Barbara Clark – Part One: The Boston Years

Biographical Essay on Barbara Clark

by Pamela Matt

Crampton Report – Article

Barbara Clark provided the medical history for a diagnostic examination that was conducted by Dr. C. Ward Crampton in 1949, when she was 60. The removal of her appendix and one ovary at the age of 23 was confirmed in this report. A ventral suspension, which refers to a surgical lifting of her reproductive organs, was also conducted at that time because of the surgeon’s concern about her severe visceroptosis. Her uterus was removed when she was 49. Clark felt that Dr. Crampton was an excellent physician who shared many of the values she promoted as a nurse. His signed article, “The Management of Chronic Disease in Private Practice,” was also included.

Barbara Clark Child Portrait

Professional Portrait taken of Barbara Clark as a child — no date.

Barbara Clark Teen Portrait

Professional Portrait taken of Barbara Clark as a teenager – no date.

Barbara Clark Adult Portrait

Professional Portrait taken of Barbara Clark as an adult – no date.

Photographs of Barbara Clark by John Hawkes

These five photographs of Barbara Clark were selected from several negatives taken by her student John Hawkes in the mid to late 1950’s near his vacation home in Florida.

Photos of Barbara Clark by George Lareau

These four photos were taken by George Lareau a professional photographer working in Urbana, Illinois on April 22, 1974.

Faulkner Hospital Diploma

Diploma recognizing Barbara Clark’s graduation from Faulkner Hospital as a Registered Nurse in 1922.

Faulkner Graduation Program

Program for the graduation ceremony of Faulkner Hospital Training School, May 12, 1922.

Faulkner Graduates 1922

List of graduates from the Faulkner Hospital Training School in 1922; includes notes relating to the circumstances of Clark’s enrollment.

Nursing Photographs 1919 – 1922

These photos feature Barbara Clark when she was a nursing student at Faulkner Hospital.

Clark’s Talk on her Career

These notes were created as a script for a talk Barbara Clark gave on her career. They provide some information on Todd’s history and then describe her own early background in the work. The notes were not dated but the talk was probably given in the 1950’s as it ends by describing her affiliation with Joanne Emmons and André Bernard of the Technique for Movement Association.

Clark Boston Studio Photos

Photos taken of Barbara Clark when she began to train as a teacher in Todd’s Boston Studio in the late 1920’s. Some of the photos include Clark’s analysis of the faults in her alignment that were shown.

Earliest Lessons – Part 1

These lesson notes were found in an envelope titled “First Copy of Earliest Lessons from Todd-Galbraith-Colwell October 23, 1923.” The notes include content provided by the teachers and Clark’s reactions to their suggestions. The lessons continued through February of 1924. These original notes were edited by Pamela Matt with Clark’s supervision in 1972 and then included as an appendix for A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Work of Barbara Clark.

Earliest Lessons — Part 2

On the first page of these notes Clark noted that they were the, “last ½ of Boston Studio Todd-Galbraith-Colwell lessons to me.” The notes include content provided by the teachers and Clark’s reactions to their suggestions. The lessons were not dated but it is likely they took place in 1924. These original notes were edited by Pamela Matt with Clark’s supervision in 1972 and included as an appendix for A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Works of Barbara Clark.

Clark Personal Analysis

On the first page of these notes Clark wrote the title “Personal Analysis.” They appear to have been recorded after her initial exposure to Todd’s teaching and reflect the conceptualization of her expanding kinesthetic awareness. No date.

Personal Analysis Continued

Clark’s reporting on her personal absorption of the Boston Studio lessons continues in this set of notes. No date.

Undated Notebook

This small notebook was completed when Clark was studying with Todd’s teachers in Boston. Clark’s notes indicate that her interest was shifting toward applying Todd’s principles to her understanding of child development.

Colwell Teacher Training Notes

Barbara Clark recorded these notes in the course of her teacher training at Mabel Todd’s Boston Studio. The lessons were given by Elizabeth W. Colwell who assisted Todd in running the studio and trained the other assistant teachers.

Colwell Case

These notes document lessons given by Elizabeth Colwell in the spring of 1929 that Barbara Clark observed. The notes show the close working relationship Miss Colwell as a “posture teacher” and the Boston osteopaths who were giving treatments to her pupil during the same period. It would appear that the osteopaths gave Colwell’s pupil treatments designed to free misaligned joints and that Colwell used Todd’s techniques to prolong and enhance the treatments and educate the pupil.

