Francis Wayland Parker was a pioneer of the progressive school movement in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He believed that education should include the complete development of an individual — mental, physical, and moral. John Dewey

John Dewey

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...

 called him the "father of progressive education." He worked to create curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

 that centered on the whole child and a strong language background. He was against standardization, isolated drill and rote learning

Rote learning

Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition by which students commit information to memory in a highly structured way. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the...

. He helped to show that education was not just about cramming information into students’ minds, but about teaching students to think for themselves and become independent people.

Biography

Parker was born in Bedford

Bedford, New Hampshire

-Demographics:As of the Census of 2000, there were 18,274 people, 6,251 households, and 5,125 families residing in the town. The population density was 556.6 people per square mile . There were 6,401 housing units at an average density of 195.0 per square mile...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 in Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County, New Hampshire

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 380,841 people, 144,455 households, and 98,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 149,961 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile...

. He was educated in the public schools and began his career as a village teacher in New Hampshire at age 16. He taught 75 children at Corser Hill at Boscawen, New Hampshire, making 15 dollars a month. Many of his students were older and had been exposed to more of the curriculum than him. After teaching in Boscawen, he began to teach in Auburn, New Hampshire, making 18 dollars a month. At 21 years old, he taught in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, and eventually took charge of all the grammar schools in his town Piscataquis, New Hampshire. At 22 years old he became the principal of a school in Carrolton, Illinois. In August 1861, at the beginning of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Parker enlisted as a private in the 4th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry

4th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry

The 4th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 4th New Hampshire Infantry was organized in Manchester, New Hampshire and mustered in for a three year enlistment on September 18, 1861.The regiment was...

. He was elected lieutenant and was later promoted to captain and commander of the company. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and commander of the 4th New Hampshire in January 1865, serving in St. Augustine

St. Augustine

-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...

, Florida—part of that time in the brig. He was captured and held prisoner

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 in May 1865.

After the war ended, Colonel Parker resumed teaching, first in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, where he became the head of the normal school

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

 in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

. In 1872, he traveled to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 to study at the Humboldt University of Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...

. In Europe, Parker examined the new methods of pedagogy

Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....

 being developed there, proposed by European theorists, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...

, Friedrich Fröbel, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....

 and particularly Johann Friedrich Herbart

Johann Friedrich Herbart

Johann Friedrich Herbart was a German philosopher, psychologist, and founder of pedagogy as an academic discipline....

. Parker asserted that students benefit most from reading works of high interest, thereby activating background knowledge. A supporter of balanced instruction, he encouraged the use of the elements of phonics, as well as lists of word families, onsets and rimes, to assist in word recognition. This innovative educator integrated the skill areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Parker advocated many of the current language experience and process writing approach methodologies. He believed that children should write across the content areas on subjects that interested them, for enjoyment and that the proper form would come with practice. All writing should be natural and connected to authentic and meaningful activities, using the child’s own vocabulary; in other words, experience based writing. Parker was a teacher, principal and a lecturer, who wanted all children to have their own slate boards, so they could write and draw freely without fear of mistakes.

Between 1875 and 1880, Parker was able to put his philosophy into practice, when he served as superintendent of schools in Quincy

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. He was offered the job because of his dynamic personality and passion to change the current schooling system. There, he developed the Quincy Method

Quincy Method

The Quincy Method, also known as the Quincy Plan, or the Quincy system of learning, was a child-centred, progressive approach to education developed by Francis W...

, which eliminated harsh discipline and de-emphasized rote memorization, replacing them with elements of progressive education, such as group activities, the teaching of the arts and sciences, and informal methods of instruction. He rejected tests, grading and ranking systems. The model was hailed as successful, when in 1879, responding to critics of the progressive methods, state-ordered testing showed that Quincy pupils surpassed the scores of other school children in Massachusetts.

He continued to implement his theories as superintendent of the Boston Public Schools

Boston Public Schools

Boston Public Schools is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.-Leadership:The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the Mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified...

 (1880–83) and principal of the Cook County Normal School

Chicago State University

Chicago State University is a state university of the U.S. state of Illinois, located in Chicago.-History:Cook County Normal School was founded in 1867, largely through the initiative of John F. Eberhart, the Commissioner of Schools for Cook County...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 (1883–99). While Principal of the Cook County Normal School he constantly experimented with the children of Cook County, trying to expand and develop his curriculum. He experimented with new theories and tried to perfect his plan for education. He was not afraid of failure, saying, “The road to success is through constant blundering". With his likeable personality and his progressive theories, he was able to reform the Cook County Normal School. Reading, spelling, and writing became a subject known as communication. Art and physical education were added to the weekly curriculum. He taught science through the study of nature. He even created a band with the children who studied music.
During this period of time, Parker published five books on education, including: Talks on Teaching (New York, 1883); The Practical Teacher (1884); Course in Arithmetic (1884); Talks on Pedagogies (1894); and How to Teach Geography (1885). Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...

 awarded Parker the degree of M.A.

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in 1886. In the next phase of his educational career, Parker founded and served as principal (1899–1901) for a private experimental school, the Chicago Institute, which became the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 School of Education in 1901.

In 1901, Parker merged Chicago Institute with the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools is a private, co-educational day school in Chicago, Illinois. It is affiliated with the University of Chicago...

 and worked with kindergarten and elementary school age children. To further put his theories into practice, the Francis W. Parker School

Francis W. Parker School (Chicago)

Francis W. Parker School is an independent day school serving students from junior kindergarten through grade twelve of high school. Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the school is based on the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey and Colonel Francis Wayland Parker,...

 opened in Chicago with an initial enrollment of one hundred and eighty students. A second school

Francis W. Parker School (San Diego)

Francis Parker School, also known simply as Parker, is an elite college preparatory independent day school in San Diego, California, serving students from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade. Parker was founded in 1912 by Clara Sturges Johnson and William Templeton Johnson, themselves recent...

 was founded in San Diego in 1912. Both schools exist today.

In poor health, Parker was sent by his doctors to the South for a better climate. He died at age 64 in Pass Christian

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Pass Christian , nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Harrison County, Mississippi

Harrison County, Mississippi

-National protected areas:* De Soto National Forest * Gulf Islands National Seashore - Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 189,601 people, 71,538 households, and 48,574 families residing in the county. The population density was 326 people per square mile . There were 79,636 housing...

. His ashes were returned to New Hampshire, in May 1902 and were interred at Piscataquog Cemetery, Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

.

In addition to the schools in Illinois and California, the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School

Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School

The Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School is a public charter school in Devens, Massachusetts that serves students in grades 7 to 12...

 was founded in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 in 1995, in honor of Parker's contributions to the field of progressive education. An elementary school in Quincy also bears Parker's name.

See also

• Alternative Education
  Alternative education
  Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, includes a number of approaches to teaching and learning other than mainstream or traditional education. Educational alternatives are often rooted in various philosophies that are fundamentally different...
  
  

External links

• History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century - "1901– Francis W. Parker progressive school opens", A work in progress edited by Daniel Schugurensky, Department of Adult Education, Community Development and Counselling Psychology, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT)
• Francis W. Parker School, Chicago, IL
• Francis Parker School, San Diego, CA
• Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, Devens, MA