Louisa Parsons Hopkins

Louisa Parsons Hopkins (1834–1895) was an American educator and poet, who spoke and wrote on progressive education.[1][2]

Louisa Parsons (Stone) Hopkins
Born1834
Died1895

Born in Newburyport in 1834, she attended the Putnam Free School in her youth, and was part of a small writing group under Thomas Wentworth Higginson, along with Jane Andrews and Harriet Prescott Spofford.[3] After marriage, her husband's business "suffered a reversal in fortune", which led her to create a small primary school in her home for extra income.[3][4] Her students did surprisingly well, and she wrote up an article for the Journal of Education on her methods. This led to fame in educational circles, and ultimately to a string of books[5] and speaking engagements. She was appointed to the Board of Supervisors of the Boston Public Schools, and paced by Governor William E. Russell on a commission to investigate the use of manual training in Europe. Her work on that commission was noted by contemporaries as being singular in nature.[6]

She retired from that position due to illness and died a few years later.

Works
  • Breath of the Field and Shore (1881)
  • Motherhood: A Poem (1881)
  • Handbook of the Earth: Natural Methods in Geography (1883)
  • Educational Psychology: a Treatise for Parents and Educators (1886)
  • Natural-history Plays, Dialogues, and Recitations for School Exhibitions (1885)
  • The Spirit of the New Education (1892)
  • Observation Lessons in the Primary Schools: A Manual for Teachers (1896)

References
  1. John A. Glover; Royce R. Ronning (11 November 2013). Historical Foundations of Educational Psychology. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-1-4899-3620-2.
  2. Edward T. James; Janet Wilson James; Paul S. Boyer (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5.
  3. "Boston Evening Transcript - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  4. Bertha Johnston; E. Lyell Earle (1894). The Kindergarten-primary Magazine. pp. 485–.
  5. William J. Reese (4 February 2011). America's Public Schools: From the Common School to "No Child Left Behind". JHU Press. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-1-4214-0103-4.
  6. Pawtucket (R.I.). School Committee (1896). Annual Report. pp. 2–.


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