-
Nov 10, 1483
Martin Luther
Martin Luther is best known for the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Because of Luther's questioning of some Catholism practices, he was banished from the Holy Roman Empire. Luther rebelled by translating the Bible into German to encourage and promote reading. -
John Locke
John Locke's theory is that we acquire knowledge through environmental experiences combined with the social interactions from parents and care-givers. Locke's belief is that, "knowledge consists of a special kind of relationship between different ideas." He was a promoter of early education to set a good foundation for future learning. -
Johann Pestalozzi
Pestalozzi's interest was not only to develop and educate the individual, but to improve society. By educating the person, the society should improve as a whole. Pestalozzi's approach to educating young children was to do so with a loving, family-type environment with an assertion that that education should be centered on the child, not the curriculum. -
Robert Owen
Robert Owen's reputation as a philanthropist began when he purchased a cotton mill in 1799. The seller was looking for a buyer who would continue his humane policy toward the children. Owen believed children's envoronments contribute to and shape their bleiefs, behavior and achievements. -
Friedrich Frobel
Frobel is known as "the father of kindergarten" due to his belief that structured playing naurally leads to learning. Frobel's ‘kindergarten system’, placed emphasis on play and its use of ‘gifts’ (play materials) and ‘occupations (activities). Frobel's education as a teacher came largely from the school he attended that taught along Pestaozzi's principals. -
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori did not believe in the assessments and constraints being used in the educational system of her time. The Montessori method puts the teacher in the position of guiding the children as opposed to controlling the children. Montessori believed children should be able to learn at their own pace. -
Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky's theory was that "child development is the result of the interactions between children and their social environment." Vyotsky strongly disagreed with psycologists' suggestions that a child's development occurs spontaneously and cannot be affected by education. He believed children develop by interactions with other people and can vary from culture to culture. -
Jean Piaget
Piaget was the first psychologist to study cognotive thinking strictly in children. Piaget disproved the theory that infants and children are small adults that just need training. Instead he proved that intellectual development moves in a sequence of stages and children of various stages view the world much differently than adults. -
Abraham Maslow
Maslow was fascinated by metal health and human potential. His reseach focused on positive mental health. Maslow believed humans needed security, love, belonging, and self-esteem above physical needs for food, sleep, and sex.
