Exploring F. W. Parker’s notions regarding child education

Abstract

F. W. Parker (1837–1902), an American educationist, implemented various reforms in education. Parker had a considerable role in the development of progressive education in the United States. Parker is usually regarded as the father of progressive education. Using theoretical analysis, this article aims to explore the notions regarding child education advanced by Parker. First, his ideas of child education were as follows: (1) a unitary child made of body, mind, and spirit is a whole being; (2) education professionals depend on the touch of educational love; (3) teachers are mentors in the search for truths instead of dominators; (4) cultivate a democratic and cooperative attitude in the child; (5) the purpose of humanistic education is to assist the individual development of each child. Second, the learning content proposed for children was as follows: (1) the theory of concentration, (2) teachers should select courses that are familiar to the child, (3) teachers should let the child learn to release energy in a natural environment, (4) adapting subject matter to the child, and (5) assimilating music and story into children’s learning content. Finally, the suggested teaching priorities were as follows: (1) arouse learning interest of the child; (2) develop the child’s attention; (3) allow expression; (4) handwork; and (5) when the child reads, teachers should lead their thinking.

Introduction

Hsu (1975) indicated in the article “The Pioneer of Progressive Education” that numerous people intuitively concur with the American experimental philosopher John Dewey regarding progressive education in the United States. Dewey is often considered the founder of progressive education; however, this is fallacious and differs from the historical development of true American progressive education. This misunderstanding originated from the growth process of American progressive education and its adherence to Dewey’s philosophy and educational thoughts. Historical materials indicate that the creator and pioneer of true American progressive education is F. W. Parker (1837–1902) (Hsu, 1975). Dewey is a name more closely associated with progressive education, but the pioneer of this educational movement was Parker. Dewey himself referred to Parker as the father of progressive education (Dewey, 1930) and was among those who believed that the American Progressive Education Movement began in 1875. Parker was a superintendent in the Quincy city of Massachusetts where he practiced his educational philosophy and implemented numerous reforms in curriculum and teaching. The Quincy School Experiment marked the beginning of the Progressive Education Movement (Cremin, 1964).

Several of Parker’s educational innovations and experimental schools inspired Dewey and the scholars of the American Progressive Education Movement. Parker can be described as the creator and pioneer of American progressive education (Hsu, 1975). The reasons for Parker’s reputation as the father of American progressive education are clear, and the present article is motivated by a desire to raise awareness of Parker’s efforts to lay the foundation for a new style of education.

In 1872, Parker went to Germany to study pedagogy and visited France, Italy, and Switzerland. During his visits to European countries, Parker was exposed to the educational concepts of continental education scholars, such as J. F. Herbart, F. W. A. Fröbel, and J. H. Pestalozzi. Their educational theories helped him develop his own educational ideas for children. A key premise in Parker’s ideas is that the nature of children’s education must conform to children’s spontaneous tendencies. Parker’s view was that children should become the subject of learning in the educational process. Teachers must understand children and their nature (Parker, 1896; Wu, 1995). Parker’s reform practices in Quincy and Cook County Normal Schools were implemented following this principle. Parker advocated that children’s needs should be attended to and teachers should love and respect their students. Parker opined, “There never was such a thing as a lazy child born on earth” (Parker, 1969: 21). This article aims to clarify Parker’s insights into children’s education, explore Parker’s notions of children’s education, and clarify the origin of the Progressive Education Movement. The author believes that the findings can be of use for the current educational situation.

Parker largely made his claims regarding children’s education in valuable work such as Talks on Pedagogics, On the Farm, Notes of Talks on Teaching, and Playtime and Seedtime. These works all concern children’s education. In the process of reading and discussing the above-mentioned works, Parker’s educational ideas are assessed using theoretical analysis. First, the influence of continental educational scholars on Parker’s concepts of children’s education is analyzed; second, this exploration is aimed at clarifying Parker’s childhood education notions and broadening the horizons of children’s education.

