Dr. Joe Frost
Joe Frost was born on a small farm in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas during the “great depression” era. His early life on the farm was filled by work in the fields, tending livestock and church and extended family activities. His elementary school was Spartan - no bought play equipment - and much time for free play throughout the day, waiting for the lone school bus to make runs to other communities mornings and evenings and mid-morning, noon, and mid-afternoon recesses. Play was traditional games passed along by older children and adults, contrived games of war, building dams and forts, and “choose up sides” ball games. Children had virtually unlimited access to creeks and hills, farm animals, and wildlife, and were tutored by older peers, parents and other adults on both work and play. Life was simple, rich and exciting,and sometimes hazardous, but children developed perceptual-motor skills early and were taught how to handle wildlife, livestock, firearms, and how to get along with others. Caring friends and family were always nearby and work, play, school and church kept children busy throughout the week.
Frost started first grade in a temporary school held in a two room church with grades one through four in one room and grades five through eight in the other room. In his room were four rows of four to six children, one row for each grade. The books were kept in a shelf under the windows, sorted by grade level. The teacher taught one row of students at a time while those in other rows were supposed to be reading or working on assignments. Frost read all the readers in the room, was promoted two grade levels and was sitting in the third grade row by the end of the school year. When the new school building was completed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A) the children enrolled there and were eventually bussed to the county seat for high school.
Since there was no library in elementary school, Frost's love of reading was supported by his mother who borrowed books from a neighbor "across the river," and took him and his brothers to the county seat to check out books when the first library opened. A small library was started in his high school during his freshman year and his friend, the first librarian, alerted him to new books so he could be first to read them. He collected free books and pamphlets, primarily from government agencies, by sending penny post cards for free copies. He then sorted them by topics and filed them in boxes for later reference. His rich early play experiences and early experiences with books no doubt influenced his interest in collecting books on children's play and play environments.
The path leading Frost into a career in child development, education, and children's play took him through several roles - student at eight colleges and universities, farming, construction, automobile and jet aircraft mechanic, teacher in public schools and a university laboratory school. His graduate work included studies in child development at the University of Arkansas, the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland. His first job after earning a doctorate at the University of Arkansas was Assistant Professor of Child Development at Iowa State University. There he honed his interests in children in poverty, Operation Head Start, early childhood education, and child development.
During the ten years after leaving the University of Arkansas Frost published ten books on children and poverty, early childhood education and elementary education. "I took the adage, 'publish or perish' seriously," he said. His book, THE DISADVANTAGED CHILD, co-edited with Glenn Hawkes, was selected by Pi Lambda Theta from 650 books as one of the outstanding education books of the year. This work resulted in Frost lecturing nation-wide about the effects of poverty throughout LBJ's "Great Society" era. Another, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION REDISCOVERED, was reported to be the most popular early childhood text of its time and was adopted in more than twenty countries.
After moving from Iowa State University to the University of Texas in Austin in 1966, Frost helped build early childhood graduate and undergraduate programs and soon became interested in children's play and play environments. Barry Klein, then a PhD student, and now a professional counselor in Atlanta, invited Frost to lecture to a group of teachers on the subject of play. The group could not locate a "good" playground for their observations and decided to build one in Lockhart, Texas. From this beginning in the 1970's Frost developed graduate and undergraduate courses on play and child development and play and play environments. Then he initiated a research project on play, using several school sites but centered at Redeemer Lutheran School in Austin, Texas.For several years each graduate class designed and built a free playground at a school or child care center. Frost gives credit to his many graduate students for their enthusiasm, dedication, and scholarly research This research program, initiated during the 1970’s still functions in 2003.
The research program and related activities resulted in several books including PLAY AND PLAY ENVIRONMENTS, with Barry Klein, WHEN CHILDREN PLAY, with Sylvia Sunderlin, PLAYGROUNDS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, with Sue Wortham, PLAY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT with Sue Wortham and Stuart Reifel, PLAY AND PLAYSCAPES, CHILDREN AND INJURIES, and THE BENEFITS OF PLAYGROUNDS with Pei-San Brown, Candra Thornton, and John Sutterby. In addition, more than twenty PhD dissertations and dozens of articles and reports emerged from this research program.
Frost lectures and provides playground design assistance for public and private schools, government agencies, military bases,and cities and universities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He has received various awards and honors including appointment to the Parker Centennial professorship at the university of Texas, Teacher Educator of the Year by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, election to the Presidency of the Association for Childhood Education International, and election to the Presidency of the American Association for the Child's Right to Play.
Frost retired from the University of Texas in 2000 but is currently (2003) writing books and reports, directing PhD students in research, lecturing, designing play environments, consulting with law firms on children's injuries, and renovating a 60 year-old farm house in the Ouachita Mountains. He swaps stories with his friends Wayne and John during their regular walks and visits to the neighborhood athletic club. He serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Outdoors Ministry of Texas and joins his retired church friends at Redeemer Lutheran Church and School on Monday mornings for coffee and planning for work at the church. These men spearheaded the rebuilding of seven major playgrounds at Redeemer over the past quarter century. Frost prizes his close, loving relations with Betty, his wife of 50 years, their daughters, Nita and Terry, granddaughter, Hailey, two super sons-in-law,Tom and Bill, and a large extended family.
A current (2009) passion for Frost is searching book stores and web sites for books, especially out-of-print books, on play and play environments. These books are first used in his writing and then transferred to the Frost collection at the library of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. His goals are for this to eventually be the most comprehensive collection on the subject of play and play environments, and to be available to students and play scholars throughout the world. He is indebted to Dr. Mary Ruth Moore of the University of the Incarnate Word and her many colleagues who work the make these goals reality.
Beginning with the establishment of the Play Research Collection at U.I.W., Frost initiated his most extensive writing project. Over a four-year period he searched rare book stores world-wide for material to be used in in his writing and for later transfer to the collection. The resulting book, A History of Children's Play and Play Environments: Toward a Contemporary Child Saving Movement, was published in New York and London by Routledge Publishers in 2009.
