Theodore Harding Rand
Theodore Harding Rand was a Canadian educator and poet.
Early life
He was born 8 February 1835 in Canard, Nova Scotia, to Thomas Woodworth Rand, deacon of First Cornwallis Baptist Church, and Eliza Irene Barnaby. A Baptist, Rand attended Acadia College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, which had been founded by the Baptist community in 1838. Rand graduated from Acadia College in 1860.Career
Upon graduation, Rand became Professor of Classics at the Provincial Normal School in Truro, Nova Scotia. Working at a normal school, which was charged with training future teachers, Rand soon developed an interest in education policy. He became interested in the common school movement and travelled to Great Britain and the United States to study the common school phenomenon. He began to advocate common schools for Nova Scotia and produced writings and lectures on the topic. He also married Emeline Augusta Eaton on 5 November 1861 in Canard.Rand's advocacy proved successful in 1864, when the government of Nova Scotia, led by Conservative Premier Charles Tupper passed legislation creating a common school system for Nova Scotia. Tupper appointed Rand as Nova Scotia's first Superintendent of Education, and Rand oversaw the creation of Nova Scotia's public education system.
In 1871, New Brunswick, under the leadership of the Liberal-Conservative premier, George Edwin King, passed the Common Schools Act to create a series of common schools in New Brunswick. Upon King's invitation, Rand became New Brunswick's first Superintendent of Education and oversaw the creation of public education in New Brunswick. Rand meanwhile continued his own education and became a Doctor of Civil Law from Acadia College in 1874.