Influence of continental educational scholars on Parker’s notions regarding children’s education

Rousseau’s naturalism

Rousseau had a large influence on the development of Western culture in the 18th century. Regarding philosophical thought, Rousseau founded the school of naturalism (Tian, 1995). Parker adopted a naturalistic view of children from Rousseau. Parker spoke on the subject of “Nature and the Child,” and he poetically explored the idea of children on the farm interacting with nature, an idealistic depiction through which to expound the naturalistic view of children (Harper et al., 1902; Parker, 1969).

Pestalozzi’s educational love, intuitive teaching, and manual training activities

Pestalozzi emphasized the educational love, which affected Parker. Parker came to believe that teachers would not succeed in reforming education if they did not have educational love. Accordingly, Parker emphasized the importance of educational love in educational practices (Parker et al., 1901). From Pestalozzi, Parker adopted an intuitive teaching method that encouraged children to observe nature directly because Parker believed that children should observe nature to release their potential. Furthermore, Pestalozzi helped Parker understand that education enables the generation of strength through engagement in personal activities, which are guided by motivation and work toward a goal that is determined by knowledge and methods. Therefore, Parker advocated that manual training activities are a vital factor in children’s education. Manual training activities are guided by motivation and work toward a goal and can promote children’s development in several respects (Chang, 1998; Parker, 1897; Parker and Helm, 1902). Therefore, when reading Parker’s works, his regard for children is evident in his discussions and efforts to expand people’s understanding of children’s education. (Chang, 1998; Parker, 1969).

Fröbel inspired Parker to understand that the human spirit is a sublime concept as a whole

Fröbel believed that children are self-existent beings. He emphasized that play, creative activities, and self-expression are all methods of self-directed activity (Huang, 1965). Parker indicated that each child has a strong willingness to use certain methods of expression. Parker introduced an era of new education in which children are respected (Jackman, 1902; Parker, 1969). From Fröbel, Parker learned that education entails the harmonious growth of the body, mind, and spirit (Parker, 1897). A child’s body, mind, and spirit must be unified and fully developed when learning. From Fröbel, Parker also discovered that the human spirit is a lofty idea of unity, comprising the creation and the creator (Parker, 1969).

Herbart’s principles of “concentration” and “correlation”

In Chicago, Parker and his colleagues developed the curriculum theories of “concentration” and “unification of subject matters.” Parker considered that his concept of concentration would benefit from Herbart’s principles of “correlation” and “concentration” (Figure 1, Source: Huang, 2005; Parker, 1969). Parker’s explanation of children’s learning process was based on Herbart’s theory, which highlighted the interaction between senses, consciousness, and the stimulation of external forces, thereby emphasizing that the human has inherently various tendencies and the potential to engage in autonomous activities (Parker, 1969)

Herbart took moral education as the foundation of his education system. History was the organizational center of the curriculum because it is beneficial to moral development. Although Parker insisted that there was no single central discipline, science nevertheless became his focus. Parker’s thoughts regarding concentration originated from Herbart. Parker’s theory of concentration was an educational science, which attracted the attention of thoughtful teachers for centuries. The Cook County Normal School had certain advantages: for example, a group of teachers worked seriously and sincerely and discovered and applied facts based on the operating assumption of concentration (Parker, 1969; Tanner and Tanner, 1990).

What Parker’s child education notions mean

The childhood years are pivotal as they mark the beginning of a young child’s life journey into education (Ang et al., 2020). Parker hoped that teachers would perform research to understand children (Parker, 1900b, 1969). To understand Parker’s notions of child education, the author first explores Parker’s views on children’s nature and the author then explains Parker’s views on the principles of children’s education.

Children’s nature

Children have the spontaneous ability to learn

Parker’s teaching practice in Quincy and Cook Normal Schools was based on the concept of “children as the center of the educational process.” He believed that children are born self-learners and have the spontaneous ability to learn (Parker, 1969).

Children have autonomous creativity

Childhood is full of various activities that are inspired by external forces or shaped by children’s internal energy. Each child is born with artistic traits. Children have creative energy. This creative energy is a crucial trait in an artist. Children enjoy creating models of sand and clay. Painting activities can delight children. Children’s expression of their thoughts in painting may be rough rather than delicate. However, they gain satisfaction from this activity and will paint any object with the greatest confidence (Parker, 1969).

