Friedrich Froebel's pedagogics of the kindergarten, or, His ideas concerning the play and playthings of the child;

Front matter

Interitatioual ^taxmiwn ^txm

EDITED BY

WILLIAM T. HARRIS, A.M., LL.D.

Contents

CHAPTER PAOB

I. — The Two Views. A New- Year's Meditation . . 1 II. — Plan of an Institution for fostering the Impulse

TO Creative Activity 14

II. Plan Of An Institution For Fostering The Impulse To Creative Activity

Preface. — Because all life rests in one unity, and because all existing life wells forth from this unity, he who will work benevolently and fruitfully, blissfully and constantly, progressively developing to increasing perfection, must try to act and to live in inner united coherence with the development of Nature and man*, with the stage of cultivation of the understanding and of the use of the reason now attained, thus in full accord with the present stage of development of Nature and humanity (that is, of the whole univerFe), as well as in pure harmony with the inner demands and the stage of development of the individual or whole.

Thus, he who desires to work helpfully and fruitfully, constantly and beneficially, for the welfare and founding of the family, must, in harmony with the stage of development of his family and its members, connect his efforts with a comprehensive and unital, a simple and yet general human fundamental idea, at least with such a general perception of life ; or, rather, he must make such a perception his starting point. He who does not do this, just in proportion as he does not do so builds on quicksand.

Now such ideas, which must lie at the foundation of

PLAN OP AN INSTITUTION. 15

the Imman influence, especially of the educating influence as a human one, have been already definitely and clearly expressed above ; it will wholly suffice for the present aim — the demonstration of the plan of the before-mentioned institution — to deduce the necessity and nature of the institution in view from a principle derived from experience, a principle which rests in and is explained by one of the highest, final, fundamental ideas, and whose innermost coherence with the highest thought of life comes out definitely enough for this aim.

This principle derived from experience is:

The present effort of mankind in harmony with the phenomena in Nature and the time, with the collective all-life, is an endeavor after freer self-development, after freer self -formation, and freer determining of one's own destiny. In fact, the more or less conscious aim of those who make this effort to find out the unity of the individual and the manifold, the inner coherence of the separate, the accord of the opposite, the abiding with the changing^ the true being behind the phenomenal, and the spirit in the form.

Therefore, the more or less clear aim of the individual is to attain clearness about himself and about life in its unity, its foundation, as well as in its thousand ramifications and in its relations to completeness and unity of life, to comprehension and right use of life, according to recognition and insight, as well as to representation and accomplishment; and all this by voluntary choice, by spontaneous and personal activity, and in accord with all.

This portrays the present degree of development of mankind in character. Therefore, if we would not annihilate our children spiritually and bodily, if we would not cripple their present childish life, the youthful life next to be attained by them, their future life as citizens, their future domestic life, and their whole life as members of humanity, we must in the education and training of our children be faithful to the requirements of their individual nature, as well as in accord and coherence with the present stage of human development, which is conditioned by and proceeds from the development of the whole world, the collective all-life.

That this highest aim of life may be attained, the present time makes upon education and the educator, parents and nurses, the following wholly indispensable requirement — to comprehend the earliest activity, the first action of the child, the impulse to formation and to spontaneous and personal activity (the first manifestations of which appear at an early age), to encourage the earliest employment of children at home, the impulse to self-culture and self-instruction through self-shaping, self-observation, and self-testing.

Every one who observes with any attention even the first stage of child-life is met therein (frequently as well as definitely) by the requirement of fostering the child's impulse to activity, but he is also met by the perception of how little is done to satisfy the requirement generally, but especially how little is done to satisfy it in a judicious way — that is, in accord with the nature of man.

Very many loyal parents and members of the family, very many anxious fathers and grandfathers, loving mothers and grandmothers, cousins and uncles, fostering elder brothers and sisters, and sympathizing family friends and friends of the children, are indeed inclined carefully and suitably to nourish and foster the impulse of childhood and youth to acquire information spontaneously by self-activity, but, on the one hand, only too often the requisite,

PLAN OF AN INSTITUTION. 17

wholly suitable means, and, indeed, the needed capacity and dexterity, knowledge, and training are lacking ; but on the other hand, also, the child's employments as well as the means and objects of such employment (the plays and the playthings) are too little — indeed, not at all — recognized in their true, deep significance, are too little comprehended in their general human interest and spirit, which, just because they are general and human, continue to cultivate the man already grown up and rich in knowledge, and are too little presented in their connection with life in general. The consequence of this is, that these means of play offer too little — indeed, nothing at all — to the adult for the nourishment and continued development of his or her own life ; hence, aside from the duty of older people to children, it seems to the adult a waste of time to employ himself or herself with fostering the child's impulse to activity by means of and in its plays.

