George Hillocks Jr.
American academic
George Hillocks Jr. (June 15, 1934 - November 12, 2014) was an emeritus professor in the Department of Education, with a joint appointment in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. He received in 2011 the James R. Squire Award of the National Council of Teachers of English for having "a transforming influence and [making] a lasting intellectual contribution to the profession." He also received many other major awards (see below). His teaching career included the preparation of English teachers in the Master of Arts in Teaching program, and the mentoring of Ph.D. students in the doctoral program, at the University of Chicago. After retiring from the University he continued to present seminars and workshops for writing teachers across the US. His primary research interests centered on the teaching of writing, literature, and language in middle and high school English classes, and on large-scale writing assessment. When not teaching and writing, he was an accomplished bagpipe player, performing frequently for Chicago audiences and in international competitions.
Education
He received his B.A. in English, College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, 1956, M.A. in English, Case Western Reserve University, 1958, Diploma in English Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1959. He attended Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, summer, 1961.
Ph.D. in English, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 1970--Dissertation: The Synthesis of Art and Ethic in Tom Jones
Teaching career
Hillocks began his teaching career teaching secondary English in the Euclid, Ohio public schools from 1956-1965. He then held various positions at Bowling Green State University from 1967 to 1971.
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