Children have a natural tendency to play

Froebel believed that the world of children is a world of play and that play is paramount to children’s lives. The “Case de Bombini” was set up by Montessori and lists basic activities, such as gripping, moving, walking, and running, to promote the development of children’s movements. Furthermore, children’s exercise should be promoted in the form of play to allow them to develop their physical functions while satisfying the development of imagination and social skills (Li and Wu, 2013).

Therefore, children must try various types of activities to promote their development, and playing has a functional role in the development of children’s imagination and social roles. Furthermore, the stimulation of children’s imagination plays a decisive role in spiritual education, which is another crucial lesson that Parker learned from Fröbel’s overall conception of mental and physical education. Parker reported that children enjoy playing and that most children’s dramatic instincts are very strong. Inspiring children to wear older clothes and imitate wild Indian circuses or bands are activities with high educational value. Parker indicated that children can learn numerous things through imitation (Parker, 1896; Parker and Helm, 1902; Shih, 2020c).

Theory of children’s education

Children’s education: Idea and purpose

A unitary child made of body, mind, and spirit is a whole being

Herbart emphasized the importance of correlation and concentration. Concentration refers to the core of a subject, and correlation refers to the correlation between various disciplines (Tanner and Tanner, 1990). Parker was influenced by this view and thus believed that schools should connect the content of different disciplines to allow children to learn meaningfully (Cremin, 1964). Parker regarded children as a union of body, mind, and spirit, which must be unified when teaching. Children’s thinking and actions must also be unified. Therefore, breaking the traditional subdisciplinary approach to teaching is necessary. “Concentration of teaching materials” would enable education to exert its economic efficiency and human development (Parker, 1969).

Education professionals depend on the touch of educational love

Parker reported that teachers are a vital social force. Teachers are not taskmasters but become advocates for revealing lifestyles, and educators should bear responsibility for this society. Today’s school is tomorrow’s society. A deep and growing love toward human nature should exist between teachers and students (Parker et al., 1901). Practicing educational love should lead and educate children to do good deeds. Therefore, educational love among education professionals is crucial (Parker, 1896).

Teachers are mentors in the search for truths instead of dominators

Children are encouraged to work hard to uncover the truth, and the truth should dominate the will. Teachers’ most crucial task is leading children to discover the truth. The habit of discovering and applying truth is paramount. The truth liberates children and encourages them to explore the source of all truth, and the highest freedom is to be faithful to God. The habit of exploring the truth shifts to political and social affairs later in life (Parker, 1896). Thus, teachers should be mentors in truth inquiry, not dominators.

Cultivate a democratic and cooperative attitude in the child

How people can be improved morally, emotionally, or mentally is the most crucial question in this world, and the answer is that people can be improved through education. Education entails the complete development of individuals (Parker, 1889) and thus improves people. The primary aim of school is to educate children to become citizens of the future. However, being a citizen requires a democratic and cooperative attitude (Parker, 1901e).

Parker attached great importance to the social development of children and the spirit of teamwork. He believed that children work as groups rather than individuals, and thus, he abolished the system of points and rewards for competitions. In “Democracy and Education,” Parker suggested that the principal factors in learning were social, allowing children from all social class backgrounds to learn from each other, and that public schools are the rudiments of a democratic society because they enable children to overcome prejudice against people from different classes and backgrounds and cultivate children’s attitudes toward democracy and cooperation (Parker, 1969).

The purpose of humanistic education is to assist the individual development of each child

The development of children’s education is achieved through children’s self-activity, and children themselves are a crucial energy source (Parker, 1900c, 1969). Parker believed that children are born with the energy for self-learning, self-exploring, and self-creating. They explore their interests until their attempts are successful. They enjoy singing, painting, and model making (Parker, 1969), and they develop personal mental and moral abilities during self-directed activities. Humanistic democratic education aims to assist each child’s individual development (Parker, 1969) and highlight the uniqueness of each child. For this reason, Parker suggested that children are the core subject of educational research. Children are each unique and have their own existence value (Parker, 1897). Parker further indicated that there are differences among children. Therefore, children’s learning should be recorded and compared when teaching (Parker, 1900b). This process enables teachers to learn the differences between children. The educational philosophy that Parker always emphasized was that education should regard children as the subjects of learning. Parker further emphasized the unique existence value of children and promoted assisting each child’s individual development.

