Francis W Parker School - Record Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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, . . -tr, 3. Y! any ears in eview 1900-the turn of the century , the end of one era and the beginning of another. To some people it meant simply the continuance of the old way of life: multi- millionaires and grand society queens, stiff Victorian manners and conventions, old fashioned education taught by strict, sober-faced masters with the help of the hickory stick discretely applied to the palm or the bottom. But to others it meant a new beginning, a chance to change the manners and customs, to im- prove education. Col. Francis W. Parker was one of these. The dying 90's had been good to Col. Parker, he had been able to experiment with some of his progressive ideas as Superintendent of the Cook County Normal School in Englewood, Illinois. CThis same school has now grown into the Chicago Teacher's Collegej ln 1883, he had refused to be a candidate for the Superin- tendency of the Boston Public Schools in order that he might have the chance to train teachers with' his own methods here in Chicago. But the twentieth century promised to be even better. I-Ie was to be given the chance to execute some of his theories with more freedom than he had ever dreamed of having. He was, you see, to have his own school. Mrs. Emmons Blaine, one of Chicago's first ladies, had become interested in Parker after she had enrolled her small son in the Englewood school. Seeing the progress the child was making under the Colonel's guidance, Mrs. Blaine began to wonder how many great things the 63 year old educator might do if he were unhampered by political and financial insecurity. She organized a group of North Side parents who

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Cl' I 1950 1941 1943 1947 1946 1945' 1944 1947 1942 1941 1939 1998 .l2?.Z 9 1222 iff'-f FIFT E -1121 E 4231 E -1232 YEARS 1 E .1211 5 1232 IN E 124.2 FE -1925 E M EVTE E me E 49151, ,,.-j ,Y L J, 49241 41-9 f '29--9'-944 1 ' ' 1923 1922 1911 1920 1919 1913 1917 1916 1915' 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 me 1903 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 um - 190 1

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were also interested in a new type of education and together they decided to see. Mrs. Blaine offered one million dollars to Col. Parker to establish a school where he could carry out his phi- losophy of child training. The gift was accepted and an entire city block Cmost of which is this present sitej was purchased and plans began to take shape for the building. And so it was in September 1900, that the school was opened under the name of The Chicago Institute, in the old Turnverein Bldg. on Wells Street. Col. Parker was making plans for using the million dollar gift in the best way possible when William R. Harper, the President of the University of Chicago, in- vited him to transfer the money to a school on the south side, to be directed by the Colonel but connected with However, it was not long before the parents of the children who had been enrolled in the experimental school-Mrs. Blaine included-realized that this new plan was of no use to their children. The south side school was too far away for the children to attend. Mrs. Blaine, still wishing her son to have the guidance of the Colonel, once more offered a generous gift to him if he would consider re-starting the North side school and becoming the Director of both the north and south side branches. When the Colonel accepted gratefully, Mrs. Blaine went about the business of buying back the old site on Webster Avenue and plans were drawn up for a school building adequate but smaller than the first. Thus a sister-relationship was established be- tween our school and the experimental school of the U. of C. . gjjk ,..,ov ' Uqrzl and share the established name of the University. Parker and Mrs. Blaine discussed the plan many times and finally came to the conclusion that the experiment would be done under the auspices of the U. of C. So the site of the first school was put up for sale. Miss Cooke, whom the Colonel appointed principal of the north side school, and Mr. Ira M. Carley, the assistant principal under Miss Cooke, shared in design- ing the building. The doors of the new school opened as planned in