Angelo Patri

Angelo Patri (; November 26, 1876 – September 13, 1965) was an Italian-American author and educator.

Biography

His original surname was Petraglia, and he was born in Piaggine, Salerno, in southern Italy. Patri came to the United States when he was five. He gained a B.A. at the College of the City of New York in 1897, and an M.A. at Columbia University in 1904. A schoolteacher in New York from 1898 to 1908, he may have been the first Italian-born American to become a school principal in the United States. In attempting to engage the student with tasks that went beyond book learning, he was influenced by the writings of John Dewey. From 1908 to 1913 he was principal of Public School No. 4, and in 1913 he became principal of Public School 45, Bronx, New York. He wrote a syndicated column, "Our Children", on child psychology, for newspapers and magazines. He died in Danbury, Connecticut on September 13, 1965.

The Angelo Patri Middle School, MS 391 in the Bronx, is named in his honor.

Works Books for parents and teachers A Schoolmaster of the Great City, 1917 The School That Everybody Wants, 1922 Child Training, 1922 "Talks to Mothers", 1923 (Presented with the compliments of 'The Thomas Dalby Company' Watertown. Mass.) School and Home, 1925 Problem of Childhood, 1926 What Have You Got to Give?, 1926 The Questioning Child, 1928 Your Children In Wartime, 1943 How to help your child grow up (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1948)

Books for children White Patch, 1911 Pinocchio in Africa, 1911 (tr.) Spirit of America, 1924 Pinocchio in America, 1928 The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1937 (tr.)