Children’s learning content (Curriculum perspective and teaching materials)

The theory of concentration

Parker’s theory of concentration is illustrated in Figure 1 to curriculum integration and has been deeply influenced by Parker. The center of the figure is the child, and this represents Parker’s humanistic education concept. Parker believed that the whole child (physically, mentally, and spiritually) must be educated. Teachers should allow children to act freely according to their nature (Parker, 1896).

Figure 1.

Parker’s theory of concentration.

Teachers can also recognize that a unitary child is composed of body, mind, and spirit. The child is a whole being. The second circle refers to the environment in which the child lives. This environment is composed of life, physics, and chemistry because different forms of life, physical phenomena, and chemical phenomena affect the living environment. The third circle is the central subject of learning. Herbart emphasized history, literature, and science. Parker proposed 10 central subjects that children should study: history, ethnography, anthropology, zoology, botany, meteorology, astronomy, geography, geology, and mineralogy. The fourth circle is cultivating children’s concentration and comprises three items: observation, hearing language, and reading. The fifth circle is eight expressions that teachers want to encourage in children: posture, musicality, creating, model making, painting, drafting, speech, and writing. The outermost circle refers to two types of children’s judgment: form and number. Parker believed that these factors should be the focus of children’s education (Huang, 2005; Parker, 1896, 1969; Tanner and Tanner, 1990).

Teachers should select courses that are familiar to the child

Teachers should choose courses that are familiar to the child. Teachers should prepare questions that evoke children’s imagination and provide constructive statements that guide children’s critical thinking. This educational philosophy, that the school curriculum should be connected with children’s life experiences and practical activities as much as possible, was proposed by Parker when he served as the inspector of the Quincy area (Parker, 1969; Parker and Marvel, 1880).

Teachers should let the child learn to release energy in a natural environment

Parker suggested that children should be placed in the natural environment to allow them to learn about the subjects of animals, plants, weather, minerals, and geological phenomena. This suggestion was based on children’s ability to learn spontaneously in the environment. Therefore, this approach would teach them disciplines closely related to nature, such as geography, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and anthropology, as illustrated in Figure 1 concerning Parker’s theory of concentration (Parker, 1901b, 1969).

Furthermore, playing and paddling in the water is an endless source of joy for children, and living near a stream or river is an unparalleled teacher for children. Parker believed that allowing children to learn in nature can release children’s energy and that the knowledge of man and nature is unlimited (Parker, 1901d; Parker and Helm, 1902).

Adapting subject matter to the child

The subject being taught can be adapted to children. If the subject taught by teachers does not accord with the thinking of a child, the activity of the child’s mind will be impaired and weakened. Therefore, teachers must invest the effort necessary to avoid this negative effect. Furthermore, if the subjects taught by teachers become learning objects that children do not like, then the teaching is immoral by nature. If teachers can know the child and closely associate their own heart with the child’s mind, the child can always feel the spiritual and moral vitality of the teacher. A large proportion of teachers want to help children; however, wrong or misused teaching methods create some major obstacles or gaps between teachers and children, which is detrimental to both teaching and learning (Parker, 1896).

Assimilating music and story into children’s learning content

Children love music, and most children will attempt to imitate the rhythms they hear. Parker indicated that lullaby songs soothe children to sleep, turning children’s unhappiness into pleasure. The whole child is sensitive to musical rhythms. Music can not only soothe children but also make them sleep comfortably. Parker theorized that a child’s initial consciousness of life is caused by song, and the initial spirit of external life is accompanied by the rhythm of music (Parker, 1969).