Now the aim of this institution is to make the needs and requirements of the child- world — needs and requirements to which we have just referred — correspond to the present stage of development of humanity, and to provide for parents and adults who find themselves in the just-mentioned position in regard to the fostering of the children intrusted to them, appropriate plays and means of employment, and consequently of instruction and cultivation— of education in general — and, above all, means adapted to the mind, spirit, and life of the child ; therefore to be able to prove the equally necessary, natural, and human reciprocal call of the families, " Come, let us live with our children," to be as general as it is rich in blessing. Hence the plan of this institution is as follows :

Plan.

I. To provide plays and means of employment (consequently of culture) which satisfy the needs alike of parents and child, of age and youth, of educator and pupil ; which therefore nourish and strengthen, develop and form the life of the children, as well as promote the life of the parents and adults — or at least aiford them spiritual and intellectual nourishment while they employ themselves in playing with the children — indeed, we might say even while they, as experienced and intelligent parents, and observant and clear-sighted older people, merely observe the plays and spontaneous employment of these children in a thoughtful manner — that is, with spiritual and intellectual sympathy.

The spirit and character of these means of employment, and so of instruction, are therefore that —

1. They proceed from unity, and develop in all manifoldness from unity in accordance with the laws of life. They begin with the simplest, and, at each particular stage, again begin with that which is relatively the simplest; but afterward advance in reciprocally beneficial relation to one another, and according to the necessary laws contained in the nature of the things themselves, from the simplest to the most complex, from that which is as yet undeveloped to that which is fully grown, and so on in accord with natural and spiritual development — in general, with the development of life.

2. The aim of each of the means of employment, and likewise of education, is purely human instruction and cultivation— that is, such as is in itself single as well as unifying— so that through the right, judicious, and spirited use of each (even of the smallest) of these means the human

PLAN OF AN INSTITUTION. 19

being both in childhood and in maturity will be advanced, educated, and formed as an individual, and also comprehended and developed as a member of humanity — therefore as a member of his family, of his nation, and of humanity, and also as a member of Nature and of the universe— of the one-life and of the all-life.

3. The totality of the plays and means of employment, which are at the same time means of formation of character and of education, as it proceeds from a single, fundamental principle of culture observable in Nature, authenticated by history, and proving itself to be purely human, forms a stable, coherent whole, all the parts of which reciprocally explain and mutually benefit one another. This whole, therefore, resembles a tree with its many branches.

4. Each individual thing which is attained, however small and simple, or however large and complex it may be, is therefore always a self-contained whole, and so resembles a bud, or a kernel of corn, from which manifold new developments can be called forth, which again converge into a higher unity. Wherefore he who judiciously, energetically, and carefully uses for his little charge what is attained, is himself manifoldly developed as well as harmoniously cultivated.

5. These means of employment will, in the course of their presentation, embrace the whole province of general and fundamental instruction of the faculties of perception. They also will embrace the groundwork of all future extended instruction as a whole, and are founded on the nature of man as an existent, living, and perceptive being. But, as the child at first feels and finds himself in space, and finds others occupying the space around him, these means of employment proceed from space, from the observation of space and from the knowledge which comes from that

N observation, going on by means of the development anSf training of the limbs and senses of the human being, and by means of language to comprehend Nature in its most essential directions; so that finally man, who at first could find himself only in space and by means of space, may now learn to find himself as an existent, living, feeling and thinking, understanding and intelligent, perceptive and rational being, to retain the perception of himself as such a being, and, as such, to strive to live.

6. It is quite essential to the spirit and character of these means of fostering independent action in the child that they should lead to the thoughtful observation of Nature and of life in all its parts and phenomena ; but it is also essential that they should lead to the anticipation and recognition, and finally to the comprehension of the inner coherence of material things, and of the phenomena of life, and also of the oneness of the material and spiritual worlds, and the increasing similarity of their laws.

7. Thinking and discriminating parents will therefore find these plays and this playing of use and benefit in their business or calling, whether it be an inner one devoted to knowledge or an outward one devoted to work, the results of which can be seen, as even the occupying of one's self therewith in the circle of the children is invigorating and beneficial, elevating and purifying, in its retroactive effect on the life of the adult.

