The American Re-EDucation Association
The American
Re-EDucation
Association
Nicholas Hobbs
1915-1983
To those who knew him, Nicholas Hobbs was the Nick who always wanted to hear about “the kids” and “the families”; who loved camping himself and wanted to know about the latest group foray into the wilds; who enjoyed a party even if he wasn’t one of the last to leave; who taught us how to focus on positive solutions by his example, actively avoiding dwelling on the negative aspects of anything.
To the Re-EDers who were not so fortunate as to have known him, Nick was the consummate writer whose words seem to express what they feel and believe better than they themselves could have — an inspiration from the distance who cared about our students even before we were there to do it, and somehow seemed to predict the future that we live in now. He taught us by example how many wonderful people had gifts to help us with the troubled and troubling kids we all worried about and worked for: professionals who had wisdom, information, and strategies to offer; community and neighborhood folks who, more often than not, would join in efforts to help someone, if we had the temerity just to ask; family members and students, each of whom could teach us as we all learned together.
To all of us, directly or indirectly, Nick has been our friend, our model, our teacher. Many of us were largely unaware of Nick’s work outside of Re-ED, as summarized in the following citations for the two awards given him by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1980:
1980 Citation by American Psychological Association for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service.
Few can match Nicholas Hobbs’s record of utilizing psychological knowledge in the public interest and social policy. Among his outstanding contributions are the now famous Project Re-ED, an educational approach to the residential treatment of emotionally disturbed children, his service as the first director of selection for the Peace Corps, Ins leadership in studying the classification of children, his creation of the Center for the Study of Families and Children at Vanderbilt University, and his service to the government in many capacities. As chair of the Committee on Ethical Standards and as president of APA, he has rendered distinguished service.
1980 Citation by American Psychological Association for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest.
Early in his career, Nicholas Hobbs made a strong commitment to bettering the lives of children as the most productive application of psychology in the public interest. He has pioneered in assembling academicians and practitioners of all disciplines to study public policies affecting children. Always intrigued by novel ideas, he has, over the years, departed from many traditional concepts. He has been an innovator in the treatment of emotionally disturbed children, applying psychological principles to their re-education in home-like residential centers. He has expanded the concepts of this program to all children with special needs. He directed the Project on the Classification of Exceptional Children, the foundation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and has developed new approaches to assessment and classification. In positions of leadership throughout his career, he has served children, his profession, and the public at large through continuous executive and advisory roles in professional associations, national commissions, councils, foundations, and UNESCO. He took the lead in the empirical development of APA’s first code of ethics. A lucid writer, accomplished scholar, master teacher, dedicated nurturer of young professionals, creative problem-solver, and skilled administrator, Nicholas Hobbs possesses the remarkable combination of abilities needed to transform good ideas into actual programs for children. He is an inspiration to all who ascribe to his dedication of “The Futures of Children”:
To the children of our nation
Many accolades have been accorded Nicholas Hobbs,
but if one were to try to condense his impact to its essence, most who knew him
well would probably agree that he was, at his core, a prescient, gentle teacher.
He saw the essences of troubled children’s needs and how societal imperatives to
meet those needs could be accomplished. He saw solutions, workable and focused.
We listened and said, “Of course. Why hasn’t this been said before?” and set
forth careers to make that wisdom reality. But, most of all, he was the gentle
man who accepted us as we were, as yet unformed professionally, and made us feel
we could become what he saw in us.
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