History of Education

Martin Luther advocates literacy

Mar 17, 1524

Back in the 16th Century, church and school were not separated. Martin Luther was an advocate for children being taught how to read. He believed for this to be the most successful, they should learn in their native language. In order to do this, he translated the Bible from Latin to German. He believed that children learning to read the Bible would promote education.

John Amos Comenius

Mar 17, 1630

John Amos Comenius is referred o as the "Father of Education." He made the first picture book (Orbis Pictus) and proposed that children start learning at the youngest. He said that children are more valuable than gold and gems and that we can shape them like plants, which is why you have to start to educate them as early as possible. He laid the basics for Montessori type education, which is that learning occurs through senses. Women and all nationalities should be educated according to Comenius

John Locke's Blank Slate

Mar 17, 1689

John Locke theorized that all learning happens through experiences and that each child is born a "blank slate" with their experiences shaping their learning. Locke thought that all learning could be done through scientific experiments. Children had to discover the facts in order to learn them. He also advocated for a separation of church and state.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Mar 17, 1754

Rousseau differed from John Locke in saying that learning comes from children's innate ability, along with shaped experiences. He laid the foundation for the first kindergarten, opened later in 1837.

First Infant School

Mar 17, 1816

Robert Owen opened the first school for children aged infant to ten years old to the families that worked on a cotton mill that he owned. He believed we could create a better society by educating and shaping children.

First Kindergarten

Mar 17, 1837

The word "kindergarten" comes from the "garden of children" which is so greatly put because children can be cultivated like a garden. Freidrich Froebel, who created this first kindergarten, believed that women were the best educators of children because they were mothers. He also believed that toys and songs helped children learn. He implemented "gifts" that help the children learn (blocks and other toys).

Maria Montessori

Oct 17, 1911

Maria Montessori developed curriculum that help children learn that is widely used in the United States today. She felt that when children weren't learning, it was because of the education they were getting, not because of their inability to learn. The first Montessori school in the United States opened in October of 1911.

Progressivisn and Child Centered Programs

Mar 17, 1925

John Dewey believed that the child was more important than what they were learning and that teachers should teach to the child. Children learn socially by doing so the teacher should create problems for them to find the solutions for together.