National Education association, Dr. Shaw worked tirelessly for the cause of world education.
Who is Dr. Reuben Tayler Shaw? He was born on a farm in Ohio, and his entire elementary education was received in a one- room, red-brick schoolhouse where his mother taught before her marriage. He was graduated from the high school at Dela- ware, Ohio, and received- his B.S. from Ohio Wesleyan university in 1905 and was granted a scholarship to the graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, to be granted an M.A. degree in 1908. The latter in stitution awarded him his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1926. He began his teach ing career in Radnor high school and taught for four years at Temple university. In 1909 he entered the Philadelphia school system and has served in the science department of three high schools there.
For many years, Dr. Shaw has been actively engagetta work of-teachers associations, local. state and national. During hi., term a:: president of the N.E.A., and the year thereafter as first vice president, he visited every state in the union and wrote many articles concerning the teaching profession in any number of the foremost educational magazines.
In the interests of the World Federation of Teachers associations, Dr. Shaw had occasion to visit Tokio in 1937 and has also visited South America.
The latest request of a world-wide nature which has come to him, was in December, 1942, when Dr. Paul Monroe, president of the World Federation of Education associations, requested him to prepare a detailed statement as to how the public schools of America had met the war situation in the field of mathematics and science teaching. This statement is being sent to educators in England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Chile. The Argentine, China and India; it may be one of the forerunners of the United States of the world about which statesmen are already beginning to talk.
Reuben Shaw’s interests have not been confined to education alone, however. For some time he served as a first lieutenant of the Pennsylvania national guard as a company commander in the third regiment. He is also a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and member of the American Chemical society and Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
Dr. Reuben T. Shaw
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