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.
Morris Meister | |
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Born | |
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 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]
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), 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] Meiseter wrote a series of science textbooks called Science for a Better World.[2] Meister was the founding principal of the Bronx High School of Science from 1938 to 1958.[2] He was 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]
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.