Celestia Susannah Parrish

Celestia (Celeste) Susannah Parrish (September 12, 1853 - September 7, 1918) was an American educator, psychologist, and social advocate. She is famous for her promotion of higher education for women and progressive education for children. She established the first psychology laboratory in "the south," at the Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her work both as teacher and administrator raised the standard of education by improving training for teachers, particularly in rural schools.

She was among the rare women who taught university level classes at a time when women were not yet allowed to be formally admitted as students at many American universities. Her work greatly advanced the opportunities for education for women in the US, giving inspiration to numerous educators who followed in her footsteps.

Biography

Early life

Celestia Susannah Parrish was born on September 12, 1853, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the daughter of a plantation owner. As a child she showed enormous thirst for knowledge, and her parents tried to provide an education for their daughter. She received basic education in the private school on her father’s plantation.

Parrish lost both parents in the Civil War, and at the age of 10, together with her younger siblings, went on to live with her uncle, who disapproved of education for girls. She thus turned to self-education, reading the books in her aunts’ library. From 1865-1867 she attended a private school in Callands, Virginia.

Early teaching career

At the age of 15, Parrish’s uncle died and she was forced to start to think how to provide for her family. She at first formed a small class of neighboring children and taught them basic skills and knowledge. This attracted the attention of Dr. George Dame, Superintendent of Schools in Pittsylvania County, who offered her a teaching job in the county public school in Swansonville, Virginia.

At the age of 18, although lacking a formal education, Parrish became a full-time teacher. Among her pupils was Claude A. Swanson, governor-to-be of Virginia.

These were difficult years for the young woman, as she struggled to overcome her inexperience in teaching and her daily duties toward her younger siblings. She also managed to continue to study on her own, reading books during the night. The single volume that inspired her the most and that seems to have given direction to her career was Theory and practice of teaching by David P. Page (1847).

Teacher

Parrish spent five years, from 1971-1875, in Swansonville, after which she moved to teach in a larger public school in Danville, Virginia. She taught there from 1876-1884. At the same time she attended Roanoke Female College (today Averett University), where she graduated in 1878.

Parrish had an enormous thirst for knowledge and a great desire toward excellence. She would memorize long passages from the Bible and other books on natural sciences and history. Her goal was to become the best teacher she could, all in service to her pupils. She also took private classes in music, voice, and in elocution, and lessons in calisthenics.

In 1884, Parrish enrolled as a student to the newly established State Normal School in Farmville (now Longwood University), Virginia. After six months she joined the school’s faculty, and was given charge of its mathematics department.

In 1890, at the age of 38, Parrish became a student at the University of Michigan, where she specialized in mathematics and astronomy. In 1893, she was offered the chair in mathematics at the newly established Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was also responsible for the philosophy department, including its sections on pedagogy and psychology. Since she knew nothing about psychology, she decided to enroll in summer classes at Cornell University. Her work at Cornell eventually qualified her to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1896.

Work in psychology

At Cornell University, Parrish became a student of Edward Bradford Titchener, and eventually worked with him on several studies. In 1895 they published an article "The Cutaneous Estimation of Open and Filled Space" that appeared in the January 1895 issue of the American Journal of Psychology. The work in the laboratory inspired Parrish to open her own laboratory at the Randolph-Macon Women's College, which was the first psychology laboratory in that part of the United States.

Parrish published her second article in the American Journal of Psychology, entitled "Localization of cutaneous impressions by arm movement without pressure upon the skin." Under her directorship, the psychology lab expanded and numerous experiments were conducted there.

Parrish stayed at Randolph-Macon from 1893 until 1902. She took several summer courses in 1897, 1898, and 1899 at the University of Chicago, which included work with John Dewey.

Move to Georgia

In 1902, Parrish accepted a faculty position at the State Normal School of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. About the same time she adopted a child and took over the care of her two nephews, her brother’s sons.

