E. Jennifer Monaghan facts for kids

E. Jennifer Monaghan (born Edith Jennifer Walker; 19 January 1933 – 14 September 2014) was an important educator and historian. She was known as a top expert on how people learned to read in early America. She wrote three books and many articles for journals and other books.

Her Early Life and Education

Edith Jennifer Walker was born in Cambridge, England. Her parents were Clement and Margery Walker. She went to Perse School for Girls.

She later studied at Oxford University, attending Lady Margaret Hall. She focused on "Greats," which means classics like ancient Greek and Roman studies. She earned both her B.A. and M.A. degrees there.

She received a special award called a Fulbright travel award. This allowed her to teach as a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the United States. There, she earned another M.A. degree, this time in classical Greek.

In 1958, she married Charles Monaghan in Cambridge. They moved to Brooklyn, New York, and raised their three children. Later, she went back to school at Yeshiva University in New York City. In 1980, she earned her doctorate (Ed.D) in reading education. Her main project for this degree was about Noah Webster and his famous "blueback speller" book.

Her Career as a Professor

Jennifer Monaghan became a professor of English at Brooklyn College in New York City. She taught students about reading, English as a Second Language (ESL), and how to write well.

Early in her career, she wrote articles about reading research. She also looked into the history of problems like dyslexia, which makes reading difficult for some people.

In 1983, her main project from her doctorate, called Noah Webster’s Speller, 1783–1843: Causes of Its Success as Reading Text, won a special award. It was recognized as one of the best dissertations by the Society for the Study of Curriculum.

In 1975, Professor Monaghan started a group called the History of Reading Special Interest Group. This group was part of the International Reading Association. She was an active member of its leadership team for many years. She also helped edit its newsletter, "History of Reading News," from 1976 until 2002.

Studying the History of Literacy

Professor Monaghan's interest in the history of reading started by chance. She was volunteering to help students with reading at a school in Brooklyn. She was surprised by how reading was being taught at the time.

This experience made her want to learn more about how reading instruction had changed over time. This led to her doctorate project on Noah Webster's speller. Her first book, A Common Heritage: Noah Webster's Blue-Back Speller (1983), grew out of this research. She also wrote many chapters for other books, articles for journals and encyclopedias, and reviews. Some of her work was co-written with Douglas K. Hartman.

Exploring the History of the Book

Professor Monaghan also became interested in a field called the "history of the book." This area of study looks at how books have influenced our culture. Scholars in this field study the connections between authors and publishers, publishers and printers, and printers and readers. They also look at how authors and readers interact.

The "history of the book" explores important topics like how books are bought and sold, and how they affect society and culture.

The Monaghan Book Collection

A special collection of books called Young American Readers is kept at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library. This collection was created from over 1,500 books donated by Charles and E. Jennifer Monaghan.

Selected Publications

Books

• The Illustrated Phonics Booklet , illustrated by Virginia Cantarella (Greenville, New York, 2012)
• Learning to Read and Write in Colonial America (Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, in association with the American Antiquarian Society, 2005; released as paperback, 2007)
• Reading for the Enslaved, Writing for the Free: Reflections on Liberty and Literacy . The 1998 James Russell Wiggins Lecture in the History of the Book in American Culture (Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 2000)
• A Common Heritage: Noah Webster’s Blue-Back Speller (Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1983)

Books and Journals, Edited

• Susan E. Israel and E. Jennifer Monaghan, eds., Shaping the Reading Field: The Impact of Early Reading Pioneers, Scientific Research, and Progressive Ideas (Newark, Del.: International Reading Association, 2007).
• Guest editor, special issue, “Then and Now: Readers Learning to Write”, Visible Language 21 (1987).

Books, Translated

• Translator from French, Le Massacre des Indiens by Lucien Bodard. This was published as Green Hell (New York: Outerbridge & Dienstfrey, 1971) and as Massacre on the Amazon (London: Tom Stacey, 1971).

Her Passing

E. Jennifer Monaghan passed away on 14 September 2014, at the age of 81. She died from a stroke.