Frederic Lister Burk
Canadian-born American educator (1862–1924)
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Burk was born September 1, 1862, in Blenheim, Canada West. His parents were Matilda Turner (1822–1905), his English mother; and Erastus Burk (1816–1897), his American father. At the age of 7 his family moved to the town of Coloma in El Dorado County, California. He graduated from Sacramento City High School.
Burk attended the University of California, Berkeley and received a B.L. degree in 1883; followed by studies at Stanford University and received a M.A. degree in 1892; and Clark University where he studied under G. Stanley Hall and received a Ph.D. degree in 1898. On September 30, 1898, Burk married Caroline Foster Frear, together they had 4 sons.
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Career
From 1883 to 1889, Burk worked at the newspapers in San Francisco as a journalist. After graduation from his Ph.D. program, Burk started his teaching career in public school and private schools. From 1892 until 1896, he served as the superintendent of public schools in Santa Rosa. From 1897 until 1899, he served as superintendent of public schools in Santa Barbara.
In March 1899, Burk served as the first president of San Francisco State University (formerly San Francisco State Normal School), a position he held until his death.
Burk developed an original system of individual learning based on teaching aids, like self-correction and self-drill. Burk's educational system had influence on the practice of teaching in the United States, including the development of the Dalton Plan by Helen Parkhurst, and on the activities of Carleton Washburne to create the Winnetka Plan. However his pedagogy was criticized by noted educators William T. Harris and Francis Parker.
Burk was a member of the California State Board of Education and the California Teachers Association.
He died on June 12, 1924, in Oakland, California, during a surgical procedure and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.