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Voluntary

Elizabeth P.
Peabody,

country. First attempts at a kindergarten in America were made shortly after the middle of the nineteenth century by educated Germans, who had emigrated to America because of the unsettled conditions at home. basis through A more fruitful attempt was that of Elizabeth P. Peabody at Boston in the early sixties. Notwithstanding the immediate success of this institution and the evident enjoyment of the children, Miss Peabody felt that she had not succeeded in getting the real spirit of Froebel, and in 1867 she went to study with his widow, who had been settled in Hamburg for several years. Upon her return the following year Miss Peabody corrected the errors in her work and established a periodical to explain and spread Froebelianism. The remainder of her life was spent in interesting parents, philanthropists, and school boards in the movement, and a service was done for the kindergarten in America almost equal to that of Baroness von Bülow in Europe. In 1868 through Miss Peabody the first training school for kindergartners in the United States was established at Boston. A similar institution was opened in New York by 1872 in charge of Maria Bölte, who had also studied with Frau Froebel. The same year saw the beginning of Susan E. Blow's work in St. Louis, where her free training school for kindergartners was opened. Another missionary effort began in 1876 through Emma Marwedel, who was employed to organize voluntary kindergartens and training classes throughout the chief centers of California. The kindergarten movement grew rapidly. Between 1870 and 1890 in all the leading cities of the country subscriptions for kindergartens were raised by various philanthropic agencies, and by the close of the century

Maria Bölte,

Susan E. Blow,

Emma Marwedel, and others.

there were about five hundred such voluntary associations.

public school

progressive

But private foundations are restrictive, and it was not until the kindergarten began to be adopted by school systems that the movement became truly national in the United States. Boston in the early seventies added a few kindergartens to her public schools, but after several Part of the years of trial gave them up on account of the expense. system in all The first permanent establishment under a city board cities. was made in 1873 at St. Louis through the efforts of Miss Blow. Twelve kindergartens were organized at first, but others were opened as rapidly as competent directors could be prepared at Miss Blow's training school. Within a decade there were more than fifty public kindergartens and nearly eight thousand pupils in St. Louis. San Francisco authorized the addition of kindergartens to the public schools in 1880; and between that date and the end of the century New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Providence, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and nearly two hundred other progressive cities made the work an integral part of their system. About twenty of the cities employed a special supervisor to inspect the work. Excellent training schools for kindergartners are now maintained by half a hundred public and quasi-public normal institutions.

The Relative Influence of Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Froebel. It is now obvious how large a part in the development of modern educational practice has been played by Herbart and Froebel. There are few tendencies in the curricula and methods of the schools today that cannot in their beginnings be traced back to them, or to Pestalozzi, their master. But the reforms

Studies improved by Pestalozzi

of all three find their roots in Rousseau (Fig. 44). His 'naturalism' was continued by Pestalozzi (Fig. 45) in his 'development' and 'observation,' which were, in turn, further elaborated by Froebel and Herbart respectively (Figs. 47 and 46). Through his 'observation' methods, Pestalozzi greatly improved the teaching of arithmetic, language work, geography, elementary science, drawing, writing, reading, and music, and, by means of Fellenberg's work, developed industrial and philanthropic training. As a result of Herbart's moral and religious aim, marked advances in the teaching of history and literature have taken place, and, largely through his carefully wrought educational doctrines, order and system have everycontributed by where been introduced into instruction. From Froebel's

and Herbart,

and training

Froebel.

Period of re

lozzi,

Froebel,

mystic interpretation of 'natural development' we have obtained the kindergarten training for a period of life hitherto largely neglected, the informal occupations, manual training, and other studies of motor expression, forms of Pesta- together with psychological and social principles that underlie every stage of education. Pestalozzi's reforms were felt in Europe throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, but did not have any wide effect upon the United States until after the 'Oswego movement' in the sixties. The influence of Froebel appeared in and Herbart. Europe shortly after the middle of the century, and began to rise to its height in America about 1880. The Herbartian theory and practice became popular in Germany between 1865 and 1885, while the growth of Herbartianism in the United States began about five years after the latter date. Hence the development of modern educational practice, due to these three great re

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