Wilbur Jackman

January 12, 1855 (age 52)

Mechanicstown, Ohio, United States

Immediately after graduation Jackman became a teacher in the Central High School of Pittsburgh, in charge of the courses in natural science. Such courses in high schools were then relatively new. His success as a teacher attracted the attention of Corporal Francis Wayland Parker, principal of the Cook County Normal School in Chicago, who in 1889 invited Jackman to join his staff. Jackman accepted and found himself in an environment of the most congenial type. The Cook County Normal School was the center of a vigorous movement for the reform of the curriculum through the addition of new content, especially in history, geography, and science. It was also a center for reform in methods of teaching, the chief aim being to remove all traces of rigid formalism. Jackman became an enthusiastic admirer and lieutenant of Colonel Parker. He also became a prolific writer in the field of nature study. In addition he wrote numerous articles for educational journals and was a frequent speaker at teachers' meetings. When the Chicago Institute was organized in 1900, Jackman was made dean. He was the man on whom Colonel Parker, the director of the Institute, relied in all administrative matters. The two men had similar ideas on education and they worked together in complete sympathy. When, in 1901, the Institute gave up its independent existence and was transferred to the University of Chicago, Jackman became a member of the faculty of that institution and took up his duties there as the first dean of the new college of education, serving in this capacity for three years. Because of his interest in the reconstruction of the elementary-school curriculum and also because of his belief that the training of teachers through direct contact with pupils is the most important phase of teacher training, he relinquished the deanship in 1904 and took charge of the University Elementary School. At this time he also assumed editorship of the Elementary School Teacher, which became the chief medium through which he promoted the reconstruction of the elementary-school curriculum. After his sudden death from pneumonia on January 28, 1907, the movement to introduce nature study into the elementary-school curriculum became for a time less vigorous than it had been under his leadership.

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Works

book

The third tearbook of the national society for the scientific study of education, part II: nature-study

( About the Book Study Guides are books can be used by st...)

Nature Study for the Common Schools 1891

(Originally published in 1891. This volume from the Cornel...)

Number work in nature study, part 1

(This book was digitized and reprinted from the collection...)

Nature Study for Grammar Grades: A Manual for Teachers and Pupils Below the High School in the Study of Nature 1899

(Originally published in 1899. This volume from the Cornel...)

Outlines of Natural Science for the Common Schools, pp. 45-101

( About the Book Study Guides are books can be used by st...)

Wilbur Samuel Jackman

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educator

Background

Jackman was born on January 12, 1855, in Mechanicstown, Ohio. When he was four years old, his parents, Barnard C. and Ruth (Lilley) Jackman, moved to California, Pennsylvania, where he spent his boyhood growing up on a farm.

Education

The boy began to attend a small private school. The father and mother had only the limited education which was offered by district schools, but they were ambitious for their son and encouraged him to devote himself to intellectual pursuits. In 1875 he entered the normal school in California, riding back and forth daily on horseback. He taught in the district schools of the neighborhood while pursuing his course and graduated in 1877. Jackman then became a teacher in the normal school, serving in this capacity until 1880, when he entered Allegheny College. In 1882 he transferred to Harvard, where he graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1884.

Career

Immediately after graduation Jackman became a teacher in the Central High School of Pittsburgh, in charge of the courses in natural science. Such courses in high schools were then relatively new. His success as a teacher attracted the attention of Corporal Francis Wayland Parker, principal of the Cook County Normal School in Chicago, who in 1889 invited Jackman to join his staff. Jackman accepted and found himself in an environment of the most congenial type.

The Cook County Normal School was the center of a vigorous movement for the reform of the curriculum through the addition of new content, especially in history, geography, and science. It was also a center for reform in methods of teaching, the chief aim being to remove all traces of rigid formalism. Jackman became an enthusiastic admirer and lieutenant of Colonel Parker. He also became a prolific writer in the field of nature study.

In addition he wrote numerous articles for educational journals and was a frequent speaker at teachers' meetings. When the Chicago Institute was organized in 1900, Jackman was made dean. He was the man on whom Colonel Parker, the director of the Institute, relied in all administrative matters. The two men had similar ideas on education and they worked together in complete sympathy. When, in 1901, the Institute gave up its independent existence and was transferred to the University of Chicago, Jackman became a member of the faculty of that institution and took up his duties there as the first dean of the new college of education, serving in this capacity for three years. Because of his interest in the reconstruction of the elementary-school curriculum and also because of his belief that the training of teachers through direct contact with pupils is the most important phase of teacher training, he relinquished the deanship in 1904 and took charge of the University Elementary School. At this time he also assumed editorship of the Elementary School Teacher, which became the chief medium through which he promoted the reconstruction of the elementary-school curriculum.

After his sudden death from pneumonia on January 28, 1907, the movement to introduce nature study into the elementary-school curriculum became for a time less vigorous than it had been under his leadership.

Achievements

Jackman is best remembered as one of the originators of the nature study movement. Some of his most notable books are in the field of nature study, for example: Nature Study for the Common Schools (1891), Number Work in Nature Study (1893), and Nature Study for Grammar Grades (1898).