Sir James Pitman | |
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| Born | August 14, 1901 |
| Died | September 1, 1985 (aged 84) |
| Education | Master of Arts in Modern History |
| Alma mater | Summer Fields School, Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford |
| Known for | initial teaching alphabet |
| Notable work | Alphabets & Reading, the Initial Teaching Alphabet |
| Political party | Conservative Party |
| Spouse | Hon. Margaret Beaufort Lawson-Johnston (Order of Mercy) |
| Children | Margaret Pitman, Michael Ian Pitman, Peter John Pitman, David Christian Pitman |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Siblings: Christian Pitman, Major John Pitman, Honor Isabel Pitman, Diana O. Pitman, Captain Peter Pitman Butler Grandfather: Sir Isaac Pitman |
Sir Isaac James Pitman (known as James), KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a publisher, senior civil servant, politician, and prominent educationalist with a lifelong passion for etymology, orthography, and pedagogy. He is best known for his attempt to improve children's literacy in the English-speaking world by means of an interim teaching orthography, known as the initial teaching alphabet or i.t.a. He was honoured with a knighthood in 1961 for his life accomplishments.
James Pitman followed his famous grandfather, Isaac Pitman, by exploring and expanding the pedagogical theories on teaching children to read the English language. Pitman obsessively studied English etymology, alphabets and orthography. He then argued that the overarching cause of reading difficulty in children was the phonetic irregularity of the English language. He compiled and published his analysis in his major work, Alphabets and Reading (1965).
Pitman postulated that if children were taught using an interim orthography consisting of an alphabet and spelling system which were phonetically regular, then they would learn to read quickly and easily and so alleviate the problem of poor literacy which plagued the English-speaking world. He relentlessly exploited his position as a leading politician and prominent educationalist along with the resources and connections from his successful global printing and publishing business to develop and launch the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), which was initially a spectacular success with its use expanding to 4,000 schools in the UK and 17,000 schools worldwide.