Inside School Research has some sad news to offer today: Mary Anne Raywid, a noted scholar on alternative schools and small schools, died on Jan. 12. She was 81.
Raywid passed away at the home of her son, Scott Scheele, in Fairfax, Va., after battling
lung and pancreatic cancer, according to her son. Raywid spent the last 20 years of her life as first a visiting professor and then an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii. She spent most of her academic career, however, at Hofstra University on New York’s Long Island.
During that time, she wrote over 300 books and articles, including the well-known 1963 book, The Ax Grinders, which took on the critics of public schools. She was also president of three professional societies—the Philosophy of Education Society, the John Dewey Society, and the Society of Professors of Education—and had several awards and lectures named after her.
See Mike Klonsky’s blog, SmallTalk, which broke the news of Raywid’s death, for a nice tribute. Here’s my two cents: I interviewed Raywid several times over the years and always found her to be gracious, helpful, and passionate about subjects.