"Amost Eaton, natural scienctist, educator, and co-founder of the Rensselaer School..." "Eaton's most significant and lasting contribution was to scientific education...In contrast to the current method of learning by rote, students were to learn by doing." "To implement his novel ideas, Eaton enlisted the support of Stephen Van Rensselaer in founding the Rensselaer School in 1824. Eaton served as Senior Professor at Rensselaer for the rest of his life and trained and significant number of inflential scientists..." info from: http://www.lib.rpi.edu/Archives/gallery/Eaton/biography/ Mentioned in the letter- 18280801GWS_WHS: "It was founded by the Hon Stephen Van Rensselaer in the year '24, by giving Professor Eaton a sallary of— and by him carried on or taught."