Parker further extended music to the sounds of nature and animals, such as bird songs, nests, and eggs, which always attract children’s interest. Frog’s music is a pleasing sound of nature’s resurrection (Parker and Helm, 1902). Furthermore, children long for love and stories that stimulate their imagination. Children like fairytales the most because they embody myths through the ages. Fairytales represent a break from harsh reality and conjure a beautiful and intangible world. Children create their fantasy (Parker, 1969). Therefore, teachers should assimilate music and stories into children’s learning content.

Teachers’ teaching priorities

In investigating the innovative teaching ideas and measures advanced by Parker, one should assess reactions to the formal rigid training theory under the influence of traditional functional psychology. Parker advocated avoiding mechanically rigid teaching methods and emphasized that children are the subjects of learning (Merle, 1935). The teaching priorities stated by Parker are as follows.

Arouse the learning interest of the child

Interest is an emotion that can make children enthusiastic regarding the surroundings of their life and encourage them to explore their world (Parker et al., 1901). Parker further stated that interest is stimulated by mental activity, and the goal may be happy or painful. However, this goal must drive activities. Goals are always associated with positive expectations (Parker, 1897). Therefore, teachers should develop purposeful and meaningful lessons that satisfy the needs and stimulate the interests of children (Harris, 1898).

A large proportion of children have similar life experiences (Parker and Helm, 1898). In school, teachers guide children to memorize book knowledge. However, this form of teaching may be detrimental, especially if the children are led to believe that they are acquiring real knowledge (Parker, 1896), despite this teaching content being increasingly divorced from the needs of social life. This form of teaching can lead children to regard schools as prisons and subdue or eliminate their interest in learning. Parker suggested that a curriculum should meet and arouse children’s interest rather than force children to memorize knowledge rigidly. After all, the principal aim of education is children themselves. Education is not a preparation for life. Education itself is life (Dangler, 1939; Parker, 1897).

Develop the child’s attention

Three modes of attention were presented by Parker: observation, hearing language, and reading (Parker, 1901a). The mode of attention is the method and course of educational thinking and is an indispensable aid for studying humans and nature. The mode of attention must be considered in the process of exercising children’s bodies, strengthening children’s minds, and cultivating children’s motivations. The use of attention patterns enables the shaping of children’s skills using the stimulus of increasing thinking (Parker, 1901c).

Allow expression

Two vital factors in education are thinking and expression. Expression is a response to thought, and thought controls expression. Optimal expression requires optimal thinking, and optimal thinking leads to the largest growth of the child. The majority of teaching is aimed at training expressive thinking skills. Furthermore, expression is an understanding of goals. Painting lessons are performed through certain modes of expression (Parker, 1896, 1897, 1901a; Parker and Washburne, 1901), which include the following: (1) vocal organ sound, voice, and vocal music; (2) body posture; and (3) handicrafts and model making (painting, drafting, and writing) (Parker, 1901a). The three functions of expressive mode are physical development, mental strength, and moral culture (Parker, 1901d).

Handwork

The desire to perform handwork is natural among children, and painting lessons are performed by handwork (Parker, 1969). During Parker’s life, handwork was considered a valuable method of education in Chicago and elsewhere. Three or four technical schools in the United States have introduced handwork vocational learning methods, and high schools have established handwork departments (Parker, 1902). Children enjoy work. Parker contended that the ultimate purpose of school education is to train children to operate systematically, to enjoy operation, and to engage their critical thinking. Real operations can inspire every activity of children’s minds and bodies. Real operations stimulate enjoyment (Parker, 1896).

Furthermore, teachers can appreciate children’s participation in handwork, especially when they have a clear purpose. Children practice solving life problems and meet their daily needs by inventing, building, and laboring. Manual training is a valuable factor in children’s education because it can help develop strength and flexibility of muscle, thinking, life goals and plans, perseverance, precision, and cleanliness (Parker and Helm, 1902). Exercising the brain and hands simultaneously should be implemented in the classroom and the workplace as an educational method for the development of a harmonious body, mind, and spirit (Parker, 1896).

