fore the 'Congress of Philosophers' at Frank furt. of Philosophers' at Frankfurt in 1867. This distin- and laid beguished gathering had been called to inquire into contemporary educational movements. As a result of the elucidation of Froebelianism by the baroness during four afternoons of the sessions, a committee of the society, known as the 'Froebel Union,' was formed to continue a study of the system. Among the achievements of this organization was the foundation five years later of an institution for training kindergartners at Dresden. Thus, while the kindergarten was not generally adopted by the governments, it was widely established by voluntary means throughout civilized Europe, and in all countries the work has grown to mammoth proportions. Instruction in Froebelian principles is now generally required in most normal and teacher training institutions of Europe. Sometimes, as in France and England, it has been combined with the infant school movement,1 and has lost some of its original characteristics, but even in these cases the cross-fertilization has afforded abundant educational fruitage. Only in Germany, the native 1 While the infant schools originally began in France in 1769, and were the prototypes of the écoles maternelles, the movement also started in England independently a generation later through Robert Owen. This philanthropist hoped thereby to mitigate the illiteracy of the factory population, which was largely recruited by children from five to seven, who were bound out for nine years before receiving any education. The schools were especially popularized through the writings of Samuel Wilderspin and through 'The Home and Colonial Society.' Thus the principles kindergarten have been greatly extended in Europe, ex cept in Germany. The kindergarten has had the wid est influence land of the kindergarten, has serious hostility to the idea remained. The deadening effects of the ministerial decree, despite the efforts of the heroic baroness in establishing and encouraging kindergarten associations, hung over the German states for a decade; and even since the removal of the ban, kindergartens have, with few exceptions, never been recognized as real schools or part of the regular state system. The kindergartners are not subject to the requirements demanded of all other elementary teachers, and are forbidden to touch on the formal school subjects or work of any sort that would seem to duplicate the primary curriculum. Even to-day the German kindergarten is regarded as little more than a day nursery or convenient place to deposit small children, and have them amused. The educational principles for which Froebel contended are not generally conceded in Germany.1 The Kindergarten in the United States The influence of the kindergarten has been more marked in the United States than in any other country In the early sixties Elizabeth P. Peabody and others 1 When Professor Payne of the London College of Preceptors visited the kindergartens in six German cities in 1874, he found that, while the theory was just, natural, and all-sided, the teachers were inefficient, and the rooms were often small, unsanitary, and ill-lighted. (See Payne, Lectures on the History of Education, pp. 203-271.) More than a generation later the same general conditions seem to obtain. States. It was in- troduced in Elizabeth P. New York by Maria Bölte, and by Susan E. in St. Louis Blow; and support was given the work by S. H. Hill, became interested in accounts of Froebel's system, and, in the United without a proper knowledge of the details, undertook to open kindergartens in Boston. Notwithstanding the immediate success of these institutions and the evident enjoyment of the children, Miss Peabody felt that she had not succeeded in getting the real principles and 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 1872 Maria Bölte, afterwards the wife of Professor John Kraus,1 who had studied with Frau Froebel, was induced to settle in New York, and, through her pupils and those of other German kindergartners, the cause was rapidly promoted. The same year saw the beginning of Susan E. Blow's great work in St. Louis, where her free training school for kindergartners was opened. Two years later S. H. Hill of Florence, Massachusetts, started a munificent provision for free kindergartens in his vicinity, and four years after that Mrs. Quincy A. Shaw 1 She has since been widely known as Mrs. Maria Kraus-Bölte, and is still (1911) living in New York City. Mrs. Quincy others. It soon be- Louis, San began establishing them at various locations in the neighborhood of Boston, until she was supporting at least thirty such institutions. Many other philanthropic persons became much interested, and over one hundred voluntary associations were soon organized to found and maintain kindergartens. Through the work of Emma Marwedel, who was invited to California in 1876 by the 'Froebel Union,' successful training classes were established at Los Angeles, Oakland, and Berkeley. Voluntary kindergartens were also rapidly opened, and there was soon organized the 'Golden Gate Association' at San Francisco, which at its height supported fortyone free institutions and an excellent training school. In Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Washington, Baltimore, Louisville, and other centers, subscriptions were before long raised by the churches and other philanthropic agencies, and the work everywhere grew apace. But philanthropy and private foundations, after all, are restrictive, and it was not until the kindergartens began to be adopted by the school systems that the movement became truly national in the United States. Boston Boston, and early added kindergartens to her public schools, but after several years of trial gave them up on account of the expense. The first permanent establishment under a city board was made in 1873 at St. Louis through the efforts of Miss Blow and Dr. William T. Harris, then city other cities. superintendent of schools. 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 incorporation of kindergartens in the public schools in 1880; and New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Pittsburg, Rochester, Providence, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and most other progressive cities and even many smaller municipalities have gradually made the work an integral part of their system. At present there must be nearly two hundred cities that include this stage of education in their schools. That means a total of some fifteen hundred public kindergartens 1 with nearly twice as many teachers and fully one hundred thousand pupils. About twenty of the cities employ a special supervisor to inspect the work. Excellent training schools for kindergartners are also maintained by half a hundred public and quasipublic normal institutions. A large number of extensive treatises, manuals, and periodicals devoted to the subject of kindergarten work are published, and have a wide circulation in every state of the Union.2 1 1 The number would be nearly quadrupled by the addition of the private kindergartens. A most complete, though succinct, account of the history of the kindergarten in the United States is given in Susan E. Blow's Kindergarten Education, pp. 1-10, under the head of 'four sharply defined movements.' |