Teaching Lessons Overview

These notes provide an overview of the principles and methods Barbara Clark was exposed to in her teacher training. These original notes were edited by Pamela Matt with Clark’s supervision in 1972 and included as an appendix for A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Work of Barbara Clark.

Typed Teaching Notes 1972

After she moved to Urbana, Illinois in the early 1970’s, Miss Clark began to organize her many notebooks and lesson records. With Clark’s supervision Pamela Matt edited and typed Clark’s “Notes on Teaching” in 1972. Later these notes were incorporated into an Appendix for A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Work of Barbara Clark.

Molly Longley Teaching Notes

Molly Longley was working as a teacher in Todd’s studios when Barbara Clark began studying the approach. These notes from Longley’s lessons appear to have been recorded for the use of the assistant teachers.

1930 – 1931 Notebook – Case Notes

By 1930, Miss Clark was busily engaged with her pupils at Todd’s Boston Studio. Her 1930-1931 notebook provides an extensive record of this activity. This file includes pages from the notebook that focus on the progress of her pupils during that period.

1930-1931 Notebook Teaching Notes

By 1930, Miss Clark was busily engaged with her pupils at Todd’s Boston Studio. Her 1930-1931 notebook provides an extensive record of this activity. This file includes the pages from the notebook that pertain to insights she was gaining about the teaching from the more experienced teachers, including Miss Todd.

Grace Millet Case

It would appear that Grace was one of Miss Clark’s adult students at the Boston Studio. The notes indicate that Miss Colwell worked with Grace intermittently and checked on the progress Grace was making with Miss Clark. With the exception of two lessons in 1927, these notes were not dated. For the lessons that took place between 1928 and 1930, the order Clark kept them in represents our best approximation of the sequence. The first notecard seems to be an assessment of Grace’s condition in 1928. The last notecard seems to be a statement of the progress that was made. Another page of notes on Grace was found in the Boston notebook those lessons took place in November/December 1930.

Edward Merrill

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell with lessons for children. At less than two years of age, Edward Merrill was referred by a physician who was concerned that the right side of the child’s thorax had collapsed.

Harry Colt

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell with lessons for children. Harry Colt was brought to the studio as a three-year-old because of his lack of weight gain over the past year.

Jacqueline Fay

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell with lessons for children. As a five-year-old, Jacqueline Fay was referred for lessons with concerns about ptosis and generalized muscular tension. This record includes notes on the treatments given by an osteopath.

Jane Dustan

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell in lessons for children. Jane Dustan was a three-year-old with developmental delays. Over a lengthy course of lessons, additional observations and recommendations were made by Elizabeth Colwell and Mabel Todd.

Janet White

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell with lessons for children. Janet White, a four-year-old, was referred to the studio by her doctor who was concerned about the twitching of her hands, feet and head and other elements of nervous tension as well as generalized muscular stiffness.

Joseph Mullane

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell with lessons for children. Joseph Mullane came to the studio at the age of four with developmental problems that the doctors related to problems in the mother’s pregnancy and a premature birth.

Louise Sargent

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell in lessons for children. Louise Sargent was brought to the studio at the age of six. She was undernourished and chronically constipated.

Robin Garfield

In the late 1920’s, Miss Clark gained teaching experience in Todd’s studio by assisting Miss Colwell in lessons for children. Robin Garfield was a three-year-old who needed help with body weakness, muscular tightness and frequent illnesses.

Boston Studio Experience – Reflections

These notes document Barbara Clark’s reflections on her study with Todd and the Boston Studio teachers. The notebook was not dated but the content reveals that her comments were written many years after her initial exposure to the work in Boston, when she was living and teaching in New York.

Todd History Manuscript Drafts

Toward the end of her own teaching career, Miss Clark became dedicated to preserving her interpretation of the history of Todd’s work. This file contains drafts of her work on this project. Many of her statements were quoted in A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Works of Barbara Clark.

History Notes

These notes document Clark’s thoughts on Todd’s teaching. She intended that they be processed into a historical record. Several quotations from these notes appear in A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Works of Barbara Clark.

Evaluation Forms

Miss Clark developed at least two forms of record keeping for the children in Ruggles Street Nursery School classes including a Physical Action Record and a Posture Record. In these examples of each form, Clark placed check marks over the characteristics of good or poor alignment that were evident when she examined each child.

