Dalton Plan

The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst.

Inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 19th century, educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey began to cast a bold vision of a new progressive approach to education. Helen Parkhurst, the teacher who had actually taught the Gold medal winning glass-enclosed Montessori classroom at 1915's Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, after splitting with Montessori, caught the spirit of change and created the Dalton Plan, aiming to achieve a balance between each child's talents and the needs of the growing American community.

Specifically, she had these objectives: to tailor each student's program to his or her needs, interests and abilities; to promote both independence and dependability; to enhance the student's social skills and sense of responsibility toward others. Parkhurst developed a three-part plan that continues to be the structural foundation of a Dalton education—the House, the Assignment, and the Laboratory.^[vague]

The Dalton Plan takes its name from an early trial of the system at the High School of Dalton, Massachusetts in 1920.^[1]

Today, The Dalton School educates students in accordance with some of the precepts of the Dalton Plan developed by Helen Parkhurst.

Schools

Today there are a number of schools around the world that utilise variations of teaching methods based on the Dalton Plan. Most of the schools below interpret the Dalton Plan according to their needs which in some cases retain only a minimal part of the original Dalton Plan.^[2] Currently, the only schools that have strong affiliation with Helen Parkhurst's Dalton School in New York are Dalton Tokyo and Dalton Nagoya.

Australia

• Ascham School, Sydney

Austria

• Europaschule, Wien,

China

• Shanghai East Century School, Shanghai

Czech Republic

• ZŠ a MŠ Chalabalova, Brno
• ZŠ a MŠ Husova, Brno
• ZŠ a MŠ Křídlovick, Brno
• ZŠ a MŠ Mutĕnická, Brno
• ZŠ Rájec-Jestřebí
• Gymnázium Slovanské námĕstí, Brno
• ZŠ Benešova Třebíč
• Základní škola, Brno
• Základní škola Brno, Brno

Belgium

• Basisschool De Kleine Icarus, Gent

Hungary

• Általános Iskola, Győrszemere

Northern Ireland

• Millington Primary School, Portadown,

Japan

• Dalton Tokyo, Tokyo
• Dalton Nagoya, Nagoya

Netherlands

• Dalton basisschool de Twijn, Utrecht
• Dalton basisschool Rijnsweerd, Utrecht
• Dalton Den Haag, Den Haag
• Daltonexpertisecentrum, Instituut Theo Thijssen, Hogeschool, Utrecht
• Daltonschool De Klipper, Berkel en Rodenrijs
• Daltonschool Hengelo Zuid, Hengelo
• Dalton Lyceum Barendrecht, Barendrecht
• De Achtbaan, Amersfoort
• De Klinker, Schiedam
• De Poolster, Amsterdam
• 2de Daltonschool, Amsterdam
• 3de Daltonschool, Amsterdam
• Erasmus College, Zoetermeer
• Helen Parkhurst College, Almere
• Hogeland College, Dalton vmbo, Warffum
• Kardinaal Alfrinkschool (voor Daltononderwijs), Wageningen
• Katholieke Daltonschool De Leeuwerik, Leiderdorp
• Markenhage College, Breda
• Maurick College. Vught
• Saxion Hogeschool, Deventer
• Schooladviescentrum, Utrecht
• Stedelijk Daltoncollege, Zutphen
• Stedelijk Dalton College, Alkmaar
• Stedelijk Dalton Lyceum, Dordrecht
• Wenke Dalton Consultancy, Meppel
• Dalton Voorburg Lyceum, Voorburg
• De Waterval, Ermelo
• Jeanne d'Arc, 't Harde

Russia

• Dalton School 1080, Moscow

United States

• The Dalton School, New York

See also

• Rosa Bassett, who introduced the Dalton Plan at the County Secondary School, Streatham, England in 1920–1921.
• J. G. Jeffreys, who introduced the Plan at Bryanston School, in England.

References

1. ^ Parkhurst, Helen (1922). Education On The Dalton Plan. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company. pp. 15–16. http://www.archive.org/details/educationontheda028244mbp. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
2. ^ "Members". Dalton International. http://www.daltoninternational.org/members.html. Retrieved 2008-01-27. 

External links

• Dewey, Evelyn (1922). The Dalton Laboratory Plan. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company. http://www.archive.org/details/daltonlaboratory00deweiala. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
• The Dalton School Homepage
• A detailed article about Helen Parkhurst and the Dalton Plan