The phrase "Frances Bentley teacher" does not only refer to the woman herself. By the 1890s, it had become a designation—a shorthand for a certain type of educator. To say someone was “a Frances Bentley teacher” meant they had been trained in her methods, had studied under her at the Cook County Normal School (where she lectured alongside Francis W. Parker), or had apprenticed in her demonstration classroom.
Her teacher workshops were legendary. Unlike the dry, lecture-based institutes of the era, Bentley’s workshops were active, noisy, and demanding. She would bring in a group of children and ask her adult students to diagnose learning challenges in real-time. She would intentionally mis-teach a lesson to see if her trainees could spot the error.
One famous anecdote, recorded in the Journal of Education in 1896, describes a workshop where Bentley placed a single apple on a table and asked twenty experienced teachers to write a lesson plan. Most wrote lessons on "the parts of an apple" or "where apples grow." One young teacher, however, wrote: “Ask children: Why does the apple fall from the tree? Let them guess before I tell them.” frances bentley teacher
Bentley reportedly wept with joy. That teacher, whose name is lost to history, was a true "Frances Bentley teacher."
Bentley was a proponent of the Kindergarten method, inspired by the German educator Friedrich Fröbel. This method utilized "gifts" (educational toys) and "occupations" (activities) to foster learning through play. The phrase "Frances Bentley teacher" does not only
Perhaps her most radical innovation was the Mentorship Circle. In Bentley’s one-room schoolhouse, older students were formally trained to teach younger ones. She didn’t see this as a burden on the advanced learners; she saw it as the highest form of mastery.
Every Friday afternoon, the older students became "teachers for an hour," leading small groups in arithmetic or penmanship. This peer-to-peer model not only reinforced the older students’ knowledge but built empathy, patience, and leadership skills. Today, this is called "cooperative learning" or "peer tutoring." For Frances Bentley, it was simply common sense. Parker), or had apprenticed in her demonstration classroom
At a time when teacher training focused on lesson plans and discipline, Bentley insisted that every teacher she mentored keep a reflective journal. Each evening, she would write three things that went well, two challenges, and one question she still had about a student’s learning process.
These journals, many of which survive in university archives, are a goldmine for historians. They reveal a teacher who constantly doubted, adjusted, and improved—a professional, not a drill sergeant.
Whether it’s reading buddies or math captains, build structured peer mentoring into your weekly routine. Teach your older students how to teach—questioning, patience, and encouragement.