John Franklin Bobbitt

Who was John Franklin Bobbitt?

John Franklin Bobbit was an American educationist, a university professor and a writer. A representative of the efficiency minded thinkers, he specialized in the field of the curriculum.

His parents were James and Martha Bobbitt. From 1903 to 1907, Bobbitt was a teacher at the Philippine Normal School in Manila. He went to the Philippines as part of a member of a committee sent to draw up an elementary school curriculum for the islands. They had the freedom to form an original curriculum to fit the needs of the population. At first they put together American textbooks which they had been familiar with in United States schools, but a director of education in the Philippines made them look this over. When they saw that their idea did not fit with the social realities, they discarded their original plan. This time they drew up a plan with a variety of things to help the people gain health, make a living, and enjoy self-realization. They got away from the American textbooks and found activities derived from the Philippine culture. This is when Bobbitt realized that there were more useful solutions to forming a curriculum than just using traditional beliefs.