8. Each play, each means of employment, and each means of self -teaching will be accompanied by sufficing instructions which embrace the subject on all sides. These instructions will contain —

a. Description of the nature of play and its higher references to man and to life.

b. Statements of the relation of each individual play

PLAN OP AN INSTITUTION. 21

and means of employment to the totality, so that with each is specified what, in general, precedes it, what accompanies it, and what follows it ; therefore, on what it is founded, and of what it is itself the foundation.

c. A direction sufficient to enable parents and nurses and teachers to use the play, the thing being vivified by the word, the word illustrated by drawings, and these again explained by the word and the thing itself.

d. These instructions will especially render prominent the laws of mental growth proceeding from and leading to the use of play and to its different representations ; and

e. Will especially state the firmly, beautifully, and clearly formed truths of Nature and life obviously contained therein, for the purpose of self -disco very, selfobservation, and further self-development, in order to unite man more and more in and with himself, as well as with Nature and life, with the unity and fount of life.

II. In the gradual accomplishment of the whole course, such means of self-cultivation and self- instruction are to be provided as satisfy the needs and requirements of the present stage of human development, and also suffice for adults who wish to continue their own cultivation in accordance therewith. Here will be presented, in conformity with each line of culture and instruction, comprehensive summaries of all parts which belong together, and of the relatively higher unities and the highest unity of these parts. The purpose of these summaries is that the human being — as all unity is, properly speaking, invisible, and only perceptible in the innermost — may be led from the visible and external to the invisible and internal, from the appearance to the true being, aud, thus led into himself, may also be led to God ; thus man may be clearly shown to man in his nature, in his unfolding, and in his relation to totality and to unity — to Nature and to God — and so may come to man, in all the relations of life, unity and clearness, consciousness and penetration in cultivation, as well as in life and in insight, and therefore joyousness, peace, and freedom.

Since we are now deeply convinced that man, even though only unconsciously faithful to his nature and to the higher and highest demands of humanity of which he is a member, seeks to learn to comprehend and present the outer as well as the inner coherence of life in the higher and highest living unity — in spite of the actual and undeniably apparent disjointedness in life, and the generally prevailing seeking merely for that which is directly and immediately useful in the striving for information— we hope by means of this institution to answer to a need in accordance with the spirit of the age, and to provide such an education of childhood as will correspond to the deepest and most secret (even unknown to themselves) wishes and yearnings of parents and adults, as fosterers of children.

The course of plays and means of employment is to begin with that which is simplest and near ; for only that which proceeds from the simplest, smallest, and near can develop from and explain by itself the manifold, great, and distant — can show the spirit of unity ; and it is only the single spirit which creates the single life.

And thus we show here, for the fostering of the impulse to activity and of the creative nature of the child, first of all, the details of a whole series of boxes, for the play and for the occupation of children in methodical and coherent sequences, stages, and gifts, accompanied by illustrative drawings and text.

III

CHILD-LIFE. THE FIRST ACTION OF THE CHILD.

As the newborn child, like a ripe kernel of seed corn dropped from the mother plant, has life in itself, and, also like the kernel, develops life from itself in progressive but increasingly spiritual coherence with the common life-whole by its own spontaneous action, so activity and action are also the first phenomena of awakening child-life. This activity and this action are, indeed, the actual expression of the internal and innermost through and by the outward, therefore inward activity devoted to observing and working with the external, to overcoming outward hindrances merely as such, and to penetrating the external. Hence early in the life of the child appears an activity in harmony with feeling and perception, indicating a slumbering apprehension and comprehension of itself by the child as well as an already germinating individual capacity.

The nature of man as a being destined to become, and in future to be, conscious of personality, although at first apparent only in slight outlines, yet already stamped with suflScient distinctness to be observed and comprehended— lies in the quite peculiar character of childish activity even when the so-called three months' slumber has just ended; in the totality of the first childish action (especially after this time), a totality which can not be more fittingly designated than by the expression " to busy one's self " ; in the impulse of the child to employ itself, an impulse awakening at the same time with the inner life of the child — that is, in the impulse (in accord with feeling and perception) to be active for the increasing development of its own life ; and, as we remarked in the beginning, man, even from babyhood, in his triune relation to Nature, to humanity, and to God, finds his needs completely satisfied by the correct comprehension and by the right fostering of his impulse to busy himself, by the care and oversight of childish occupations.

