Dr. Fred E. Brooks, Principal of the Hawthorne School for the past seventeen years, began his teaching career in the rural schools of Wayne County, in the southeastern part of Missouri.
He was born at Patterson, Missouri and when two years of age, his father moved to a farm. A small one room country school was located some two miles from the farm and here Dr. Brooks began his education, walking through the mud and snow to attend a four months term each winter.
When he was eleven years of age he moved with his parents to Brunot, Missouri, a small Village where the educational advantages were little better. When the county superintendent visited the Brunot School to give the eighth grade examination to those who wanted to go to high school he was allowed to take it and passed it successfully, although only 12 years of age.
However, since the nearest high school was thirty miles away, he had to continue in the Brunot school for another two years doing whatever he could find to do to improve his education. Part of this time was spent in assisting the teacher with the younger children and it was here that he acquired the desire to become a teacher.
He took the county teachers examination at fourteen and was awarded a third grade certificate to teach the following year he used this certificate teaching a one room country school for forty-dollars per month.
During the following three years Dr. Brooks taught country schools part of the year and attended a high school the rest of the time. He received his high school diploma from the Williamsville High School in May 1917 after having spent nineteen months in total high school attendance.
With the outbreak of World War I he enlisted in the Army and was fortunate in being sent to Officers Training School, thereby obtaining the equivalent of one year of college. After being discharged he returned to teaching and going to college and in 1920 returned to Williamsville High School where he had graduated, to become Superintendent of the four-year highschool system.
Dr. Brooks recalls that while he was in his second year at Williamsville he concluded that teaching was not a profession that had much to offer financially and decided to study law. He came to st. Louis in September 1921 and entered the St. Louis University School of Law.
However, he found that he could not escape teaching because he was offered a position teaching mathematics in the University City Junior High School. He transferred his law work to the night school, accepted the teaching position and has been with the University City Schools since that time!
He completed the law degree in 1925 and was admitted to the Missouri bar. Going to school evenings and summer began his work for the Doctors degree at the University of Chicago and has been awarded the PhD.
Then Dr. Brooks obtained the Bachelors degree in Education from the State College at Cape Girardeand the masters from Washington University in the summer of 1945 in Educational Administration this fall. His dissertation was entitled “The Legal Status of the pupil in the American Public Schools.” He has contributed several articles to National and State publications and has held many offices in professional organizations of which he is a member.
He has been president of the state Department of Elementary School principals, President of the St. Louis County Teachers Association and is a member of the Kappa Delta Pi and the Phi Velta Kappa, honorary educational or organizations.
Dr. Brooks was married to Miss Hazel Houghton of Webster Groves in 1922 and has four sons. His eldest son, Marshall served three years in the Army and is now principal of the elementary school at Jackson, Missouri. His second son Robert, served two years on a destroyer in the Navy in Japanese waters and is at the present time completing his college work at state College, Jonesboro, Ark. The two younger sons are at home and are attending the University City Public Schools.
