JIT.Academy has already told you about the most prominent teachers in Ukraine; next is a story about teachers known throughout the world.

John Amos Comenius

Czech thinker, teacher, writer, and theologian John Amos Comenius was born on March 28, 1592, in the town of Nivnice.

Perhaps the most outstanding merit of Comenius is that he gave a theoretical basis to the class-lesson system known to all of us: children of the same age are grouped into classes, working on the same material in lessons. This, now classical, system of education replaced the individual one in the 16th century.

Chech also developed a unified school system: a mother’s school (education in the family under the direction of the mother until the age of 6), a native language school for children aged 6 to 12 (studying the native language, arithmetic, elements of geometry, geography, natural science, reading the scriptures, familiarization with the essential crafts), in big cities for the most capable students from 12 to 18 years old – a Latin school or a gymnasium (Comenius introduced natural science, history, and geography into the curriculum of the gymnasium, along with the traditional “seven liberal arts”). 

In addition, he stated that every state should have an academy — the highest school for youth from 18 to 24 years old. Over time, the teacher added to this system the “school of mature age and old age,” in which life itself “teaches.”

In addition, Comenius collected and systematized all information from the pedagogy of that time, presenting them in his most famous work – “The Great Didactic.”

It should be noted that the teacher believed that the educational material must correspond to the student’s age. While working as a teacher, Comenius violated the traditional canons of the school at that time; in particular, he used the method of “visualization”: he went on nature walks with his students, that is, he introduced them not only to books but also to real life.

 

Adolph Diesterweg 

The outstanding German teacher Adolph Diesterweg, called “the teacher of German teachers,” was born on October 29, 1790, in the town of Siegen.

Diesterweg believed that education should be based on the following principles: appropriateness to nature – taking into account the age and individual characteristics of the child’s physical and mental development, cultural appropriateness – taking into account the conditions in which the child lives and their national culture, and self-activity – efforts to develop the child’s creativity.

The teacher was against state and national restrictions in the field of education and the guardianship of the church over the school. In his opinion, the task of the school was to educate humane people and develop children’s mental abilities.

Diesterweg compiled textbooks and manuals on mathematics, German, natural science, geography, and astronomy. His most famous work is “Guide to the Education of German Teachers.”

 

Janusz Korczak

Janusz Korczak, a Polish teacher, doctor, writer, publicist, and public figure of Jewish origin, was born in Warsaw in the late 1870s.

Korczak was an innovative teacher, an advocate of full equality for children, and a supporter of their emancipation. As director of the orphanage, Korczak created a children’s social court. There, the children considered the cases that they filed themselves. They could also sue their teachers in this court.

Korczak was a pioneer of research in the field of child development and psychology and educational diagnostics.

The teacher believed that the child’s place is among peers, not in the comfort of home. In his opinion, children should socialize, erase early memories and experiences, experience the situation, and draw conclusions, thus preparing for adulthood. Korczak’s creed was the words: “There are no children – there are people.”

 

John Dewey

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, in Burlington (Vermont).

In the USA, he is called the “father of progressive education.”

Dewey was a professor at Michigan, Chicago, and Columbia universities. During the Second World War, he spoke against the ideology of Nazism, in particular, against the violence against pedagogy in the Third Reich.

He is the author of more than 30 books and 900 scientific articles on pedagogy, philosophy, aesthetics, and sociology.

Dewey’s views were based on the philosophy of pragmatism: what is true is what is useful, not scientific knowledge. That is, the child learns not for the sake of knowledge itself but to learn how to use it to do something themselves. According to Dewey, the school should teach the child to find a way out of any situation and perform specific tasks, not to give abstract knowledge.

It should be noted that his position in the future influenced the formation of not only American but also world pedagogy.

 

Maria Montessori

Italian educator and doctor Maria Montessori was born on August 31, 1870, in the town of Chiaravalle.

She is known for her “Montessori pedagogy,” which consists of the free development of children. Montessori opposed reducing children’s activity during education, the symbol of which became the “school desk.” In her opinion, the main task of education is to support the spontaneity and development of children’s creativity. The educator’s method was to prepare the child for life, not school.

While working at a university clinic, Montessori was impressed by her first encounter with children with special needs. In 1898, she became the director of the Orthophrenic Institute for such children abandoned by their parents.

The first “Montessori school” was opened by a woman on January 6, 1907, in Rome. The classroom in such schools was conventionally divided into five zones: “practical life skills,” “sensory,” “mathematics,” “speech development,” and “space education.” Each area was equipped with materials for “child work” to develop each child according to their individuality.

The Italian system was later improved, and its method, despite criticism in later years, is still prevalent.