At the State Normal School of Georgia, Parrish taught psychology and was in charge of the psychological laboratory, which she established in 1902. The money for the lab was provided by George Peabody. She also taught summer school courses at the University of Georgia, mostly classes on child psychology. It is of note that Parrish taught at the University of Georgia before women were allowed to enroll as students. It was only in 1911 that women were formally admitted.

State Supervisor

In 1911, Parrish left the State Normal School and accepted the position of State Supervisor of Schools in Georgia, a position she kept until her death in 1918. As supervisor, she was responsible for more than 2,400 rural schools and more than 3,800 teachers. Since the average rural teacher at the time had only a few years of formal education, Parrish spent considerable time and effort to further the teachers’ education. She worked hard, visiting teachers in every county on regular basis and spending time in their training. She also campaigned among local politicians and leaders to provide more money for the schools.

In 1914, Atlanta Board of Education asked Parrish to conduct a survey among Atlanta public schools, the results of which she published in her report Survey of the Atlanta Public Schools (1914).

Death

Celestia Parrish died in Clayton, Georgia, on September 7, 1918. She was buried at Clayton Baptist Church cemetery. Speaking at her funeral, M. L. Brittain, State Superintendent of Schools, said, “She was Georgia's greatest woman.”

Legacy

Celestia Parrish was a noted educator and pioneering psychologist, who above all wanted to provide the best education possible to her pupils, and later, fellow teachers. She was among the rare women who taught university level classes at a time when women were not yet allowed to be formally admitted as students at many American universities. Her work advanced general education in the US, giving inspiration to numerous educators who followed in her footsteps. The monument on her grave bears the epitaph "Georgia's Greatest Woman."

Parrish was among the 22 women in psychology who were included in the first edition (1906) of American Men of Science.

Publications

• Parrish, Celestia Susannah. 1888. The grading of country schools.
• Parrish, Celestia Susannah. 1895. "The cutaneous estimation of open and filled space" in American Journal of Psychology, 6. 514-522.
• Parrish, Celestia Susannah. 1896. "Localization of cutaneous impressions by arm movement without pressure upon the skin" in American Journal of Psychology, 8. 250-267.
• Parrish, Celestia Susannah. 1909. The lesson. Athens, GA: McGregor Co.
• Parrish, Celestia Susannah. 1914. Survey of the Atlanta public schools. Atlanta: State School Department.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• "Parrish, Celestia Susannah" in American National Biography. (17).1999.
• Delta Kappa Gamma Society. 1941. Tribute to a pioneer teacher, Celeste Parrish. Danville, VA: The Society.
• Larew, G.A. 1942. "Celestia Parrish" in Virginia Journal of Education, 35. 342-346.
• Montgomery, Rebecca S. 2006. The Politics of Education in the New South: Women and Reform in Georgia, 1890-1930. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0807131083
• Page, David P. 1847. Theory and practice of teaching, or, the motives and methods of good school-seeping. Syracuse: Hall & Dickson.
• Payne, Neil G. 1984. Celestia Susannah Parrish. Retrieved on November 2, 2007.
• Rowe, F.B., & F.S. Murray. 1979. "A note on the Titchener influence on the first psychology laboratory in the south" in Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 15. 282-284.
• Seller, Maxine. 1994. Women educators in the United States, 1820-1993 a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313279373
• Scott, Anne F. 1984. Making the Invisible Woman Visible. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252011236
• Thomas, Roger K. 2004. Celestia Susannah Parrish (1853 - 1918): Pioneering Psychologist, Native Virginian, and "Georgia's Greatest Woman". University of Georgia. Retrieved on October 31, 2007.

External links

All links retrieved December 3, 2023.

• Celestia Susannah Parrish – Biography by Neil G. Payne.

Credits

This article began as an original work prepared for New World Encyclopedia by Igor Bali and is provided to the public according to the terms of the New World Encyclopedia:Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Any changes made to the original text since then create a derivative work which is also CC-by-sa licensed. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.