Helen Parkhurst

Educator, author, and lecturer

• Born: March 7, 1887
• Birthplace: Durand, Wisconsin
• Died: June 1, 1973
• Place of death: New Milford, Connecticut

Also known as: Helen B. Parkhurst

Education: Wisconsin State Teachers College, Columbia University, Yale University

Significance: Helen Parkhurst was an American educator who founded the Dalton School in New York City in 1916. A disciple of Maria Montessori, Parkhurst’s school was based on her Dalton Plan, in which student learning is self-directed and self-paced and students seek help from peers as well as teachers. Parkhurst served as headmistress of the Dalton School until 1942. After this, she lectured educational professionals throughout the United States and hosted radio shows for children, teenagers, and families. Parkhurst’s book Education on the Dalton Plan was translated into fifty-eight languages.

Background

Parkhurst was born on March 7, 1887, in Durand, Wisconsin. Her family allowed her to pursue creative endeavors at her leisure, a rare privilege for children of her time. Parkhurst was an exceptional student who easily absorbed knowledge. She began teaching in a one-room schoolhouse when she was only fifteen. The young Parkhurst found it difficult to meet the engage all her students, who were of various ages. To facilitate learning, she employed a strategy that was new at the time—she allowed the older and more advanced students to help the others. She also permitted her students to choose what they would learn on a particular day and how they would learn it. Students were free to work together and seek help from Parkhurst. By doing this, Parkhurst’s students took responsibility for their own learning and learned faster and better.

Parkhurst continued to pursue her own education while teaching. In 1907, at the age of seventeen, she graduated from the Wisconsin State Teachers College, where she studied with and was influenced by John Dewey.

After this, Parkhurst taught for a while in Wisconsin and then moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1909. She returned to Wisconsin in 1912 to work as the director of the Primary Department at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Three years later, Parkhurst traveled to Italy to spend a year studying with Maria Montessori, an educator and innovator who cultivated an educational method that builds on the way children naturally learn. Montessori had opened her first school in Rome in 1907. She was impressed with Parkhurst, so much so that when she returned to the United States to give a series of lectures, she asked Parkhurst to join her. Parkhurst became the administrator of Montessori’s schools in the United States.

Parkhurst later pursued graduate studies at Columbia University and graduated with a master’s degree from Yale University in 1943.

Life’s Work

In the early 1900s, children went to school to learn the skills they needed to succeed at factory work. Teachers taught them to be punctual and obedient and to sit at their desks silently and learn passively. Schools did not foster individualism and creativity. Few students went to college. Many entered the workforce when they were in their teens or younger.

Parkhurst sought to change this type of instruction and prepare as many students as possible for college. In 1911, she began developing and implementing her famous Dalton Plan while teaching at the Children’s University School in Dalton, Massachusetts, an institution for students ages nine to fourteen. (Parkhurst named the plan after the location of the school.) Instead of having teachers instruct an entire grade, Parkhurst had them oversee a particular subject. She had these “subject teachers” arrange their material into learning assignments. Students completed these assignments independently and at their own pace. Parkhurst turned the classrooms into laboratories with workspaces for students. Each classroom also had a large table to encourage students to work cooperatively. Parkhurst did not require students to take quizzes and tests; their goal was to completely and correctly complete the learning assignments.

Parkhurst continued her research and in 1922 published Education on the Dalton Plan, which was translated into fifty-eight languages. During the same year, the Children’s University School was relocated to New York City and its name was changed to the Dalton School. Parkhurst’s work garnered the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped her attract additional students and acquire more resources. During her tenure at the school, Parkhurst earned a place in the directory 100 Educators of All Time. Parkhurst remained in charge of the Dalton School until 1942. After this, she lectured throughout the country and continued to publish books about her groundbreaking instructional techniques.

Parkhurst also hosted a series of successful radio shows from 1947 to 1954. They included “Child’s World,” a radio show during which children discussed their problems and concerns with Parkhurst, and “Growing Pains,” a radio show for teenagers. Parkhurst also hosted radio shows about family life. They included “Children Should Be Heard” and “It’s a Problem.” Once again, Parkhurst received accolades for her work. In 1948, she was the recipient of a Radio-Television Critics Award, and in 1949 she received the 13th American Exhibition of Educational Radio Programs Award.

Parkhurst continued to write and speak during her later life. In addition to receiving many awards throughout her career, she was decorated by the Queen of Italy, Empress of Japan, and Queen of the Netherlands. At the time of her death, Parkhurst was writing a book about Maria Montessori.

Impact

Parkhurst’s ideas were implemented in schools in countries throughout the world. Many nations either opened Dalton schools or incorporated aspects of the Dalton Plan into their instructional methods. As of 2018, only one Dalton school remained in the United States, the original school that Parkhurst founded in 1916.

Principal Works

Education and the Dalton Plan, 1922

Rhythms in Education, 1935

Exploring the Child’s World, 1936

Growing Pains, 1962

Undertow, 1963

Bibliography

“The Dalton Plan.” The Dalton School, www.dalton.org/page/about/the-dalton-plan. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

“Helen Parkhurst, 86, Educator Who Devised the Dalton Plan, Dies.” New York Times, 3 June 1973, www.nytimes.com/1973/06/03/archives/helen-parkhurst-86-educator-who-devised-dalton-plan-dies-founded.html. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

“Helen Parkhurst.” Little Dalton, www.littledalton.com/helen-parkhurst/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Parkhurst, Helen. Education on the Dalton Plan. Hardpress Publishing, 2013.

Semel S. F. Helen Parkhurst and the Dalton School. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.