When the child reads, teachers should lead their thinking

In fact, students should have an independent thinking ability, which is the aim of education (Shih, 2019). Throughout children’s education, reading is used because it is one of the main approaches to developing children’s critical thinking. Education would hardly achieve improvements in the child without promoting reading. Reading can promote educational progress (Parker, 1900a). Furthermore, the printed word helps children think when learning to read. However, long periods should not be spent just reading with no thinking, and reading should not be the only form of learning. Currently, reading is frequently prioritized and children are rarely encouraged to think. In these situations, children’s motivation with respect to learning to read diminishes and the purpose of learning to read becomes more weakly felt. When this phenomenon occurs, the process of learning to read becomes time-consuming and boring for children. Therefore, teachers should encourage children to think and generate energy when reading (Parker, 1900a).

Comments on Parker’s notions of children’s education

Humanistic education: Ideals and care

Parker was recognized by Dewey as the father of the Progressive Education Movement (Dewey, 1930). The Progressive Education Association, which was established in 1919 after the First World War, faced the problem of a child-centered education concept. Dewey’s Experience and Education criticized the child-centered education concept as by no means constituting a progressive education because when paying attention to children’s interests and needs, the choice of teaching materials and teachers’ authority must also be assessed or the teaching and learning will be superficial (Dewey, 1938). Parker attached importance to children as the subjects of education; however, he also valued the needs of society. Parker possessed ideals and care for human education. These humanistic education ideals and care are consistent with the human purpose of the curriculum under Dewey. A focus on human-oriented care and purpose was consistent between Parker and Dewey (Shan, 2018).

The educational environment allows children to be immersed in the curriculum activities, which are full of humanistic spirit. This approach to teaching allows children to acquire knowledge and skills and also acquire practical knowledge required to live in the world and effectively participate in collaborative and joint activities. Children eventually realize the importance of promoting human nature, improving their personalities, and improving their lives, which they can put into practice, thereby bringing continual growth to themselves and promoting the progress and development of society, the country, and even all mankind (Shan, 2018). This is the purpose of education. Parker viewed education as the process of pursuing and achieving this divine purpose. Children are governed by hegemonic and resistant discourses in any ideological education setting. Do not let children become suffering victims of the education system. The humanized educational environment allows children to freely immerse themselves in curriculum activities (Garraty and Carnes, 1999; Parker, 1969; Tesar, 2014, 2021).

Parker advanced similar ideas to Kilpatrick

Parker advocated that allowing children to express their ideas and the content accorded with W. H. Kilpatrick’s project curriculum. The term “project” was originally proposed by Richards in 1900. He argued that completing school assignments should be done by students according to their plans instead of the teacher’s requirements. The emergence of the project curriculum was related to the trend of progressive education in the early 20th century and the scientific child research movement. The concept of the project refers to a topic, project, or plan that engages students in acquiring in-depth understanding and participating in discussion and research on a particular topic. It usually covers a systematic process, including the choice of topics, planning, problem-solving, ultimate knowledge acquisition, and sharing with others. The project curriculum is contrary to the traditional subject-based model. It emphasizes that the school curriculum should be organized directly and functionally so that students can take practical actions to solve various problems. Therefore, “learning by doing,” “first-hand experience,” and “active learning” are the principal aims. When the theme of the project is selected, the following basic stages can be repeated: (1) Exploration: teachers use skills to arouse children’s old experience and interest in learning and open discussions to make children think and explore this theme. (2) Organization: children’s thoughts and problems are extended into further learning activities, which are continually organized and reflected upon using various activities, gradually moving toward deeper learning activities. (3) Discussion and expression: throughout the activity, children often have the opportunity to share their problem-solving methods, answers, and feelings about the activity. (4) Summarizing experience: after the project approach is completed, publishing and sharing activities can be conducted, and children can share their learning results with classmates, teachers, and parents, which promotes learning and enhances parents’ understanding of their children’s thoughts (Shih, 2016; Yu, 2017).

The experimental school of progressive education in the United States began with Parker; Parker influenced Dewey

Dewey referred to Parker as the father of progressive education for several reasons. First, the Quincy teaching method and experimental school education was a trend in educational philosophy prevailing in the United States and had a considerable influence on American school education at that time; moreover, it originated from the opposition to the formalism of traditional education. The rise of progressive education schools was a reaction to traditional education. The biggest difference between progressive education and traditional education, according to the American education scholar Dewey, was that the former regarded education as the development from the inside to outside, and the latter believed that education is formed from the outside to inside (Lin, 2010; National Institute of Compilation and Translation, 2000).

