Helen Parkhurst: Founder of the Dalton Plan

There is increasing interest in the ideas of Dalton education in the Netherlands. For many parents, teachers and principals, the principles of this form of innovative education offer direction for the further development of their schools.

The origin of Dalton education lies in America. More than a hundred years ago, in the fall of 1904, Helen Parkhurst began her teaching career in rural Wisconsin. She taught her students to work independently on tasks, which they were allowed to plan and complete freely and as they saw fit, enlisting each other's help and the help of the teacher. Since then, Dalton education has evolved, but the essence of what Parkhurst intended has remained.

As the popularity of dalton education grows, so does the need for information about Parkhurst's life, her ideas and her own educational experiments. This biography aims to meet that need. It paints a picture of a woman who wanted to give the child a voice and succeeded through her tirelessness and powerful personality. But that drive also led to conflicts, disillusions and disappointments.