Frederic Lister Burk (1862–1924) was a Canadian-born American educator,

educational theorist Education sciences or education theory (traditionally often called ''pedagogy'') seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education policy and practice. Education sciences include many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, ...

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

, educational reformer, university president, and journalist. He served as the founding President of

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

(formerly San Francisco State Normal School). He lived for many years in

Kentfield Kentfield (formerly Ross Landing, Tamalpais, and Kent) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Kentfield is located southwest of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 fee ...

, Marin County, California.

Early life and education

Frederic Lister Burk was born September 1, 1862 in Blenheim,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. His parents were Matilda Turner (1822–1905), his English mother; and Erastus Burk (1816–1897), his American father. At the age of 7 his family moved to the town of Coloma in

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

, California. He graduated from Sacramento City High School. Burk attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and received a B.L. degree in 1883; followed by studies at Stanford University and received a M.A. degree in 1892; and Clark University where he studied under

G. Stanley Hall Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1846 – April 24, 1924) was a pioneering American psychologist and educator. His interests focused on human life span development and evolutionary theory. Hall was the first president of the American Psy ...

and received a Ph.D. degree in 1898. On September 30, 1898, Burk married Caroline Foster Frear, together they had 4 sons.

Career

From 1883 to 1889, Burk worked at the newspapers in San Francisco as a journalist. After graduation from his Ph.D. program, Burk started his teaching career in public school and private schools. From 1892 until 1896, he served as the superintendent of public schools in

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

. From 1897 until 1899, he served as superintendent of public schools in Santa Barbara. In March 1899, Burk served as the first president of San Francisco State University (formerly San Francisco State Normal School), a position he held until his death. Burk developed an original system of individual learning based on teaching aids, like self-correction and self-drill. Burk's educational system had influence on the practice of teaching in the United States, including the development of the

Dalton Plan The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst. It is inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 20th century. Educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey influenced Parkhurst while she create ...

Helen Parkhurst Helen Parkhurst (March 8, 1886 – June 1, 1973) was an American educator, author, lecturer, the originator of the Dalton Plan, founder of the Dalton School and host of ''Child's World with Helen Parkhurst'' on ABC Television Network. Parkhur ...

, and on the activities of

Carleton Washburne Carleton Wolsey Washburne (December 2, 1889 – November 28, 1968) was an American educator and education reformer. He served as the superintendent of schools in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, from 1919 to 1943 and is most notably associated ...

to create the

Winnetka Plan The Winnetka Plan was an educational experiment held in the Winnetka, Illinois-based Winnetka School District 36.T. Corcoran, "The Winnetka School Plan," ''The Irish Monthly, Vol. 55'', No. 644, pp. 63-67 (Feb., 1927), published by Irish Jesuit Pr ...

. However his pedagogy was criticized by noted educators

William T. Harris William Torrey Harris (September 10, 1835 – November 5, 1909) was an American educator, philosopher, and lexicographer. He worked for nearly a quarter century in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught school and served as Superintendent of Schoo ...

and Francis Parker. Burk was a member of the California State Board of Education and the California Teachers Association. He died on June 12, 1924 in Oakland, California during a surgical procedure and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burk, Frederic Lister 1862 births 1924 deaths People from Chatham-Kent People from Kentfield, California San Francisco State University faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni Stanford University alumni Clark University alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States American educational theorists American educators