Second, Parker had a profound effect on the progressive education scholar Dewey. Parker’s school is known for its emphasis on children’s nature, subject integration, practical observation, manual activities, artistic creation, thought development, self-expression, freedom, and democracy, which were inherited by Dewey’s experimental schools (Li, 2010). Third, Parker suggested handwork labor as the basis for clear thinking, sound imagination, and good health (Parker, 1896). Human history indicates that human wisdom has developed in conjunction with needs and activities. Starting from primitive society, human beings have mastered experiences using their hands and recorded these specific experiences in their heads to form useful knowledge. This demonstrates that school education should use manual labor occupations, entailing operations using two hands, as a medium for learning and developing social habits. The learning activities of experimental schools centered on guiding children in the use of familiar materials that were readily available to encourage them to naturally use their eyes, hands, and other senses to perform operations in the field and obtain specific life experiences, thereby forming practical knowledge; focal skills were carpentry, cooking, sewing, and textile, all of which were valuable skills for life at that time and crucial industries in society. Therefore, these subjects were valuable learning content.

Fourth, Dewey emphasized that starting with social handwork activities was not only conducive to training children’s abilities and the development of habits but also the learning of other knowledge in schools; thus, more efficient learning results could be achieved. For instance, cooking can allow children to acquire a large amount of knowledge regarding chemistry, the theoretical work of woodworking can help children acquire digital knowledge and knowledge of geometric principles, and industrial development stories and the history of various inventions can allow children to understand the progress of human history in greater detail. Furthermore, the curriculum of the Dewey Experimental School was based on handwork and allowing children to experience actual needs in the context and naturally complete various social life (Cheng, 2012). Both Parker and Dewey emphasized the value of handwork in children’s learning, and Dewey’s concept of handwork activities was influenced by Parker.

Fifth, teachers and graduate students who worked at the Cork County Normal School in Chicago later emulated Parker and founded various experimental schools (Wu, 1995). Dewey taught at the University of Chicago in 1894. A visit to the Cork County Normal School attracted his interest in experimental schools. In 1894 and 1895, he sent his son Fred and daughter Evelyn to Parker’s colleague F. J. Cooke, who employed Parker’s methods and established an experimental school. This private experimental elementary school further encouraged Dewey, who later created the “Laboratory School” (Cremin, 1964).

Conclusion and recommendations

Conclusion

Parker was born in New Hampshire, New England, USA, in 1937. Parker’s life experiences of nature during the time he spent on a farm as a young boy comprise an important period in his life. Moreover, his practical experience of enrollment into teaching positions after graduation, his travels and study in European countries, his tenure as the Superintendent of the Quincy area, and finally his appointment as the Principal of Chicago Cook County Normal School are all important life events that shaped Parker’s philosophy of children education (Shih, 2020b).

Although Parker attached great importance to the position of children in the educational process, he was also deeply influenced by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Fröbel, and Herbart, who valued children’s subjective values and emphasized that education must be adapted to children while respecting children’s social nature. The need to develop disciplinary knowledge to create citizens in a democratic society can be identified in Parker’s progressive education philosophy in Quincy. Parker instituted a series of curriculum and teaching reforms and invented a set of methods that benefited children’s interest development and personality development, leading the reform of progressive education in the United States. Parker’s educational innovation is known as the “Quincy methods,” the main features of which are as follows: (1) emphasis on schools adapting to children rather than children adapting to school; (2) emphasis on the social function of schools; (3) school curriculums that are connected with children’s life, when possible; and (4) emphasis on cultivating children’s self-exploration and creativity. Parker believed that education is a process of inquiry and discovery (Merle, 1935; Parker, 1969; Patridge, 1896; Wu, 1995).

