Flora J. Cooke: Progressive educator

This study is based on documentary research conducted in the manuscript collections at the Chicago Historical Society. It concerns the life and work of Flora J. Cooke, a woman who had achieved some remarkable things in education and whose work was informed by a large and inclusive vision of the school, of the teacher, and of the student.; An assessment of Flora Cooke's contributions as an educator reveals several noteworthy achievements: (1) She created a school (Francis W. Parker School) that modeled progressive education at its best; (2) She extended Colonel Parker's theories from elementary education to secondary education, and participated in the development and implementation of the Eight-Year Study of the Progressive Education Association, which proved that progressive education at the secondary level was valid; (3) she created a school that served as a laboratory for experimentation with policies and procedures to enrich public education; (4) she modeled congruence between principles and practices for the teachers in her school and for those she taught in other settings; (5) she created an educational environment based on developing whole, creative individuals who could be of service as citizens in a democratic society; (6) she saw the school as a microcosm of society; she constantly strove to make her school responsive to the broader cultural and social context, incorporating and integrating the cultural riches of Western civilization, while taking into account the many transformations that were occurring in American society.; Today, there is tremendous concern about education, and it may be useful to reconsider the concept of progressive education, as it was developed and articulated by Flora J. Cooke, and to consider how such a grand and comprehensive vision of education might be adapted to the needs of society in the twenty-first century.