Harold (2 yrs) and his father, Dr. Albert Eustace Haydon

Born in Fort William, Ontario, on April 22, 1909, Harold Emerson Haydon was one of three sons. Harold (Hal) and his brothers, Edward Morgan (Ted) Haydon (1912-1985) and Brownlee Walker Haydon (1914-1982) all grew up to distinguish themselves in their respective fields. Harold, of course, an artist, teacher and art critic; Ted, initially a social worker from 1935-50 in the famous Chicago Area Projects, changed careers in mid-life for health reasons. A former University of Chicago track team captain, he went back to the University as a coach, founded the University of Chicago Track Club, went on to become a two time Olympic Track and Field Coach and was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975. Brownlee, a writer, had an equally impressive career. Also a product of University High School and the University of Chicago, he initially tried emulating his brother Hal by becoming an artist in metalcraft. Always a prolific and creative writer, Brownlee turned to writing and editing professionally, first for the University, then five years as Assistant Foreign Editor for Business Week, next as assistant to William Benton, publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica, and finally to the RAND Corporation as Assistant to the President of Communications.

Hal's mother, Edith Elizabeth Jones

The boys' parents, Dr. Albert Eustace Haydon (1880-1975) and Edith Elizabeth Jones (1879-1949) were married in 1904. As parents they provided their sons with a strong foundation in education, morality and social service. Dr. Haydon, a writer and an ordained Baptist minister, led religious camp revival meetings in Canada while the boys were young. Later, in 1917, he moved the family to Chicago, earning a University of Chicago Ph.D. in 1918 and joining the faculty that year to teach comparative religion. Dr. Haydon later became Professor and Chairman of the Department of Comparative Religion, and then Leader of the Chicago Ethical Society.

Harold was raised during the era of Progressivism, Social Reform, Settlement Houses and Liberal Protestantism. During that time, profound changes were occurring throughout the entire fabric of society. Beginning in the late 19th century, new developments in science and technology, rapid growth of cities, increased disparity in the distribution of wealth, rampant political corruption, rising exploitation of workers and much more produced wide ranging reform actions taken on a national level in politics, business, education and religion. Many of these reforms created new federal business regulations, consumer and labor protection laws, child labor laws plus an awakening sense of social responsibility and humanitarian efforts to relieve suffering in slums and tenements.

(r-l) Brownlee, Harold and Edward

Also in the late 19th century, theorists in education and religion expanded traditional boundaries and became agents not only for social reform but also for a broader, more inclusive worldview. The newly reinstituted University of Chicago, which in addition to having strong ties to both the Baptist Church and the YMCA, was also an outgrowth of educational reform movements and the liberalism of Progressivism. In fact the very formation of courses and departments in universities for the study of comparative religion was a direct outgrowth of the Progressivist spirit, and when the new University of Chicago began its first term in 1892, included were courses in comparative religion. It was because the University's origins and philosophy were synchronous with the progressive beliefs of Harold's parents that they saw Chicago as a natural environment to raise their sons. Turn of the century educational theories also included new forms and experimental methods. One form was informal, outdoor education, such as summer camp, where social values like sharing, cooperation, teamwork and appreciation for the natural world, were taught. They were also used to develop aesthetic sensibilities in areas like theatre, poetry, creative writing, crafts and the visual arts. Other values such as citizenship, leadership, responsibility, and caring for the well being of smaller and weaker individuals, like younger campers, were also promoted as part of the role of character building, which these camps took to be their primary mission. For the Haydon boys, camp life became a regular summer activity, first as campers themselves, then as counselors.

This form of up-bring in a home of liberal and reformist ideas taught fairness, justice, ethical behavior, social service and strength of character as the goals of all responsible adults in society. These were the values Harold Haydon adhered to his entire life. They made him continue for many years working with YMCA camps helping to expand the aesthetic education of young campers, directed him into the service of teaching for the majority of his career, led him to join numerous artists' organizations and unions, and later to become known as one of the most positive and supportive art critics in Chicago.

Haydon found creative outlets in many facets of life. Throughout his career his art work grew from drawings and paintings to include murals, mosaics, mobiles, sculpture, stage sets, and book illustration, to name a few. In addition he designed furniture and converted a former perfume factory into a home. Like most artists he began drawing and painting young, in his case at the tender age of four. Writing was another discipline he trained in early, probably a result of his father's influence. He wrote essays, short stories, poems and plays throughout childhood. But unlike most children, Harold continued these creative endeavors into high school and college, contributing drawings as well as short stories to school newspapers and literary magazines. Clearly, as a young adult, Haydon was developing a strong belief in the importance of aesthetics in everyday life.

Supporting these awakenings was Haydon's attendance at the University of Chicago's Laboratory High School from which he graduated in 1926. Founded in 1896 on the progressive theories of John Dewey and soon after incorporating those of Colonel Francis Parker, the 1920s are remembered as the Golden Age of the University Lab Schools. Although Parker had died in 1902 and Dewey had left for Columbia University in 1904, the schools thrived by building on past successes and adapting to new challenges. The schools' faculty worked in concert with the University of Chicago's professors of education to develop new and effective educational methods. In fact, research and publishing were so strongly encouraged among the lab school's faculty that they became some of the most influential leaders in the field of childhood education.

By Harold's time, the schools had attracted some of the most talented teachers available. Also noteworthy was the schools' introduction of the "unit-mastery" method of teaching, which was in full bloom during the 1920s under the direction of the new superintendent, Henry Clinton Morrison. Morrison did not invent "unit-mastery" but popularized it nationally when it proved most successful on the high school level. Grades were discouraged and emphasis placed on learning cohesive units of related information and successive testing to determine when mastery of a "unit" was gained. It was immensely influential and "inspired teachers around the country to give up their practice of drilling students for memorized facts. Instead, teachers learned how to inspire students to learn information as part of larger units of knowledge."

Harold remembered high school as having no homework and giving no exams. It was true that there was no homework since students were expected to work through all their lessons during class time, but as for exams, they may not have had mid terms or comprehensive final examinations in their classes, but they were certainly subjected to a constant battery of tests as part of the "unit-mastery" method. More importantly, the method approached learning from the perspective of understanding the "big-picture" first. Rather than students memorizing endless details of dates and places, the "details" were learned in support of the broader concept. Learning to think in broad terms allows one to see patterns and influences in the history of human events as well as the impact of new developments in scientific and technological knowledge. The creative thinking and intellectual freedom engendered by these innovative methods reinforced Haydon's natural abilities and added to the confidence he needed to see the "big-picture" and make the intellectual leap necessary to reach his binocular vision theory of art.