M.V. O'Shea, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin from 1897 to his death in 1932, was a native of Genesee County, New York, and graduated from Cornell in 1892. For three years following graduation he served as professor of psychology and pedagogy and director of the practice school at the State Normal School at Mankato, Minnesota. From 1895 until he went to the University of Wisconsin, he was professor of educational psychology and child study at the Teacher's College, Buffalo, New York.
During his long tenure at Wisconsin, Dr. O'Shea became a national figure in the field of education and an authority on the nature and needs of young people. He was author and editor of a large number of books, editorials, and articles on education, having at one time as many as six books in progress. He served as a veritable clearing house for people who wanted to get articles and books published, as he always had editorial connections. He lectured widely to teachers' institutes and associations, and to meetings at schools in the United States as well as in Canada, England, and Scotland.
In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. O'Shea directed several studies connected with education and health. In 1920, at the direction of the U.S. Commissioner of Education, he made an investigation of the value of certain courses of study in the education of women. His book, Tobacco and Mental Efficiency, published in 1926, was the result of several years of study concerning the effects of smoking. In 1925, he was co-director of a survey of the all-year schools of Newark, New Jersey, in 1925-1926 was in charge of a survey of the educational system of Mississippi, and in 1927 conducted a similar survey for Virginia.
It was to be expected that his wide educational interests and reputation would involve Dr. O'Shea in many organizations and projects. He was a member of numerous organizations for educators, and for many years was chairman of the education department of the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations. In 1905 and in 1910 he was a representative to the International Congress of Home Educators in Europe, and in 1914 served as the organization's president. In 1906 he spent some time in Europe studying school systems and lecturing.
On January 14, 1932, while still very active in teaching and writing, Dr. O'Shea collapsed and died while on the way to meet a class. Of his four children (Stanley, Vincent, Katherine, and Harriet), Harriet also entered the field of education and became a member of the faculty at Purdue.
Dr. O'Shea's fields of interest are indicated by a list of many of his magazine connections and his publications:
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Junior Home Magazine
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Nation's Schools
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World Book Encyclopedia
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Childhood and Youth Series
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Parents' Library
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Home and School Classics
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Aspects of Mental Econony
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Newer Ways with Children
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Education as Adjustment
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Dynamic Factors in Education
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Linguistic Development and Education
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Social Development and Education
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Everyday Problems in Teaching
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Mental Development and Education
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The Trend of the Teens
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First Steps in Child Training
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Faults of Childhood and Youth
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Problems of Child Training
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Tobacco and Mental Efficiency
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| Joint Author: |
The Child and His Spelling
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How Much English Grammar
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The Health Series of Physiology and Hygiene (4 volumes) |
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The Everyday Spelling Series (4 volumes) |
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The Child, His Nature, and His Needs
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The All-Year Schools of Newark (monograph) |