We are repeatedly impressed with the conviction that everything which is to be done for the true human development of the child, and all efforts which are to be made for such an education as will satisfy the needs of all sides of its being, must be connected with, and proceed from, the fostering of the impulse to employment, and the oversight of the first employment of the child. For the impulse to employment corresponds to the triune activity of man in doing, experiencing, and thinking. This impulse corresponds fully to his nature, which is to have power to perceive, to comprehend, to obtain self-knowledge, to become more and more conscious of his own personality, and to become spontaneous. Therefore the whole human being, all humanity in the child, and life itself, is comprehended by means of the impulse to employment.

Notwithstanding the existence of the impulse to employment which manifests itself early in the life of the human being (though but the slightest traces of it are at first perceptible), it has been commonly stated, but from a quite incorrect point of view, that the child is so helpless when born, and develops to self-dependence so slowly, as to require the mother's fostering and help for a long

CHILD-LIFE. 25

time ; it has even been said that man is in this respect behind and below the animals. Only, as we shall yet more often see in the future, just exactly that with which human nature is charged as a necessary consequence of the existence of human beings upon earth, or which is at least alleged as a speaking evidence of the great imperfection of man, constitutes his evident superiority over the other creatures on earth, is a sign of his dignity, and an assertion that man is created in the image of God, so that he may recognize and demonstrate his likeness to God — that is, that He has appeared upon earth, and under earthly limitations for that purpose. For we recognize through this helplessness that man is destined to free, selfactive progress, and is called to higher and higher stages of consciousness of self.

The animal, whose life-impulses, powers, and qualities, whose instincts, as they are called, are at birth so definite and strong that it, on the contrary, does not fail, and indeed in a free natural condition can not fail, to overcome by those instincts every obstacle in each department of its life, the animal, just on account of its strong instincts, can not arrive at the knowledge of its powers, its qualities, its nature, its unity, and therefore can not arrive at a recognition of its manifoldness, nor, above all, at the anticipation and recognition of unity as such ; still less can it give to itself an account thereof, for it lacks all points of comparison. It lacks the points of comparison which (as is the case with man) proceed from the fact that even the weakest manifestations of power meet in their workings with obstructions which even increase as the power itself increases, and will thus with difficulty be overcome, or prevailed over and annihilated.

It is, as already stated, quite different with the life of man, in which at first scarce anything can be easily accomplished without extraneous help, and consequently nothing without hindrance, but especially nothing through the superiority of power from within (such, for example, as the just-hatched duckling shows on the water) ; thus everything external is to be overcome, even though there be a preponderance of helplessness, through the inner enhancing and outward strengthening and increasing of power by the free activity of the will. This inner self -enhancing of power, proceeding from spontaneity of the will and outward strengthening and increasing of this power, effected by this inner self -enhancing, constitute the superiority of man over the animal, and this so much the more as man is born in the most extreme condition of helplessness.

The helplessness of the newborn human being in respect to everything external is the opposite of his future ability for self-helpfulness (an ability which is in unison with the unity and the wholeness of life) through the enhancement of his will power and consequently his power of action. As now outward helplessness is the opposite of possible enhancement of inward power, so the latter is to be aroused and become recognized and strengthened by the former. As, in general, everything is and will be best recognized by means of that which is its opposite, therefore helplessness is to be overcome by the enhancement of power ; for it is just the conquering, or rather the prevailing over and so annihilating the outward hindrance of life by one's own will power and one's own enhanced power of action, which preserves to man peace, joy, and freedom in his own consciousness, and thus elevates him to that likeness to God for which he is destined. Helplessness and personal will (one's own will), therefore, soon

CHILD-LIFE. 27

become the two hinges, the opposite turning points (poles) ofJ;he child's life, of which the middle point and point of union, and thus the balance point, is independent activity and free activity, self-occupation and self-employment. Herein lies for the educator and fosterer of the human being the key to the inner and outer life of man in childhood and youth, and to the phenomena of this inner and outer life, often as difficult to explain as to treat and to adjust. By means of this key there is opened to the educator an unobstructed view of the lights and shadows of child-life and of its phenomena, which so often seem to contradict one another. From the impulse to activity and from spontaneous employment of one's self, or rather from the three (helplessness, one's own will, and employment of one's self), soon proceed habitude and custom (often indolence and a tendency to seek one's own ease). This fact is as remarkable and worthy of notice as it is easily recognizable, as each phenomenon — which is especially to be considered in the life of children and in the correct estimation of that life — calls forth its opposite. One willingly makes one's self at home where one can act freely ; and, on the other hand, one can act freely where one has made one's self at home.