In the United States, the results of the experimental school established by Parker were widely known to have made him the most popular child educator of that era (Patridge, 1896). The purpose of this article was to explore Parker’s notions regarding child education. The findings concerning his ideas regarding child education were as follows: (1) a unitary child made of body, mind, and spirit is a whole being; (2) education professionals depend on the touch of educational love; (3) teachers are mentors in the search for truths instead of dominators; (4) cultivate a democratic and cooperative attitude in the child; (5) the purpose of humanistic education is to assist the individual development of each child. Furthermore, the learning content proposed for children was as follows: (1) the theory of concentration, (2) teachers should select courses that are familiar to the child, (3) teachers should let the child learn to release energy in a natural environment, (4) adapting subject matter to the child, and (5) assimilating music and story into children’s learning content. Finally, the suggested teaching priorities were as follows: (1) arouse learning interest of the child; (2) develop the child’s attention; (3) allow expression; (4) handwork; and (5) when the child reads, teachers should lead their thinking.

Education can change the future of individuals and is key to raising the competitiveness of a nation. The cultivation of children’s ability is seen as a way to enhance national competitiveness (Shih, 2020a). So childhood education is a major event in life and a topic that Parker researched throughout his career (Parker, 1900b, 1969). Parker advocated that education should consider children the subjects of learning and reported that teaching was not connected and related to the children’s life experiences would result in poor effectiveness of learning activities. Parker also created the experimental school that inspired Dewey and later scholars of the American Progressive Education Movement. Parker is the father of progressive education, and his views on children’s education influenced later scholars (Harris, 1898).

Recommendations

The article aims to outline the key features of American educator, F. W. Parker’s educational ideas and practices. Even the article was intended to be merely descriptive, I think this is would still be valuable because as the author states, little is written about Parker’s theory/ideas and John Dewey, often gets the credit for founding progressive education in the USA, in fact, Parker’s seminal work in this area came first. Thus, the aim of the article is worthwhile. After exploring Parker’s notions regarding children’s education, this article proposes educational recommendations from the perspectives of teaching and children’s learning. The author hopes to integrate the perspectives of children’s education with further theory and practice. The recommendations are as follows:

Teacher’s teaching

The child should be the center of the teaching-learning process. Most teachers collaborate sincerely and diligently for the benefit of children and in the course of every effort they can improve pedagogy. To teach any subject, teachers must clearly define what they want to teach through the text (Parker, 1902; Shih, 2020a). In addition, teachers should possess love for their students because the educational profession relies on educational love. Humans are social animals. Teachers should embrace the democratic attitude of children to cooperate with others. Teachers should guide children to discover the truth and understand that they are mentors in a search for truth, rather than dominators. Teachers should understand that the purpose of humanistic democratic education is to assist each child’s individual development, highlight the child’s unique existential value, and understand the differences between each child.

Second, teachers should inspire children’s learning interests and develop children’s attention. Teachers should inspire children to think when they read. After all, children are capable of learning to read. Children should also express themselves and perform handwork. The main purpose of traditional education is to acquire knowledge. Traditional education attempts to separate children from themselves and ignores the energy obtained through play, manipulation, and observation. Traditional education neglects certain values and futilely establishes foundationless values (Parker et al., 1901; Parker and Helm, 1902). Traditional education has neglected the manual operation ability of children and the educational value of manual operations. Therefore, it should be integrated into all schools because individuals learn by doing (Parker, 1896).

Children’s learning

The content of children’s learning involves the theory of concentration and develops a complete learning experience for children; teachers should select courses that children are familiar with so that the courses resonate with children’s life experiences. Children’s lives are embedded in worlds both inside and outside of structured schooling or institutional settings. Teachers should allow children to learn in a natural environment to release energy and learn from their environment. Teachers can accompany children to visit environmental sites. The development of human beings is inseparable from the greater environment of the earth so an environmental curriculum cannot be limited to traditional classroom learning. Teachers develop a philosophy of the child (Malone et al., 2020; Tesar et al., 2021; Ye and Shih, 2020). Finally, subjects should be adapted to children, rather than children adapting to the theme taught by teachers. Teachers could also assimilate music and stories into children’s learning content, which can result in profound and meaningful learning, and enrich children’s life experiences.