The Quincy Method, also known as the Quincy Plan, or the Quincy system of learning, was a child-centred, progressive approach to education developed by

Francis W. Parker Francis Wayland Parker (October 9, 1837March 2, 1902) was a pioneer of the progressive school movement in the United States. He believed that education should include the complete development of an individual — mental, physical, and moral. Jo ...

, then

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 ...

of schools in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, in 1875. Parker, a pioneer of the progressive school movement, rejected the traditional rigid school routine, exemplified by

rote learning Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, as ...

and the spelling-book method, and even stated that the spelling book should be burned, although he did favour oral spelling. Emphasis was instead placed on social skills and self-expression through cultural activities and physical training, as well as teacher-prepared materials, experience-based learning and children's own writing. A survey by the

Massachusetts State Board of Education The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is the state education agency responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Public education in the Commonw ...

published four years later showed that Quincy students excelled at reading, writing, and spelling, and ranked fourth in their county in math. Hundreds of visitors traveled to Quincy to observe the new methods, aiming to replicate them in their own schools. Many of Quincy’s teachers were recruited by districts in other states, spreading the Quincy method beyond Massachusetts to New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Florida, Minnesota, and other places. When in 1883 Parker became principal of the

Cook County Normal School Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...

in Chicago,''The New York Times'' July 5, 1883. Retrieved November 23, 2008
/ref> he developed the Method further, introducing teacher training based on modern educational methods.

References

{{reflist Alternative education Philosophy of education Progressive education

See also

References