Robert Wayne Hinson is an American educator and writer whose career included teaching English and reading, school administration, educational supervision, and professional study in English and education. He wrote the young-adult novel Of Fairfield Plantation, a comparative work related to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and developed teaching materials connected with the book.
Background
Hinson was born on October 24, 1949, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Selkirt Alexander Hinson and Sally Hinson. His life and career developed in North Carolina and South Carolina, where he worked in public education and participated in regional literary and teachers' organizations.
Writing became an important avocation alongside his educational career. His later work on Of Fairfield Plantation connected literary creation with classroom use, including a glossary and other materials intended to support reading, English, and history instruction.
Education
Hinson pursued higher education in English, English education, and educational administration. He received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1972, a Master of Education in English Education there in 1986, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in English Education in 1989. The university, established in 1946 and later becoming the University of North Carolina's urban research institution in Charlotte, developed programs serving the educational and professional needs of the region.
He earned an Educational Specialist degree in educational administration from Winthrop College in 1989. Founded in 1886 as a teachers' college, Winthrop had a long institutional connection with teacher preparation and public education in South Carolina. He later received a Doctor of Philosophy in English from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati in 1993; the institution was associated with individualized, interdisciplinary graduate education and later became part of Union Institute & University.
A later biographical account also identifies graduate study at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and earlier study at Wingate University. These institutions contributed to the regional tradition of liberal-arts education, teacher preparation, and graduate study in the humanities and education.
Career
Hinson worked in public education as a teacher of English and reading in the Marlboro County School District in Bennettsville, South Carolina, from 1981 to 1993. His professional profile also identifies experience as a secondary teacher, principal, school supervisor, and certified school administrator in South Carolina.
His educational career developed during a period when school systems increasingly emphasized reading instruction, formal teacher certification, educational administration, and specialized supervision. Alongside teaching and administration, he continued advanced study in English, English education, and educational administration.
Hinson also worked as a writer. His novel Of Fairfield Plantation was presented as a companion and comparative work to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and he prepared a glossary and study materials for use in secondary and higher-education settings.
Achievements
Wrote Of Fairfield Plantation, a young-adult novel presented as a companion and comparative work to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
Developed a glossary and related study materials for Of Fairfield Plantation to support reading, English, and history instruction.
Co-founded Writers Workshop Asheville, a literary organization associated with regional writing activity.
(Young-adult fiction presented as a companion and comparat...)
Religion
Hinson was a Methodist, belonging to a Protestant Christian tradition that developed from the eighteenth-century revival movement associated with John Wesley. Methodism emphasized personal faith, disciplined Christian practice, education, social responsibility, and service to others.
His documented religious affiliation formed part of the cultural setting in which he worked as an educator and writer in the American South.
Politics
Hinson was active in the Republican Party and chaired the Union County Republican Committee in 1973. In 1974 he chaired a steering committee for a campaign for governor of North Carolina.
The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. During the 1970s it combined support for limited government, private enterprise, law and order, and conservative social and fiscal positions, while state party organizations directed local campaigning, candidate support, and voter mobilization.
Views
Hinson's documented writing and teaching interests connect literature with education. His work on Of Fairfield Plantation treats fiction as a means of comparative reading and classroom discussion, while the accompanying glossary reflects an emphasis on vocabulary and accessible literary instruction.
Membership
Hinson belonged to teachers' and reading organizations in North Carolina and South Carolina, reflecting his professional involvement in language instruction and literacy education. He also co-founded Writers Workshop Asheville, connecting his educational work with regional literary activity.
These organizations served as professional or literary communities through which teachers, reading specialists, and writers exchanged ideas, supported instruction, and developed creative work.
Member.
North Carolina English Teachers Association
,
United States
Member.
South Carolina English Teachers Association
,
United States
Member.
Reading Association
,
United States
Member.
Palmetto State Teachers Association
,
United States
Co-founder.
Writers Workshop Asheville
,
United States
Interests
Writing
Writers
John Steinbeck
Connections
Hinson was the son of Selkirt Alexander Hinson and Sally Hinson. He married Sandra Rowell; their marriage ended in divorce in August 1988. They had one child, Jennifer AnnaBeth Hinson. He later married Linda Ritchie.
Father:
Selkirt Alexander Hinson
Mother:
Sally Hinson
Daughter:
Jennifer AnnaBeth Hinson
Wife:
Linda Ritchie
Wife:
Sandra Rowell
The marriage ended in divorce in August 1988.
References
Robert Hinson teacher-author profile
Documents Hinson's teaching and writing activities, the classroom use of Of Fairfield Plantation and its study materials, and additional educational and literary background.
