A Study On The Educational Thought And Career Of Flora J.Cooke

The turn of the 20th century witnessed the social turmoil in the United States of America while the Progressive Education Movement rose up. Flora J. Cooke, an outstanding progressive educator who made great contributions to the progressive educational theory would be the focus of this thesis. As the former principal of the Francis W. Parker School, Flora J. Cooke not only took an active part in the experiments of Progressive Education Association (PEA), but also made the progressive educational conceptions as guiding ideology. The thesis consists of three parts. The first part briefs Cooke's life experience, including her educational background, her years of practicing teaching theories and working and then as principal in the Parker School, her devotion to the teacher-training and her life after retirement. The second part accounts for the Cooke's ideology. First, it introduces the teaching career of Francis W. Parker who is generally regarded as "the Father of Progressive Education", and also Cooke's great source of inspiration. While developing the educational plans in the Parker School, Cooke testified and developed the philosophies and educational practice and theories she learned from Francis W. Parker. Cooke's ideology embodies the six aspects: social motive in school work; morning exercise; modes of expression as means of motive training; cultivating students' effusive expression through extracurricular activities; influence of teachers and family. It turned out to be difficult to develop such educational program in high schools since Cooke's ideology for students' comprehensive development was totally incompatible with the curriculum dictated by the college entrance requirements at that time. Therefore, her attempts to develop high schools according to certain principles Cooke thought doable were simply opposed by the board of trustees of the Parker School. Despite that, Cooke insisted upon pursuing the two incompatible goals, of following a curriculum that would meet college entrance requirement, and applying the progressive educational practices in the school reform. Cooke struggled to infuse the progressive values into high schools and her ideology pushed her forward stepping in the Eight-Year Study of the PEA. Cooke reorganized the Parker School to meet the requirement of the Eight-Year Study, which years later in turn testified Cooke's belief: high schools need progressive curricula which would definitely exert a positive impact on the success of graduates from traditional colleges. As it turns out, students from progressive schools did perform better than those from high schools with the traditional curricula. The third part summarizes and evaluates Cooke's contribution to the Progressive Education: her inheritance and development of Parker's educational legacy, her important role as a progressive educator and her participation in the Eight-Year Study of PEA. In the end, the thesis briefs the salutary lessons that China may draw from Cooke's educational experiments for today's educational reform.