Child Evaluation Records

These brief typed records were used by Miss Clark as reminders of her evaluation of the alignment of the children attending the Ruggles Street Nursery and Training School. The records were completed in 1930 and 1931.

Posture Case Reports

Through the evaluation procedures Miss Clark conducted at Ruggles Street Nursery School, she identified several children that would benefit with additional “posture work.” The notes in this file record her impressions of the children who needed this additional instruction. The records were not dated but were probably completed in the early 1930’s.

Equipment/Environment

Miss Clark gave talks to various audiences about her work with young children in the early 1930’s. This file presents the notes she used to prepare for one of the presentations that focused on the ideal characteristics of the child’s environment.

Gladys Cotton School Talk

Miss Clark gave talks to various audiences about her work with young children in the early 1930’s. This file presents the notes she used to prepare for one of those presentations.

Expository Talk

Miss Clark gave talks to various audiences about her work with young children in the early 1930’s. This file presents the notes she used to prepare for one of those presentations.

West Roxbury Talk

Miss Clark gave talks to various audiences about her work with young children in the early 1930’s. This file presents the notes she used to prepare for one of those presentations.

Nursery School Report

Miss Clark gave talks to various audiences about her work with young children in the early 1930’s. This file presents the notes she used to prepare for one of those presentations which appears to have been given to the staff of the Ruggles Street School.

Tunnel Toy Patent 1933

Official patent description of Clark’s invention of the Tunnel Toy, issued in 1933.

Tunnel Toy Notes

Miss Clark kept a small notebook with names of schools and individuals who were interested in the Tunnel Toy as well as records of sales. The notebook also contained notes on the rationale for the equipment as well as her thoughts about its best use.

Tunnel Toy Photo

This photo of a child in the Tunnel Toy was probably taken in the late 1950’s. The adult in the picture is Joanne Emmons, one of Clark’s Technique for Movement assistant teachers.

Pamphlet Reprint

In 1927, Barbara Clark published a pamphlet called Structural Hygiene for the Preschool Child to acquaint parents with the developmental steps babies work through to develop upright posture. Miss Clark distributed these pamphlets to her clients; the doctors who suggested her services to parents kept copies of her pamphlet in their offices. The original version of publication was lost. This document is a reconstruction of the original that Miss Clark and Pamela Matt developed together in the early 1970’s.

Structural Hygiene Notes

These are drafts of writing that Clark used in creating her pamphlet Structural Hygiene for the Preschool Child published in 1927.

Posture Plays Descriptions

Clark’s nursery school training inspired her to create stories and action games to accompany the tactile directions she applied to the bodies of her young students. These “posture plays” contained simple, fanciful imagery that helped her pupils to conceptualize their kinesthetic experiences. This file contains notes describing several posture plays that she used with children.

Introductory Notes Posture Plays

These handwritten notes document some of Clark’s first efforts to describe her Posture Plays concept and procedures for children.

Posture Plays Manuscript Draft

Barbara Clark developed several versions of a manuscript she called the “posture plays” in the course of her work with children. This material was written for parents and teachers and designed to encourage the child’s participation in the developmental movements.

Plays for Older Children

Clark’s nursery school training inspired her to create stories and action games to accompany the tactile directions she applied to the bodies of her young students. These “posture plays” contained simple, fanciful imagery that helped her pupils to conceptualize their kinesthetic experiencing. This file describes activities for the classroom.

Children’s Book Manuscript

After many years of working in the families of young children and in nursery schools, Barbara Clark developed a book idea that presented body balance concepts to child readers. This file preserves some of the pages of her typed manuscript as well as her drawing ideas. An edited version of this material was published in A Kinesthetic Legacy: The Life and Works of Barbara Clark.

Early Physical Education Notes

Clark kept track of her ideas for writing about the physical education needs of preschool children throughout her early career. This file contains notes that were not dated as well as several pages written in 1949.

Alignment Manuscript

The official title of this manuscript was “Muscular Activity in Positions Allowing Good Alignment Develops Good Habits of Coordination and the Muscle Strength Necessary to Maintain Good Alignment in More Difficult Positions.” Several of the first pages in the manuscript probably served as the basis of the pamphlet Clark published called Structural Hygiene for the Preschool Child. It includes directions for various positions and movements for teachers and parents to use as they played with children.

PE Birth to 10 Years

These pages appear to have been an effort to establish the kinds of activities children should engage in to facilitate their physical development. No Date.