It is therefore just as important for the child that those who have it in charge should notice its customs, its habits, and to what it accustoms itself, especially in respect to cause and effect, as that they should notice and foster its impulse to activity. Indeed, one can see clearly that just this trait of the child of accustoming and inuring itself to something, and of growing together with its surroundings and becoming one with them, proves the early existence of the impulse to activity and employment even when the child outwardly appears inactive 5

(passive) ; since the child accommodates itself to outward surroundings, relations, and requirements, in order thus to obtain more space for the play of its inner activity.

As now habit in the child proceeds from spontaneous and independent activity, so also imitation springs from it ; and it is no less important for the fostering of childhood and child-life and for observing it to keep this origin of imitation in view than to keep in view the phenomena of habitude, custom, and independent activity. For we see the whole inner spiritual life of the child manifesLthe threefold phenomenon, spontaneous activity, habit, and imitation, as a triune phenomenon. These three phases are intimately united early in the life of the child, and give us the most important discoveries concerning child-life in respect to foundation and result, and the surest indices for the early correct treatment of the child. None of these phenomena should therefore be excluded from a comprehensive study of children, such as would satisfy the nature of the human being, for all three are alike deeply grounded in human nature in respect to their source.* The three activities taken together also disclose the following aims, which wholly correspond to the nature of the child as a human being : These aims are, to keep itself such as it feels and finds itself — a being which is independent and yet supported by the whole ; to strengthen, exercise, and develop its limbs and senses, and to make them free, thus within itself and by its own efforts to attain more and more independence and personality, and to

* We shall later return to this subject on account of its importance, and will then treat it more fully and in more extended connections ; but this limited intimation must here suffice for the general foundation of what follows.

CHILD-LIFE. 29

reveal itself in its personality; finally, to obtain knowledge of the independence and personality — that is, of the independent existence — of that which surrounds it, and to convince itself of that existence.

This joint aim of life, the joint activity proceeding from it and the unity of life at the foundation of both, are expressed by the child's first quiet fixing of its eyes. Hence the child's first clear gaze so delights and uplifts those who witness it, for the child thereby proclaims self-dependence and personality in itself and his ability to maintain these qualities; it also acknowledges the self-dependence and personality of those around it and anticipates the future (though as yet deeply slumbering) unity of life ; it therefore announces the elevation of man above unconscious nature, and fully expresses his dignity, his humanity.

Therefore, the first voluntary employments of the child, if its bodily needs are satisfied and it feels well and strong, are observation of its surroundings, spontaneous reception of the outer world, and play, which is independent outward expression of inward action and life. This dual expression, taking in and carrying out in life, is necessarily grounded in the nature of the child as well as of the human being in general, since its first earthly destiny is to attain by critical reception of the outer world into itself, by manifold inward impressions and through outward realization of its inner world, and by critical comparison of both, to the recognition of their unity, to the recognition of life as such, and to faithful living in accordance with the requirements of life.

Since we now see man at an early age comprehend his destiny by means of these three activities, so the collective phenomena of his whole future life find their solution in these activities, which form, as it were, the triune point of reference and vital point thereof.

That he may fulfill and attain his destiny, man is endowed on the one hand with senses, the organs by which he can make the external internal ; on the other hand with bodily strength and limbs, by which he can represent his inner nature outwardly, therefore always by material means ; finally, that he may comprehend spiritual unity, the nature of man appears as an anticipating and individual soul, because this nature is in itself a perceptive and uniting spirit.

It is therefore evident how important the training of body and senses is for man even in the early stages of his existence ; and, from the more spiritual, comparing, and uniting point of view, it is also evident how important the kind of observation of the outer world and its reception into the inner nature of man, and also the kiyid of the voluntary, playful occupations of the child, are for the method of experience as to its conclusions and reasons, for the spirit of the knowledge and insight which it draws therefrom, and so for the expression of its nature, which makes itself known thereby.

For, as the life of man in all the necessary variety of its phenomena is in itself a complete unity, one can recognize and consider even in the first baby life, though only in their slightest traces and most delicate germs, all the spiritual activities which in later life become predominant.