There are two of us. We worked in London with children living in slums. We developed day nurseries, which were first child care centers that provided education, outdoor play, nutritious food, and rest in a clean environment for children under the age of five.
My work linked the progressive education movement to NAEYC’s concept of high-quality education that is developmentally appropriate. I launched the Bureau of Educational Experiments in 1916. My model, The Bank Street approach, focuses on individual development for each child, where learning occurs through interaction with the environment and others.
I believe education should build upon a child’s interests and their active involvement in learning. I believe children’s development has three main stages: infancy (birth-3 years old), preschoolers (3-7), and school age (7-10) I am the Father of Kindergarten and development materials called Occupations and Gifts to guide and give structure to children’s play.
I am best known for opening the first kindergarten in the United States in 1856. I believe in the ideas of Froebel’s kindergarten vision. My kindergarten was a German-speaking school to teach my own children and our neighborhood children.
I believe in the importance of teacher-training on the stages of development. I believe in educating the “whole child”, which includes a child’s physical, emotional, social, moral, and intellectual development. I believe children learn by discovering ideas on their own through meaningful activities.
I oppose physical punishment in the classroom. I believe children learn best through the use of their senses and through active experiences. I believe children learn best when they are interested in the activity and/or subject.
I believe in a kindergarten program where teachers support children’s self-directed play and exploration. I do not agree with Froebel’s vision of how children learn. I developed wooden blocks and wooden people for pretend play and for mathematical exploration.
I want children to learn to be decision makers. I introduced the idea of integrated curriculum. I believe in child-centered curriculum, where students are active participants in learning with curriculum taught using children’s interests and experiences. I am a professor of philosophy I implemented the progressive education movement.
I organized the First English-speaking kindergarten in the United States in 1860. I wrote the first American kindergarten textbook for teacher-training. I believe in Froebel’s vision of kindergarten.
I believe children have an absorbent mind, and they learn best by actively using their senses. I believe children are motivated to learn and do not need free play experiences; instead they benefit most from prepared learning environments. I developed schools based on my method of teaching that are still popular today.
I formed the International Kindergarten Union (IKU), which was later named the Association for Childhood Education International. I worked to expand kindergarten classrooms based upon Froebel’s research to the public school. I believe in teacher-training in specific kindergarten practices.
I am the founder of NAEYC, an organization that sets standards for ECE programs. I believe young students learn best through play. I created resources and wrote songs for children. My kindergarten model builds on the relationship between parents and teachers.
McMillan Sisters | 1859-1931
John Dewey | 1859-1951
Susan Blow | 1843-1916
Friedrich Froebel | 1782-1852
Maria Montessori | 1870-1952
Caroline Pratt | 1867-1954
Johann Pestalozzi | 1746-1827
Patty Smith Hill | 1868-1946
Elizabeth Peabody | 1804-1894
Lucy Sprague Mitchell | 1878-1967
John Amos Comenius | 1592-1670
Margarethe Schurz | 1833-1876
