Robert Blackburn (educationalist)
{{Short description|Irish educationalist}}
{{hatnote|This article is about the Irish educator. For other people with similar names, see Robert Blackburn (disambiguation).}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Blackburn
| birth_name = Robert Blackburn
| image = Robert Blackburn (educationalist).jpg
| caption = Irish educationalist Robert Blackburn at the Atlantic College in Wales
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|9|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kilkenny, Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|7|16|1927|9|26|df=y}}
| occupation = Educationalist
| parents =
| relatives = Kari Blackburn (daughter)
Ian Bradley (son-in-law)
Norman Archer (father-in-law)
| nationality = Irish
| education = St Columba's College, Dublin
| alma_mater = Trinity College Dublin
| signature = Robert Blackburn (educationalist) signature.jpg
}}
Robert Blackburn (26 September 1927 – 16 July 1990) was an Irish educationalist. He was an early pioneer of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and was instrumental in establishing the first United World College (UWC) in the early 1960s. In 1968, Blackburn was appointed United World College International Secretary.
Life and work
Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, Robert Blackburn attended St. Columba's College, Rathfarnham and, in 1946, Trinity College, Dublin, where took a first-class degree in History with gold medal and was captain of the rugby XV. As a student, Blackburn was an active member of the United Nations Association, where he met his future wife, Esther Archer."Robert Blackburn; Obituary", The Times, 14 August 1990
Blackburn started his teaching career at Downside School in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, moving to Merchant Taylors' School near Northwood, Middlesex, in 1954. During this time, he supplemented involvement in the United Nations Association and the Council for Education in World Citizenship with work in refugee camps."Robert Blackburn; Obituary", The Daily Telegraph, 14 August 1990
In 1962, he was appointed Deputy Headmaster and Director of Studies of the newly founded Atlantic College in South Wales, which was the first United World College. Blackburn said that the aim of the United World Colleges was "to further a particular educational and international philosophy that educational barriers can be broken down and that internationalism can be made effective at the 18+ age".{{cite web |last1=Mahlstedt |first1=Andrew |title=Global Citizenship Education in Practice: An Exploration of Teachers in the United World Colleges |url=https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:th204gp6905/Mahlstedt_A_Monograph_2003.pdf |publisher=Stanford University |access-date=14 September 2021}}
Blackburn was appointed International Secretary of the United World College international office in 1968, working with the then president of the organization, Lord Mountbatten of Burma. Together they visited many countries, particularly those with Commonwealth links, to establish committees which were to lead to the development of three UWC colleges in Blackburn's time.
Using his contacts, Blackburn also organised charity concerts with line-ups including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Leonard Bernstein.Englefield, Dermot, "Robert Blackburn; Obituary", The Independent, 2 August 1990 In 1978 Blackburn became Deputy Director General of the International Baccalaureate Organization, taking on particular responsibility for Africa and the Middle East.{{cite journal |title=The International Baccalaureate |journal=English Today |date=April 1988 |volume= 4 |issue=2 |pages=33–38 |doi=10.1017/S026607840001333X |s2cid=152673117 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/abs/international-baccalaureate/FD7E238D1567B3E0A5AD745BC712EB58 |access-date=31 August 2021}}
Robert Blackburn was one of the speakers at the World Goodwill seminar in London in 1988, where he set out his belief that:{{cquote|"In the modern world, if education is not a global education, it is not an education for survival. As the world becomes more interdependent, there is a growing need for a curriculum that fosters international understanding and that can be followed by students in different countries. The International Baccalaureate Organization administers just such a curriculum."[http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/IBO.htm#2 World Goodwill Newsletter, 1990 No. 3]}}
Personal life
In 1952, Robert Blackburn married Esther Archer, daughter of British diplomat Norman Archer. They had two daughters, Kari Ruth Blackburn and Lucy Patricia Blackburn.{{cite web |title=Robert Blackburn, The Peerage |url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p31499.htm#i314990 |website=www.thepeerage.com |access-date=14 September 2021}} After the death of his first wife, Blackburn married Nina Little in 1980. In 1990, he died aged 62 while on holiday in Sand, Norway.
References
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Category:Irish educational theorists
Category:People from Kilkenny (city)
Category:People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin
Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Category:International Baccalaureate