Francis W. Parker
From Philosopedia
Francis W. Parker (9 October 1837 - 2 March 1902)
Parker was born in Bedford, New Hampshire, was educated in the public schools, and at the age of 16 he started his career as a teacher.
In 1861 he enlisted in the New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, eventually being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and commander of the 4th New Hampshire. In 1865 he was held prisoner in North Carolina.
After the war, Colonel Parker became head of the normal school in Dayton, Ohio, then traveled to study at the University of Berlin, where he studied theorists such as Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Johann Friedrich Herbart.
His emphasis was upon creating a curriculum that centered on the whole child and had a strong language background. He was against isolated drill, rote memorization, and standardization. A teacher, a lecturer, and a principal, he encouraged writing and eliminated harsh discipline in his schools. He rejected tests, grading, and ranking systems.
He eventually became superintendent of Boston's public schools and principal of the Cook County Normal School in Chicago (1882-1899).
In 1901, he merged Chicago Institute with University of Chicago Laboratory Elementary School and worked with kindergarten and elementary school age children, and to further put his theories into practice, the Francis W. Parker School opened in Chicago with an initial enrollment of one hundred and eighty students. A second school was founded in San Diego in 1912. Both schools exist today.
Parker, with Nellie Lathrop Helm, wrote Uncle Robert's Geography, a children's book.
Upon his death, he was cremated and his ashes were interred at Piscataquog Cemetery, Manchester, New Hampshire.
John Dewey called him the "father of progressive education."
(See the Francis W. Parker School's website.)
