This is the story of Parker 101, a class designed by students at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, IL. After taking a class taught by Andy Kaplan about the history and philosophy of progressive education, they decided to share their what they learned with their younger peers. Learning about the heritage of their school, they believed, would help Parker students understand the value of some of its most important ideas and institutions. The class leaders created a lesson plan, with the assistance of their teachers, that was focused on student government. The students were asked to think more broadly about the purpose of education and to envision the kind of school they'd like to attend.

To learn more about this project, you may read Andy Kaplan's essay—and two reflections by his students—in the Fall 2012 issue of Schools:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/667906

Or visit the Schools Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SCHOOLS.Studies.in.Education

Music licensed through Creative Commons. The song used, "I Created [Instrumental]" was produced by Abscondo (abscondo.com) and accessed through opsound.org